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Acting
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Directing
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Story
Starring: Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins
Director: Jordan Rubin
Running Time: 77 mins
Zombeavers is an American film about three friends who travel to an isolated lakeside house for a holiday. But their relaxation is soon thrown into chaos when they become encircled by a horde of vicious, man-eating zombie beavers.
Speaking objectively, there’s no universe in which a film called Zombeavers is going to be good. But, despite its countless flaws, dull story and often overly crude humour, there was something about the film that I really seemed to enjoy.
It’s truly awful at moments, but as far as these weird creature features go, Zombeavers is easily one of the most enjoyable you’ll see. More energetic than Sharknado, more intelligent than Osombie, and better in every way than the similar Jurassic Shark, I can’t help but feel that this is a genuinely decent movie at moments.
Maybe there’s something wrong with me, I don’t know. Objectively speaking, Zombeavers is all over the place. Its ridiculous premise notwithstanding, it has a terrible screenplay that not only features dull and one-dimensional characterisation, but is ovelry heavy on unnecessarily crude humour throughout.
And that’s not just silly violence and gore. From jokes that hit too close to home on inappropriate topics to explicit sex, Zombeavers too often crosses a line in the sand it shouldn’t have been anywhere near.
But, what the film does have going for it is that – although it may seem like it at the outset – it’s more than just another parody creature feature. Yes, it takes the generic Cabin In The Woods horror set-up and follows it to a tee, but the film continues to come up with its own ideas and twists throughout, making it surprisingly original and genuinely enjoyable at moments.
Of course, all of those ideas and twists are either laughably bad or just plain stupid, but there is something about Zombeavers that feels so much more energising and captivating than the majority of the films in this ultra low-budget genre.
What’s more is that, along with a few strengths in its screenplay, the film impresses with fast-paced editing and direction, enjoyable and assured performances, and even moderately decent special effects.
Take that last positive with a pinch of salt, though. If the zombie beavers from this film were hitting multiplexes around the world, they’d be laughed into oblivion like the disastrous Cats movie was. But, compared to the likes of Sharknado and such, Zombeavers really does have the edge when it comes to the special effects.
With its main characters spending almost the entire runtime in little more than bikinis, it’s clear where the money has been saved for the better of the special effects, but I didn’t find myself laughing at the zombie beavers every time they appeared on screen. Instead, they’re actually rather threatening at times, and even more so with a surprise twist of fate in the latter stages.
So, somehow, I came out of Zombeavers not only surprised, but almost satisfied. It’s not a good film by any stretch of the imagination, though, with a ridiculous premise, a generally poor screenplay and unnecessarily crude humour.
But, as far as this brand of film goes, I was amazed by how much energy and imagination was at play in Zombeavers. It’s moderately well-directed, the special effects aren’t laughably bad, and it even has a couple of enjoyable (albeit preposterous) twists throughout. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 5.9 overall.
