Get ready to be shocked: "'Zombie Strippers' actually started as a joke," writer-director Jay Lee reveals in all earnestness. No, really? And, despite his apparently serious claims of being influenced by a 1950's French existentialist play, philosopher Albert Camus, and Noel Coward's 'Blythe Spirit', it's remained a joke. A bad one at that.

Set in a future where still-incumbent president George W. Bush is at war with the usual suspects plus France, Canada, Venezuela and Alaska, this trashy tale is supposedly a political satire. But really — and the title might just give it away — 'Zombie Strippers' is really just about boobs, blood and brains (to be eaten and splattered of course).

When one of the undead escapes from a top secret government research centre, he staggers into — where else? — an illegal strip club and, clearly not impressed by the silicone on offer, promptly takes a bite out of one of the entertainers. She's at first a little put out by the idea of being a walking corpse, but her audience certainly appreciates her newfound aggression on the stage and on their laps. They don't even mind being nibbled on…

But as the hordes of newly transformed men begin to fill out the club's basement and the rivalry between the dancers escalates into all-out flesh-ripping catfights, something's bound to go horribly wrong. And it does — it's called 'Zombie Strippers'. This was never going to be anything more than a cheap 'n nasty exploitation flick but the inept Lee has failed to deliver even that. The actors are simply too sincere, his attempts at black humour so forced that his low budget effort has none of the schlocky irony that made 'Planet Terror' such a tacky treat.

With pornstar — billed here as "worldwide media sensation" — Jenna Jameson gyrating and 'Nightmare On Elm Street' retiree Robert Englund overacting, 'Zombie Strippers' slowly works itself into a frenzy. But the only place you'll find this hot mess blowing its load is e.tv's Saturday late-night slot.