Review by Sue Finn
Directed by: Seve Schelenz
Starring: Wren Walker, Caz Odin Darko, Madison J Loos, Cameron Dent, Al Dales, Momona Komagata
It's the closing night of Blue Jean's (Wren Walker) strip club in small town USA, one last night of debauchery and partying before the regrettable sale to an A-grade a-hole. The mood is high, the dances outrageous and the bar is full. Into this heightened situation comes four excited Mexican workers who believe they've just stumbled upon a fortune in oil. Out to celebrate, they head for the strip club, bringing with them a strange ‘illness’ that may or may not be related to the viscous liquid they pulled from the earth earlier that day. Blue Jean, her secret admirer, bouncer Remy (Caz Odin Darko), son Logan (Madison J Loos) and her troupe of strippers must band together to stop the ‘zombies’ that soon infest the strip club. All the while utilities are shutting down, as the club is foreclosed at midnight.
Zombies and strippers are a combination we have seen before, and it's always trashy good fun. Does this live up to the previous attempts? Happily, yes it does. The mishmash of titillation, gore, humour and baseball (you read that right!) works here like a marriage made in heaven. Feeling like a C-grade Tarantino/Rodriguez cinematic love letter to exploitation cinema, it hits all the cheap and cheesy plot points you want it to and then some - this is a low-fi From Dusk Till Dawn.
A large portion of this film shows full striptease routines (not just a portion of the routines, the entirety of the routines) including one 'girl in a diaper' dance that has an ending I don't believe has been put on film before - crazy stuff... until you get to the talents of the aptly named 'thunder c#nt' and then that 'crazy' line is well crossed!
Acting by the major players is relatively good, with Walker in particular displaying strong leading lady skills, but some smaller roles are inhabited by actors who may have mainly been hired for their willingness to display their body parts.
This movie certainly celebrates the female form. Luckily the exploitative nature marries well with this style of cinema - schlocky horror featuring bars and boobs and gore - and it's balanced well with a kick ass heroine, so it sat just fine with me.
The assured direction by Seve Schelenz and the sharp script by Lisa DeVita concoct a look and sound that works well with the ideas and style of this particular type of horror.
Peelers isn't scary, but that doesn't seem to be the aim here; it's extremely entertaining and fun, the gore is imaginative and OTT, and the characters believable within the framework of this story. Even the potential romance is explored nicely, with a palpable history and mutual respect felt between Remy and Blue Jean – something not always conveyed so well in better-budgeted movies.
A tad long, it still manages to be entertaining throughout with enough surprises and OMG moments to keep you watching, but don't forget to stay for the after credits scene - it's a doozie!
Funky nipples, genre humour, baseball metaphors, gore galore and a strong female lead on a motorbike?
Hell yeah!
Peelers is on Netflix UK now.
"By turns thrilling and utterly gruelling, The 12th Man is nothing less than inspiring."— ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ.๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ (@themoviewaffler) May 7, 2019
THE 12TH MAN is on @NetflixUK now.
Read @filmclubchs's reviewhttps://t.co/8GiKyJuVLU pic.twitter.com/QuZZh7REmm