Zombie Cheerleading Camp (2007)

You would be surprised how many independent movies I get press releases for.  You would probably be even more surprised (or maybe not) at how many of those are zombie movies.  But there was just something about the press release that I received for Zombie Cheerleading Camp and the attached DVD cover that made me want to watch this movie.  After watching the movie I’m glad that I did.

The story here starts off in WWII and is cleverly told with the use of some storyboards (more on that later).  The US government captures the results of some Nazi experiments, but quickly realizes that things could easily get out of control and buries the chemicals in a mine.  Years later a squirrel gets into the mines and of course turns into a zombie.  This squirrel later bites and turns one of the characters into a zombie, which starts the whole outbreak at the cheerleading camp.  Before you know it there are dead cheerleaders wandering all around looking to make a meal out of anyone and everyone they meet. 

I really like this movie.  The story is very tight and after taking a few minutes setting up the scenario gets right to the good stuff.  Almost from the start you can tell that the movie is going to be really funny, with some great dialogue delivered by a surprisingly good group of actors.  Be warned that much of the humor is lowbrow and sophomoric with zombie squirrels going up pant legs, a food fight, and stereotypical male cheerleader character (“He is available girls” still cracks me up!).  This all works together nicely and makes for a lot of fun.  Heck you even get a bit of nudity and a couple of girls making out as a bonus.  

I’ve seen a lot of independent zombie movies and most of them fail in the same areas.  First they try and shoot things that are way beyond their budget.  Second they try and hit the audience with special effects that they can’t pull off.  And third they never seem to be able to pull of that delicate balance between being serious and comedic.  Zombie Cheerleading Camp does all three of these very well.  For example instead of trying to shoot some sort of half baked intro that would have look awful they decide to use story boards to tell the history of the canisters and where the zombie squirrel came from.  That might seem silly and simple, but it works brilliantly.  Plus the squirrel attack is one of the best scenes in the movie.  Also while there are a couple of shaky digital effects that had me cringing a bit they don’t overreach and keep things simple.  Fake blood and rubbery intestines can go a long way with the right sound effects.  I’ve also mentioned that the movie has it’s funny moments, but can also be serious at times.  I mean for all the funny lines and situations the ending is very subdued and dark.  So as you can see and as I’ve already said before the movie just works really well. 

This is one of the best independent zombie movies I’ve seen in a long time.  It stays within it’s budget and tells a decent little story.  I can’t wait to see what these guys do next.  For more information on where you can pick this movie up check them out at their site http://www.zombiecheerleadingcamp.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer