In case you weren't sure, Zombie Strippers is exactly what it sounds like: a horror comedy about zombified strippers. And like most zombie movies, it has political subtext, though you don't have to worry about it being headier than something titled Zombie Strippers should be. Sure, it claims to be based loosely on Eugène Ionesco's classic absurdist play Rhinoceros and, sure, it features allusions to a number of philosophers, including Camus and Sartre, but really it's dumb and silly and a heck of a good time. Particularly if you're anything but sober. And if you're just looking for a grindhouse sort of guilty pleasure to pass the time.

Zombie Strippers opens with a montage that sets the scene: it's sometime in the near future, and Bush has just been reelected to his fourth term. Already, we know this movie will be a complete farce, but the ludicrous exposition continues, explaining that government scientists have developed a virus that allows soldiers in Iraq to continue fighting after they're killed. Yes, these super soldiers are zombies, a minor twist on Joe Dante's anti-Bush short Homecoming, which was one of the more critically celebrated episodes of the cable series Masters of Horror, and which featured Iraq War casualties rising from the dead in order to cast their vote against Bush's reelection.

It's only a working title, but it will do to wind us up for now. Edgar Wright gave a hint as to what will complete the three-flavored Cornetto Trilogy begun by Shaun of the Dead -- rather appropriately, it will be The World's End.

The Guardian caught Wright at a London press conference, where the director announced a two-film deal with Working Title Films -- World's End with Pegg, and a separate action thriller currently titled Baby Driver.

Wright wouldn't give up much on what genre it would be, but admitted it might be a doomsday sci-fi piece. "It's kind of going in that direction." Sci-fi does seem to be an appropriate choice for the mint chocolate chip Cornetto that is supposed to appear. (The Cornetto theme is a tribute to Krzysztof Kieslowski and his Three Colors series, and a different flavor has appeared in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

If you like to eat ... and you like to eat, there is no greater holiday than Thanksgiving. Part of what makes Thanksgiving so damn special (apart from Mom's super awesome homemade pumpkin/apple/whatever your favorite thing is pie) is getting to sit around a table with the ones you love and give thanks for being able to do just that. But what if you had a chance to replace that wacky uncle with one of your favorite movie characters? Who would you choose? Keep in mind you'd have to pick someone the rest of your family would get along with; someone who'd help take your Thanksgiving dinner up a gigantic notch.

Would you really want someone like Ferris Bueller there? He'd probably eat fast and then bolt, giving some lame excuse that incorporates computer-generated belching sounds. You probably wouldn't want a heartthrob (Brad Pitt's character in ... anything) or a hottie (mmm, Rose McGowan with a machine-gun leg) because then your family would fawn all over them, snapping photo after photo until the character eventually freaks and does something bad. You're going to want a movie character who adds enjoyment and, perhaps, someone who would bring some tasty treats along with them. We asked seven Cinematical writers which movie character they'd invite to Thanksgiving dinner, and why. Feel free to click through our answers, and then tell us who you'd love to stuff in between the turkeys at your household.

Patrick Walsh would invite ...

This list was harder than I thought. I honestly thought it would be easy to scrape up a handful of funny horror movies, or scary comedies, or even unintentionally funny, Ed Wood-type movies. But the more I started poking around, the more I discovered a healthy and thriving subgenre, packed with potential classics. This year's hilarious, disturbing Black Sheep is just one example, as well as Fido (which I missed). There were also many shades within this subgenre, ranging from flat-out comedies with supernatural elements (Beetlejuice, The Witches of Eastwick) to horror movies with just a hint of the absurd (The Invisible Man, An American Werewolf in London) to spoofs (Young Frankenstein, Scary Movie) So I stuck with my original impulse and went with the ones that I found the "funniest" that were actual "horror" movies. Oddly enough, most of my choices went -- arbitrarily -- to zombies. I guess vampires and ghosts just aren't as funny.

