‘They won’t be walking for long’
Peelers is a 2016 Canadian horror film produced and directed by Sevé Schelenz (Skew) from a screenplay written by Lisa DeVita.
The movie stars Wren Walker, Caz Odin Darko (Killer Bash; Evil Exhumed), Madison J. Loos (The Tooth Fairy), Cameron Dent, Al Dales, and Momona Komagata (Gutterballs 2; Werewolves from Space).
The film’s press release promises that it: “destroys the clichéd stripper horror sub-genre by giving us a story packed with exciting twists, baseball, strippers of unusual talents and a strong female lead.”
What starts out as the last hurrah on the closing night of an infamous small-town strip club, quickly turns into a night of bloodshed when a crew of coal miners shows up and with them a deadly contaminant.
Former baseball player and current club owner, Blue Jean Douglas has decided to hand over her bar to a new owner and leave town for good. But Blue Jean’s plans are thwarted when she discovers the magnitude of the epidemic that has been unleashed.
With victims piling up, Blue Jean must step up to the plate to protect her family, her friends, and her bar before it’s too late and she loses everything she holds dear…
Reviews:
“It’s certainly a sharp change from Schelenz’s debut feature, Skew, a found footage film which relied on atmosphere for almost all of its impact. This is far less thoughtful – and doesn’t give a damn either, being more than happy to function as a pipeline for copious quantities of the three B’s beloved by Joe-Bob Briggs: blood, breasts and beasts.” Film Blitz
” …if you can make it past the top shelf advertising material, you’ll find a softer centre in Peelers. Quite apt for a film of that name that it should have so many layers and worth watching for any hardened horror fan who wants a good old fashioned fright flick with more action than scares.” BloodGuts UK Horror
Gore galore ensues, but the splatterfest is more a bi-product of the film’s crazy, go-for-broke attitude than its core ambition. Schelenz began his career in the comedy realm, and “Peelers” is best during its laugh-out-loud moments. And I don’t sling that term around lightly; there’s a sequence or two that caught me completely off-guard.” DC Filmdom
” …the film never takes itself too seriously (and it actually does milk its strip club settings for quite some jokes), but never drifts off into just being moronic. And a solid ensemble cast really up to their task, a directorial effort that does understand how to create tension and suspense, but also some quite visceral effects work make this one a really enjoyable genre flick.” Search My Trash
“Oddly enough, Peelers is a little slow out of the blocks, but it offers a few clever twists on the zombie genre, in accordance with the properties of oil. Obviously, Peelers is tailored-made for VOD, but most of the strip club business is played for American Pie-style laughs rather than erotic titillation (which is probably true of most strip clubs in the boondocks).” J.B. Spins
“The title, an analogy that applies to the heroines as well as the overtaken, is just as perfect. When integrated, the outcome is an assuredly crowd-pleasing tour de force; a blood-soaked and ceaselessly engrossing reminder of why I originally fell in love with the genus of tongue-in-cheek revulsion. For those with similar affinities, this will prove to be one of the best movies of the year.” A Word of Dreams
“Peelers is hardly the greatest or the most original horror film ever made, but with a fairly short run time and some joyfully silly moments, this is one of those films best watched with your friends cracking jokes. Check it out if you’re curious, but prepared to sit through non-stop topless dancing and surprise urinations.” Flickering Myth
“The moral message and more core are absent, unless you find the tried-and-true greedy corporatist interesting. Interactions between characters are often eye-rollingly blasé, or poorly set-up. Meanwhile, the film struggles to find a reason for being; it is rarely entertaining and definitely not informative.” 28 Days Later Analysis
“Peelers isn’t the best thing since sliced-zombie flesh (or infected flesh – pardon me), but it is a whole heckuva lot of fun and surprisingly contains some very good performances.” Horrorfreak News
” …it is a well made zombie film with a difference but there were parts I wish had been better, such as the script, the desire it had to show as many strippers as possible, and the overall sense of familiarity in what happens. This certainly has its moments, and is worth watching for the zombie make-up.” The Rotting Zombie
“It’s especially refreshing that the girls are not lazy stereotype bimbo strippers, they’re solid characters with personalities and intelligence. Once the killing starts the film delivers the goods. There’s some bad CGI blood spray but most of the effects are not only solid but pretty creative. A three-way killing in the VIP room involving decapitations and a lap dance made my jaw drop.” Voices from the Balcony
Release:
Peelers was released on DVD and Blu-ray July 4, 2017 by Uncork’d Entertainment.
DVD extras:
Deleted Scenes (2:30)
“Getting A-Head” (10:03)
Gag Reel (4:00)
Behind The Scenes (13:18)
Script To Scene (3:48)
Teaser Trailer (0:45)
Theatrical Trailer (1:48)
Digital Comic Link to Website
Commentary x 1 – Director/Writer
Total = 36:12
Blu-ray extras:
All the above, plus…
“Special Effects” (10:55)
Behind The Scenes Part 2 (15:48)
Festival Intro (0:45)
Additional Commentary x 1 – Actors/Director
