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.

Last week I saw the straightforwardly titled Zombie Strippers (which Scott told us about a few weeks back) and it has taken me this long to recover. Not because I was overly scared ... or stimulated. But I did really enjoy the thing, and I'm not exactly a fan of either horror or porn. So, how could I be entertained by a movie that features adult film star Jenna Jameson as a flesh-eating pole dancer? Well, I was pretty intoxicated. Unlike most press screenings, the one for Zombie Strippers began with a cocktail hour. And since I wasn't expecting to think much of the feature presentation, I properly indulged myself.

And what do you know? On alcohol, Zombie Strippers is a blast. It's a hilarious good time with as much gore and nudity as you'd expect and desire. But should I feel guilty that I unprofessionally got smashed beforehand? Of course not. I still consciously took notes (my full review is forthcoming), and I didn't get inappropriate and run up to the screen attempting to touch the dancers. And in this day and age, when more and more cinemas are serving alcohol, there's no reason why we can't have movies that require a certain state of mind.

Zombie Strippers opens in major cities April 18. While you wait for it, check out the gallery below and watch a clip from the film (via Bloody-Disgusting) after the jump.

Each of the trailers we're looking at this week are for a film with an element of the fantastic. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Fantastic Five.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
As excited as I was after seeing the teaser trailer, this new preview for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy sequel has me wanting to see the movie right now. There are tons of supernatural beasties on display here, making this kind of look like Pan's Labyrinth on steroids. We hear Abe Sapien talk, and I still miss David Hyde Pierce's voice, but I imagine once I'm in the thick of the film it won't be a problem. Here's what Eugene thought.

Paranormal Activity
The trailer is shown from the perspective of a home video camera, though I'm not sure how much of the film uses this first person perspective. The whole thing looks awesomely creepy. A woman believes she has been followed all her life by a supernatural entity, and her husband sets up his camcorder in hopes of proving or disproving the phenomenon. The idea seems kind of like The Blair Witch Project meets The Entity, and I'm anxious to see this one. The official website for this low budget scare flick carries some promising review excerpts, including one from Cinematical's own Kim Voynar, and you can read her full review right here.

A few months back I came across a rather amusing trailer for a flick called Zombie Strippers. (As if you'd need a trailer to convince you / dissuade you from seeing a movie with a title like "Zombie Strippers.") Written and directed by Jay "The Slaughter" Lee, the flick looked to be locked in for an exclusively digital debut. But get this! Beginning on April 18, you'll be able to see Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson share the screen with gooey go-go gore-girls in Zombie Strippers, provided you live in New York, Boston, L.A., Frisco, Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami or ... Madison, Wisconsin? OK then. (Atlanta, Seattle and Philly (woo!) will get their print on April 25.) And yes fellas, I did say "Jenna Jameson."

But the burning question remains: What is Zombie Strippers about? Well, according to an interview with Mr. Lee over at Horror-Movies.ca, it goes a little like this: "A corporation is developing a chemo-virus to re-animate soldiers killed in combat so they can keep on fighting. The tests prove dying and re-animating can make these soldiers fearless, and thus they become super-zombie soldiers. The virus gets loose in the lab, an elite squad comes in to clean it up, one gets bitten, runs and hides in a dark building that happens to be an illegal strip club." Boom. That's what you call high concept, as in someone was definitely high when they came up with the concept. Random trivia: Apparently the film called Zombie Strippers is loosely based on Eugene Ionesco's play Rhinoceros, but lots of zombie-merchants could also make that claim ... if they studied literature, that is.

Check out the whole interview over at HM.ca and/or check out Sony's official Zombie Strippers website right here. I just think it's hilariously awesome that Philadelphia's rather prestigious Ritz at the Bourse theather will be playing a Jenna Jameson movie called Zombie Strippers. I'll want a snapshot of that marquee. (Bonus: Zombie Strippers trailer ... after the jump!)