1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
I've seen this four or five times now, and I just don't get sick of it. On a purely technical level, it moves beautifully, from the camera setups and tracking shots to the fluid editing. It's so well executed that the jokes are more or less imbedded within the film, rather than jumping out of the film, so that it remains funny each time. Some of the subtler jokes get better each time, such as Ed's "two seconds." What's even more amazing is how well it works as both a character-driven movie and a zombie movie. It's so good, it even earned the seal of approval from the zombie master, George A. Romero (the boys, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, went on to make cameos in Romero's Land of the Dead).

2. Army of Darkness (1992)
The debate rages on around Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy: which one is best? I love them all, and Evil Dead II is my admitted favorite, but this third entry -- at one time entitled "Medieval Dead" -- is definitely the funniest. Bruce Campbell earned himself a lifelong cult following with his deadpan readings of lines like "boom stick," "primitive screwheads," "gimme some sugar, baby," etc. The drawback is that this film is definitely the least scary of the three films, but it does have its share of monsters, gore and creepy Harryhausen-like effects.

I'm no horror buff, but I do love the zombies. Well, I love the idea of zombies. I'm not really that interested in watching all the low-budget zombie movies, all the Italian zombie movies, or all the non-Romero Living Dead movies. But it's funny, I was looking over Ryan's recent Cinematical Seven of reasons he doesn't care for zombie movies, and it dually serves as my own list of reasons I like zombie movies. Or at least those zombie movies that apply. Primarily, I like zombie movies for the first reason: the symbolism.

Shaun of the Dead may be a comedic zombie movie, and it may not have any political undertones or serious social commentary, as do Romero's films and other prominent examples of the genre, but it does permit a scholarly subtext reading nonetheless. And because I'm a scholarly sort of gent (or maybe really I just like to over-analyze everything), I'm going to take this opportunity to look at this deeper level of the movie. Sure, I could just write about why I think the movie is one of the most hilarious I've ever seen, but that would be boring; plus, I respect that some people don't have the same sense of humor as me.

Shaun's symbolism comes in the form of the romantic story. The movie, often referred to as a "rom zom com" (romantic zombie comedy), actually serves as a sort of cinematic relationship guide, comically instructing us about dealing with commitment issues. Look at the order in which the members of Shaun's party are killed (killed dead, not undead): #1: his stepfather (Bill Nighy); #2: his mum (Penelope Wilton); #3: the other guy who loves his girl (the underrated Dylan Moran, who must be seen in Run Fatboy Run); #4: his roommate (Peter Serafinowicz); and finally, #5: his immature best friend (Nick Frost). These are the people that have to die in order for Shaun (Simon Pegg) to devote his full attention to Liz (Kate Ashfield). In real, non-lethal terms, they are the people Shaun has to let go of before he can fully connect in a relationship.

Zombies appeared in movies early on, in White Zombie (1932), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Last Man on Earth (1964), and -- to some extent -- Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). But the infectious, flesh-eating, undead creatures we know today originated in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). No other horror movie was such a cornerstone, breaking new ground for its time, establishing the hard and fast rules for an entire subgenre and remaining a much-copied source nearly 40 years later. On top of all this, it's actually a great film, and hardly dated at all. When I first saw it, all alone in a dark room late at night, it gave me the shivers. But it also gave me food for thought.

Many have studied the complex relationship between the film's human characters, all trapped in an abandoned house trying to survive the night. Barbara (Judith O'Dea), after losing her brother to a zombie, becomes nearly catatonic. She's like the child of this twisted family. Ben (Duane Jones) is the leader, and though Romero apparently hadn't written the role for a black man, he evokes echoes of the Civil Rights movement that was brewing at the time. Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman) is white, middle-class America, with a wife, Helen (Marilyn Eastman) and a daughter (Kyra Schon). And Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley) are typical teenagers, hoping to get married and settle down. It's easy to see all kinds of social commentary within this group of characters and their behavior, but even without all that, the film works very simply as a dramatic clash of personalities.

Fans of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (i.e. pretty much everybody) rejoice! The stars of those films, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are teaming up again for a movie called Paul. Pegg and Frost are writing the screenplay, but this one will not be a full Shaun/Fuzz reunion, as director Edgar Wright is not involved. The director for Paul has yet to be chosen. Pegg tells MTV Movies Blog the film is "a road movie about two British geeks in America," and it will be shot here in the U.S. Sorry, I know that doesn't tell you much! The film will not have the usual Pegg-ripping-on-Frost dynamic they've perfected. Pegg says, "No, it's different actually. I'm the bitch in this one. This time Simon's the bitch!"

