Zoombies 2016 Hilariously Bad Horror Comedies

“Zoombies” is a 2016 movie that tries to combine zombies and animals but fails miserably. The movie is about a safari park that is infected by a virus that turns the animals into undead creatures. A group of park employees and visitors have to survive the onslaught of the Zoombies and find a way to escape.

The movies (yes there is more than one) are produced by The Asylum. The Asylum is a company known for making low-budget knockoffs of popular movies. The movie is clearly inspired by “Jurassic World” but with much worse effects, acting, and writing. The movie is full of cheesy dialogue, ridiculous plot holes, and laughable CGI. The animals look fake and unnatural, and the actors seem to have no idea how to react to them. The movie also tries to be funny, but the jokes are either too obvious or too cringy.

None of the Zoombies movies are scary at all, but they could be considered entertaining (if that’s your thing) in a so-bad-it’s-good way. The movie is full of unintentional humor and absurd situations that make it fun to watch with friends. These sorts of titles are a guilty pleasure for fans of bad movies and animal horror. The movie is a perfect example of how not to make a zombie movie.

Zoombies 2 Full Movie is on Amazon

The story for Zoombies and Zoombies 2 goes like this.

Rangers and poachers and zombies, oh my! Will anyone get out alive? As a ranger tries to form some cooperative force with the very poachers she hates, will they be able to save the world?

Will I be watching Zoombies 2? No.

Review Zoombies Full Movie

Where to begin? Even though Asylum and I don’t have a very good track record together, I was strangely drawn to the title and the picture on the poster. I like animals, I like zombies and zoos… who doesn’t like zoos? The small logo is similar to the one used in Jurassic Park and I decided to just go for it.

The Asylum? How Many Asylum Movies Are Good?

The Asylum distribution company has found phenomenal success with the Sharknado franchise but I am not one of the leagues of fans for this franchise. I did find Z Nation not too shabby and both Snakes on a Plane (2006) and The Hitchhiker (2007) to be both watchable and have some good moments. Overall though, they are the skit kings of the horror movie world. Take a horror movie spin it badly and see how many people like it. This has had them see some legal troubles here and there with Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and New Line Cinema all commencing action against the company. In the case of The Hobbit (2013), a restraining order stopped its release.

Opening scenes in Zoombies had me wondering why they spent money on bad CGI but I allayed that thought with recent articles I had been reading about animal cruelty in films. It made sense to use heavy-handed sloppy CGI in a movie about a zombie zoo. So when the virus-infected monkey is reanimated by a scientist quoting

“To hell with world safety protocols, I have to save this monkey!”

Quote from Zoombies movie

Was the Zoombies Movie Made Better By Its Cast?

And that’s when everything took a turn for the worse. The group comes across a gorilla enclosure, where the daughter of the facility joins them. She gets out and engages in sign language with the man in the gorilla suit, supposedly demonstrating their strong bond. Unfortunately, my initial excitement for Thea (LaLa Nestor) started to fade. The performances of Thea, Amber (Brianna Joy Chormer), and Lizzy (Ione Butler) failed to amuse me. I found myself thinking about other animated films for children that featured birds, mice, and rabbits, and I began to hold them in higher regard.

The editing of the scenes in Zoombies with zombie giraffes, raccoons, and other creatures was clearly separated from the actors’ attempts to fight them off or show fear. Guns were often fired in the wrong direction, and the characters’ feeble efforts to ward off the crazed giraffes lacked conviction and felt tired. Unfortunately, not even the cast of Zoombies could salvage this disaster.

Zombie Horror Comedy

There were a few standout performances in this movie, despite its overall quality. I want to give a special shout-out to Kaiwi Lyman (Daxton), Reuben Uy (Ty), and Tammy Klein (Chelsea) for their solid performances. While there were a couple more minor highlights, these three actors really stood out to me.

Surprisingly, Zoombies is not categorized as a comedy or a spoof, nor does it give any indication that it is meant to be enjoyed in a “so bad it’s good” way. It simply falls short. I watched it so that you don’t have to. I sincerely apologize if kitsch is your thing and if this happens to be one of your favorite Asylum flicks.

Zoombies movie is rated

1.5 CGI giraffes out of 5

Zoombies Cast

• Director: Glenn Miller (Sharknado 2 and 4, The Crooked Man 2016.)
• Writer: Scotty Mullen (Z Nation and upcoming The Last Sharknado 2018.)
• Zoombies movie cast: Ione Butler, Andrew Asper (Dear White People Volume 2), LaLa Nestor, Marcus Anderson (Bartender from Lucifer), and Kim Neilson.
• Release: May 2016 with an 87-minute runtime.