Zombeavers [Blu-Ray]
Director: Jordan Rubin
Cast: Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-Ray* (*A Best Buy Exclusive) & DVD (Everywhere)
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
Plot Summary:
ZOMBEAVERS is an action-packed horror/comedy in which a group of college kids staying at a riverside cabin are menaced by a swarm of deadly zombie beavers. A weekend of sex and debauchery soon turns gruesome as the beavers close in on the kids. Riding the line between scary, sexy and funny, the kids are soon fighting for their lives in a desperate attempt to fend off the hoard of beavers that attack them in and around their cabin.
When three college friends made their way to a remote cabin for the weekend, their main purpose was to help Jenn (Atkins) gain some clarity on what she should do about her boyfriend who she recently discovered a picture of online sharing an intimate moment with another woman. Unfortunately not all of the girls wanted to spend the weekend without their boyfriends though and thanks to a secret plan from one of them, the three guys arrive shortly after, including Jenn’s boyfriend. Just when things begin to get emotionally heated due to the sudden arrival of the guys, a number of local beavers with zombie like qualities begin attacking and the issue of the photo and their relationships will soon be the least of these kids’ worries as they are forced to fight for their life against a deadly horde of Zombeavers.
Jordan Rubin made his feature film directorial debut with ‘Zombeavers’ which he also co-wrote along with Al Kaplan and Jon Kaplan. Rubin does a more than capable job at the helm, clearing guiding the film along with ease and a very clear idea of just how he wants it done and he definitely doesn’t disappoint in the delivery. The cast is comprised of a number of lesser known individuals, although many genre fans may recognize at least a few of the faces, including Rachel Melvin (Dumb & Dumber To, TV’s Days of Our Lives), Cortney Palm (Sushi Girl, Zombie Night (2012)), Lexi Atkins (The Boy Next Door), Bill Burr (The Heat, TV’s Breaking Bad), Jake Weary (It Follows) and more, all of whom deliver pretty solid performances and accurately in sync with the films tone.
‘Zombeavers’ is intentionally goofy, incredibly funny, surprisingly gory, and just an overall dam good time. It perfectly captures that form of ridiculous in which the word becomes a compliment, a very thin line separates horrid and wonderful when it comes to ridiculousness and ‘Zombeavers’ easily hits right on the wonderful section, delivering a hilariously goofy good time from start to end. I would highly recommend all genre fans (and anyone who may have been hesitant due to the obvious goofiness) check it out, it’s definitely worth a watch and you’ll likely be quite pleased you decided to do so.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Zombeavers’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty decent as a whole. There is some mild video noise and minimal blurring, although this is more likely a result of the source and not the Blu-Ray release and both are rarely noticeable and in no way affect the overall experience of the film. Overall, this is quite a solid high definition video presentation that should please most fans of this fun little horror comedy.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack is sharp, clear and frequently loud, delivering in nearly every way. A few mild audio effects seemed to come from contradicting channels, but as a whole it’s a fairly active and incredibly fun soundtrack that immerses the viewer with the fun score and a number of varying surround effects including everything from nature elements to water splashing and more, while never causing any dialogue that might be occurring simultaneously to become negatively affected or distorted in any way. Overall, this is a fun and quite active 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that adds a great deal of fun to the overall experience of this surprisingly enjoyable movie.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Zombeavers’ includes a number of bonus goodies. Included on the Blu-Ray release is a ‘Cast & Crew Commentary’ along with a number of short Featurette’s including Behind the Scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, an inside look at the effects used and more. The included Featurette’s are: ‘Behind the Cameos Featuring Stephen Merchant, Bill Burr and John Mayer’ (approximately 4 minutes in length), ‘Behind the Scenes’ (1 minute), ‘Building A Beaver (at Creature Effects Inc)’ (2 minutes) and ‘Man Becomes Monster’ (1 minute). Also included on the release are ‘Cast Auditions’ (approximately 6 minutes in total), Storyboards and ‘Behind the Scenes Stills’. Lastly, we are treated to three different trailers for the movie: a ‘For Your Consideration’ Trailer, along with the US and International trailers.