For my money, Pegg is not quite as hilarious as his British comedian compatriots Ricky Gervais (I bow to The Office) and Steve Coogan (just now getting into It's Alan Partridge and loving it), but he does make me laugh. He's becoming a major player in the states, starring in the new romantic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run (you can read James' not-quite-a-rave-but-not-quite-a-pan review here), and co-starring in the upcoming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. I loved Shaun, and was on the fence with Hot Fuzz until the glorious shoot-em-up finale made me a believer. Speaking of Pegg and Frost, does anyone have any idea how to get their television program Spaced on DVD here in America? I know it's online here and there, but I detest watching anything longer than two minutes on my computer. Thanks!

While it seems like we were just talking about Hot Fuzz appearing at Comic-Con last year, but it's now out on DVD today, and while you'll have to wait until you can get to the store or it arrives in the mail to enjoy it ... you can play the Stanford Shootout game live on the web right now. Can you possibly keep the village safe whilst jumping through the air and firing two guns? Find out right here.

Here are some tidbits from Nick Frost and Edgar Wright at Comic-Con:

• Nick Frost thinks the HD version of the DVD looks 30% better, Edgar Wright doesn't even own an HD player yet.
• Nick, Simon, and Edgar are working on a new movie, which will complete what they're calling the "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy.
• Edgar used to work in the very supermarket featured in the film, and as a teenager he used to dream of one day coming back and "f*cking the place up."
• The DVD sold a million copies in the UK in four weeks.
• Edgar Wright was asked to direct the first episode of the new Doctor Who series, and he turned it down. Nick Frost is admittedly, "Not a Who fan." So, don't look for him on the show anytime.
• Edgar's Don't trailer isn't on any of the Grindhouse DVDs yet, but will appear on the special multi-disc Grindhouse set that comes out.
• One of the special features on the DVD is "Hot Funk", showing how they made the 'clean' language version of the film, which you can watch after the break.

Comedian Dana Gould has been around for a long time; I still remember him from his days on The Ben Stiller Show. Since then, he's appeared in a number of random TV shows (Roseanne, Seinfeld, The Nanny) and films (Mystery Men, Dumb and Dumberer) -- to a point where he's become the guy who looks familiar in an old school kind of way, but it usually takes a few minutes for your brain to find the name. More recently, the dude has found moderate success writing for that Simpsons cartoon, but now Variety tells us that Gould has sidled up next to two different projects; one of which is a feature film for Warner Bros. called Alternadad. Based on Neal Pollack's memoir, pic will apparently follow a man who attempts to stay "hip and relevant" as he prepares to become a father. (Why do I automatically envision a scene in which some dorky guy tells a bunch of neighborhood kids to "talk to the hand?")

The other project you ask? Well, that one was set up at Comedy Central as a Shaun of the Dead-type zombie laffer about a group of post-apocalyptic survivors trying to move on with their lives. It's called The Last Larry. Says Gould, "It's a very traditional sitcom set in the world of a zombie holocaust. I felt fairly positive after I pitched it that I wouldn't hear a lot of 'Not that idea again.' " So it's like Everybody Loves Raymond ... except "everybody" is dead. I dig it. Gould added that his goal is to create a show that combines Shaun and Battlestar Gallactica. If he can do that -- and succeed -- I'd be very impressed. Gould will write both projects, as well as serve as exec producer on The Last Larry. Here's hoping at least one of the two survives ...

Though most probably know him as "that guy in the background who always looks familiar," Christopher Marquette is finally getting top billing; the Hollywood Reporter tells us that he's just signed on to star in a new horror-comedy from writer-director Kyle Rankin called Infestation. For those who obsessed over the HBO show Project Greenlight before it moved over to Bravo (why is everyone looking at me?), you might remember Rankin as one-half of the directing team that took on The Battle of Shaker Heights. However, what you might not know about Rankin (and his disappearing partner-in-crime Efram Potelle) is that prior to Shaker Heights (and after), the two wrote and directed a couple of very cool shorts -- one of which is eerily similar to this new flick announced today.

