Zombie Women of Satan (2009)

Review by Sean Patterson



"Fuck off, you've just killed Damage! "No, Harmony, that wasn't Damage...oh yeah it was, yeah. Yeah we have killed him...but he had become a zombie!"

Most horror films use the opening credits as a chance to play moody music and set a tone that isn't carried through the whole movie. Zombie Women of Satan opens with a wonderfully silly montage. This perfectly sets the tone for a wholly silly movie, and it's a perfect example of what sets it apart from other, more lackluster independent horror fare.
The movie begins in two places: a club where the Flesh O'rama sideshow troop is performing for a small group of corset-clad groupies, and a dirty shed where an unaffected "scientist" is experimenting on an very attractive young woman.
These two scenes collide when the troop attends a taping of a small tv show somewhere in the country. The show is put on by a cult that traps sexy ladies and has them sit around in white lingerie. This choice of clothing is a perfect contrast for blood, and works especially well in the scene where the girls become zombified and begin biting each other and themselves. When this outbreak happens the performers are trapped behind the compound's electrified fences.
It turns out the "scientist," Henry Zander (Bill Fellows), is keeping the women so that he can experiment on them for some unknown, but presumably nefarious, purpose. Henry runs the cult with his disturbed family. I wouldn't dream of spoiling some of the most disturbing aspects, so I'll just say for now that there is a sex scene you won't forget which Henry films for his wife, who he keeps chained up. She is constantly begging Henry, "Fuck me!"
The troop is a motley band of highly entertaining characters. Purvo the clown (Warren Speed), with his black nose which he never takes off, is a highlight with his inappropriate perversions. In fact, the characters are the best part of the movie. The dialogue is quick, biting, and sarcastic. The acting is, thankfully, good enough to pull off these outlandish personalities.
There is a fine line between a movie not taking itself too seriously and trying to be funny. The movie walks it and, for the most part, doesn't fall off the edge. There are a few scatological jokes thrown in that don't seem to fit and fall flat.
Since the writing is otherwise so good, it's hard to explain why the story and plot don't work. Most of the movie is spent with people roaming the cult compound, being witty and staving off the occasional zombie attack. Although people are dying is large numbers, nobody seems to be taking the situation too seriously. It's never explained what the Zander family are trying to accomplish with their experiments.
But the movie isn't really about the zombie outbreak or why the strange family are running a sex cult/experimental subject farm. So, even though it doesn't make sense in total, it's completely satisfying and will leave you feeling teased and entertained.
As for the gore, there is plenty of thin blood flying everywhere and a few set pieces with enough fleshy carnage to please even the most fetishistic horror fan.
Zombie Women of Satan is amusing and gory...everything a good underground horror movie should be, complete with plenty of large, bloody tits for those who, like Purvo, enjoy that sort of thing.