You can figure out some movies completely just by looking at their title. Featuring a formulaic and yet equally hilarious plot, Zombeavers is a horror comedy offering a lot of fun. It is not a movie so bad that it’s good although a lot of people thought that initially. I mean, if you don’t have a lot of experience with this subgenre you could easily make that mistake. Moreover, they clearly tried to ride that wave, initially started by Sharknado just one year earlier. I remember that a couple of friends recommended this movie to me back in the day but I kept avoiding it. It seemed too fake and commercial. So, some ten years later I decided to give it a chance.
And who do I see in the opening sequence, none other than Bill Burr! Yes, old Billy Lobstah is in this movie and he’s as funny as ever. So, we will be following three hot girls who will have to fight zombie beavers during their weekend getaway. Featuring a tasteful blend of graphic violence, nudity, and humor, Zombeavers is a fun time-killer. Especially if you’re a fan of zombie movies. Make no mistake, this is a stupid movie with stupid jokes and barely acceptable production values. However, they leaned into all of these things. You can clearly see they had a lot of fun on the set and this positive vibe seeped into the movie. It has that “spring break whoop whoop” quality.
The runtime is short, just 70 minutes, and the pacing is just right, making Zombeavers a great way to start your horror comedy movie night. And while the concept seemed quite outrageous and hilarious back in 2014, there are a lot of similar movies featuring killer animals. I think the best example is Black Sheep, although Thankskilling and Poultrygeist are just as good. These are all movies released in the 2000s but we can also go back to the 90s and 80s. Ticks, Mosquito, and The Nest (Cockroaches) are just some of them. And don’t get me started with the seventies and eighties.
Practically every animal was deadly back then with killer rabbits, frogs, ants, and even killer tomatoes. Zombeavers after exactly ten years also offers a healthy dose of nostalgia. Who knew that things would be so different in just ten years? So much stuff has happened globally and, I’m guessing, in our personal lives as well. Well, that’s how it goes in the city of Comp, I mean, Earth, in the city of Earth. Some of the practical effects were truly frightening showing that this could’ve been a much meaner movie. As the story escalates we also get a couple of effective scares. I also like how they didn’t rely on CGI too much.
The cast led by the beautiful and charismatic Cortney Palm (she plays Zoe) did a great job. I think it’s quite difficult to get the tone right in this type of movie but almost all of them nailed it. So, if you’re looking for a fun distraction, Zombeavers will do just fine. I watched it alone and had a lot of fun but I can only imagine how great it could’ve been with a couple of friends. Add a bit of alcohol and weed and you got yourself quite a party. And if the movie is too mainstream and commercial for ya, you can always go back 20 years and check out Evil Toons.
Finally, just in case you were wondering if this bizarre subgenre, killer animals horror comedy, is dead, ten years later, no, it is not. Ancient killer animals horror comedy theorists agree and point to 2023’s Slotherhouse as proof. Moreover, just two years earlier we had the pleasure of watching Crabs! So, it would appear that all we have to do is wait for more of these entertaining movies.
Director: Jordan Rubin
Writers: Al Kaplan, Jordan Rubin, Jon Kaplan
Cast: Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins, Hutch Dano, Jake Weary, Rex Linn, Peter Gilroy
Fun Facts: Giardia lamblia parasite is real and it caused a lot of problems back in the seventies. This is how we got “beaver fever” but the parasite is actually quite versatile and it couldn’t be tracked down to beavers specifically.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2784512/