They're calling this one 28 Days Later meets Shaun of the Dead, as it centers on some office schlub (Marquette) who wakes up to find himself wrapped in webbing and cocooned to the wall of his office. After realizing that giant insects have begun to take over the world, our hero must band together with a "ragtag group of strangers" to fight for their survival. Back in 2003, Rankin and Potelle directed a very awesome short called They Came to Attack Us; in that pic, some stoner dude is told that he must keep a valuable orb and protect it from the aliens that are invading. Since Cinematical is all about giving you more bang for your buck, you can check out that short here. Heavy Duty Entertainment is producing Infestation along with Icon Prods., who are also handling worldwide distribution. Personally, I think the idea sounds pretty fun, and Marquette proved he can pull off comedy fairly well when he played Ryan Reynolds' perverted little brother in Just Friends. Sure, the bar is set pretty high when you compare a project to Shaun of the Dead, but the comparison alone has me extremely interested. How about you?

It took nearly two hours to get from my apartment in Queens to the New York City Police Museum in lower Manhattan. But seeing as I was about to hang out with Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright, I would've gladly waited longer. Apparently, Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were all gathering at the museum for some sort of press conference later that afternoon -- so, when I arrived, I was ushered into a back room where two folding chairs were waiting. It took me a minute, but when I finally decided to look around I realized I was in the "gun room." Yes, I was surrounded by over 150 different guns. On top of that, several tourists -- there to visit the museum -- were shuffling about, leaving Wright and I somewhat awkwardly stuffed in the middle of it all.

If you don't know who Edgar Wright is, then I suggest doing some research. One of the hottest up-and-coming directors in the UK, Wright -- along with his partner-in-crime Simon Pegg -- are responsible for the hit show Spaced, as well as one of the best horror-comedies in recent memory, Shaun of the Dead. For Hot Fuzz, Wright once again teams up with Pegg and Frost for another genre satire; this time, they're going after those big-budgeted action flicks like Point Break and Bad Boys II. I spoke with Wright about the film, the cast and the comedy. Is Hot Fuzz part of a trilogy? When will Wright cross the pond and direct a Hollywood film? Read on to find out ...

Cinematical: Who did you make this film for? Fans of Shaun of the Dead? Fans of Jerry Bruckheimer? Fans of Michael Bay? None of the above?

Edgar Wright: Well generally, what you have to do with films is you have to make them for yourself. You kind of have to imagine yourself as the target audience, and I think if you try to imagine what might go down well then it could turn out to be a disaster -- you might not end up pleasing anyone. So the only thing you can do is approach every decision and every element at that level ... and see how it goes.

Cinematical: Personally, I think Shaun of the Dead is one of the best horror-comedies of all time ... and I know a lot of people feel the same way. So, going into Hot Fuzz was there any pressure to provide fans with a film that's as good or better than Shaun of the Dead?

EW: Well, you always want to do more good work. In a way, there's a very similar sense of humor -- you know, we first saw Hot Fuzz as a bit of a departure, really. We got so many offers to do another horror film; even do a sequel to Shaun. But we didn't want to do that, so we needed to find a way to do a different kind of story ... and this kind of basic premise is something we've wanted to do for awhile.

When you think about horror film directors, Edgar Wright probably isn't the first name that pops into your mind. Sure, if you made a list of some of the best horror films of the past few years, Shaun of the Dead would most likely be on the list, but Edgar Wright has continued to fly under the radar as a name. In April, all that will be changing for two reasons. First, Edgar's new film Hot Fuzz will be released in theaters, and the early buzz is that it's even better than Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are both in it, and if the trailers are any indication, the buzz is dead-on. If you liked Shaun, then I'm sure you'll love Hot Fuzz. That almost sounds like marketing copy. "If you see one film this year ... then you really need to see more movies."

