Zombeavers (2014)

   

       The zombie. The horror genre's most popular monster next to vampires and ghosts. These animated corpses have gorged themselves in both revenue and flesh over the past years that now it is common to find new films coming out each year. Either it be in comedy like Fido and Zombieland; or gory horror like Fulci's Zombie films. Zombies have truly taken over the world not by an apocalypse but, by entertainment media. Zombeavers may be different from any "ordinary" zombie flick but, it isn't the first of its kind. There have been multiple films that featured zombie animals (i.e. the Resident Evil series or Return of the Living Dead). The most famous of the zoological undead films must be credited to Black Sheep, a New Zealand zombie comedy about flesh-eating sheep. Zombeavers isn't different from New Zealand's film since they use the same concepts (will be explained later in my review). Zombeavers centers around six co-eds taking a vacation in the country for a weekend but, are unaware of a contamination problem at a local beaver dam. Over the past couple weeks (or so), all the resident beavers have became unstoppable undead critters bent on devouring everything in their path. Will they all survive this outbreak, or are they zombeaver chow?

      The film has brand new faces but, their characters are quite stereotypical in the realm of horror movies. Three sexy sorority college students (Rachel Melvin as the nerdy Mary; Cortney Palm as the slutty Zoe; and Lexi Atkins as the just-got-dumped Jenn) are the main focused characters. The other three (Hutch Dano as Jenn's ex-boyfriend Sam; Jake Weary as Mary's boyfriend Tommy; and Peter Gilroy as Zoe's boyfriend Butch) had the basic three friend types: the loser, the winner, and the clown. The last character to be mentioned is Smyth (portrayed by Rex Linn), the local hunter whom had been noticing the strange beaver behavior. As a whole, these seven were amazingly good as their characters and were entertaining to watch.

    Like all zombie films before it, you are at least guaranteed that somebody (or something) is going to get eaten or killed. There is a lot of deaths in this film. Ranging from funny to completely brutal (i.e. Sam gets bitten in the worst area and Zoe's dog gets destroyed while swimming); Zombeavers delivers gore and blood to its audiences. Unlike most zombie films though, Zombeavers followed in the footsteps of Black Sheep. Both are great zoological undead films because they offer a new twist to the zombie film mythos: werewolves. Imagine being bitten by a zombie beaver or sheep then after you die, you become this grotesque creature that resembles the infected animal that bit you. Zombeavers continued this legacy by turning most of the characters (both primary and secondary) into half-human/half-zombeaver hybrids. Now here's something that most people would love about this film: nudity. That's right, most of the film offers topless nudity or even sexual situations. Though most of the audiences who see this movie may view this as a treat but, in my opinion; I feel as though the nudity aspect in horror films has gotten old over the years. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Return of the Living Dead are just a small handful of examples that nudity and sex played a huge role in film but, when it comes down to Zombeavers; it feels as though its used too often than normal.

    The scenes in Zombeavers is basically what you expect from any zombie film. You have a team that stays put while another team tries to find help. The zombeaver puppets used in this film are so lifelike in which you feel as though they're real. Barely no CGI with actual props is an old trick in horror films because its a truly effective way of bringing out fear. There were a few times that I actually got scared because you don't know if the beaver will be popping out, or my friend is about to turn. Zombeavers emits fear in the most fun but, scary ways. For example, most of the beavers pop up out of nowhere which can give anybody a jolt (I for one do not enjoy pop-up horror because I like to see it coming first before a random attack). There is a really good mixture of comedy and horror in this film that made me either smirk or laugh half way through. Though most of the dialogue had very good crude humor, there is a lot of seriousness as well. From the reasoning behind Jenn's hatred against Sam to fighting for your life against the most unlikeness of monsters, Zombeavers brings horror to a personal level. If I had to chose a favorite scene; I have to say when Mary and Zoe are trying to escape with Smyth's truck but, are forced to smash into a tree. My reasoning behind it you may ask. There's a freaking zombeaver-grizzly bear that aids in the surrounding of the truck with most of the hybrids. That part was extremely strange to witness even though it was foreshadowed earlier on.

   My rating for Zombeavers is a hard one but, I have to go with a 4 out of 5. The film was interesting to watch since it somewhat follows in the footsteps of Black Sheep but, I felt as though it had a lot of predictable stereotypes that most horror films share already. I enjoyed Zombeavers since it brought you laughter, fear, and "action" but, it felt like I was just watching another American horror film. Nothing new expect for the fact of zombie beavers. The characters were amazing and their backstories made it interesting but, it wasn't really surprising. If you get the chance to see this film, please watch it. Its something new yet familiar and it has all what you're looking for in zombie horror. Zombeavers was uniquely well done and is following in the shambling footsteps of new zombie films. Not to mention the film has its own catchy theme song.

"Filthy, hairy beavers..."