Secondly, and even more esoteric -- Edgar Wright's trailer for Don't in Robert Rodriguez' and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse. There are four trailers altogether through the film, one before the feature rolls, and three in the middle, but the one that had everyone talking after the movie was over was Don't. Without spoiling anything for you, Don't is a perfect example of old trailers for foreign films that would come to theaters during the late 60s and 70s. Because they wouldn't want to reveal to audiences that it was a foreign film with accents (even British ones), the trailer would cut just before any of the characters would speak, and would be extremely heavy on narration from the announcer. Wright's trailer nails it, and is the funniest of the bunch. My advice, don't go to the bathroom between Planet Terror and Death Proof, or you'll miss out on a lot of fun stuff.

As much as I wished, I couldn't make it to the U.K. for the domestic opening of Edgar Wright's new action spoof, Hot Fuzz. Apparently the film didn't need me, though, as it earned an amazing $11.5 million in its first five days. It didn't break any records over there, but even if we only look at the film's weekend take -- $8.5 million -- it performed remarkably better than most films, imported or homegrown. The last movie to open to more money was Casino Royale, which made $25 million in its first weekend back in November (Borat also earned a tad more than Hot Fuzz in its debut two weeks earlier).

More important for Hot Fuzz is how much better it did than Wright's Shaun of the Dead, which opened in the U.K. to about $3 million and went on to gross only $12 million there in four months. This achievement shows how popular Shaun has become since its video release. Hopefully the same will prove true for American audiences when Hot Fuzz arrives here in two months. I doubt that it will open bigger than its April 20 competition (which includes The Nanny Diaries and Rogue), especially since it is only getting a limited bow, but there should be a lot of interest, nonetheless (I'll be seeing it a few times, I'm sure). It will be interesting to see how American critics respond, too. So far, with U.K. reviews in, the film has a 75% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, despite the fact that many of the positive blurbs appear to actually be slightly negative.

I guess it is fair that people in the U.K. will get to see Hot Fuzz beginning Wednesday -- usually the Brits have to wait a few months behind us for new Hollywood releases. But being fair doesn't make me wish it weren't true. I am really, really looking forward to this movie, as are many of us. It doesn't help that I keep getting teased by more and more promotional materials. Now, Empire has a new internet-only trailer up. I don't want to spoil the trailer for you, but I will say that the trailer won't spoil the movie for you. And yet it tells you all you need to know about the film. Here's what you need to know about the trailer, though: it was personally edited by Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright and it was scored by Robert Rodriguez (surprising, I know).

The only thing I'm getting worried about now is that the movie is being sold as -- and will actually be -- too much of a parody film. Shaun of the Dead was a comedic zombie movie more than a spoof of zombie movies, and I'd hope that Hot Fuzz could work more on its own than being an action counterpart to Scary Movie and others -- not that I could imagine it would be that humorless. The latest review, from the BBC, claims it isn't as good as Shaun but that it is hilarious and worth seeing more than once (it gets 4 stars, too). If your boyfriend or girlfriend loves Shaun of the Dead, spend the money and fly the two of you to England on Valentine's Day. Otherwise, try to wait with me until April 13.

You could say that the Cinematical team is excited about Hot Fuzz. But you would be making a terrible understatement. Erik and Scott are going to fight mano-a-mano for review privileges. Martha is probably re-watching all the Hot Fuzz video blogs on a daily basis as she counts down the days until April 13. As for me, I might actually need to fly to London next month for the earlier UK release date.

The major worry is that Hot Fuzz will not live up to the hype. After all, it is going to be pretty difficult for the movie to please all of us Shaun of the Dead fans. How many highly anticipated follow-ups have been met with disappointment? And how many have actually been as popular or more beloved than their predecessor? All we can do is try not to overdo it with our expectations and just try to enjoy the damn thing without any unreasonable demands.

Thankfully some early reviews are trickling onto the net, and so far they all seem to agree that if you like Shaun of the Dead, you'll also like Hot Fuzz. Only the first report, posted on Aint it Cool News last November, featured some slight criticisms, although the overall response there was great. Another person reacting from a more recent preview screening claims the movie will certainly be one of his top 10 of 2007 -- a strong claim from someone who also says he doesn't want to over-hype the thing.