''Corona Zombies'' is a 2020 American
comedy horror film
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...
directed by
Charles Band
Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies.
Career
Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...
, and produced and distributed by
Full Moon Features
Full Moon Features is an American motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series '' Puppet Master'', ''Trancers'', and ''Subspecies'', as well as the film ''C ...
. Inspired by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the film stars Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie, a woman who finds herself facing an outbreak of
zombie
A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...
s infected by
coronavirus disease 2019
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
(COVID-19).
Alongside Cameron, the film stars Russell Coker and
Robin Sydney.
''Corona Zombies'' was released digitally through Full Moon Features' website and app on April 10, 2020. Later that year, it was followed by two sequels also directed by Band, ''Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King'' and ''Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51'', with Cameron and Sydney reprising their roles.
Cast
* Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie
* Russell Coker as Corona Zombie
*
Robin Sydney as Kendra
Production
''Corona Zombies'' was filmed over a period of 28 days.
The film consists primarily of
redubbed and repurposed footage from ''
Hell of the Living Dead'' and ''Zombies vs. Strippers'', as well as clips of real-world news footage.
Release
The film premiered digitally through Full Moon Features' website and app on April 10, 2020.
Reception
Stuart Heritage of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called the film "the sort of thing you'd watch drunk in your house at midnight. But then again, that's how you're going to watch all films for the foreseeable future, so it has to be worth a go."
''
The National''s Katy Gillett, in her review of the film, wrote: "If zombie movies are your thing, and you can acknowledge them as pure escapism that isn't to be taken seriously, then you're probably fine. If not, I'd skip it." Alan Ng of ''
Film Threat
''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
'' called ''Corona Zombies'' "a hilarious satire of this whole pandemic", comparing it favorably to the 1966 film ''
What's Up, Tiger Lily?
''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut.
Allen took a Japanese spy film, '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' (1965), and overdubbed it with completely or ...
'' and the television series ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''.
Accolades
Sequels
''Corona Zombies'' was followed by two sequels, ''Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King'' and ''Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51''.
Both sequels were directed by Band, star Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie and Robin Sydney as Kendra, and were released in 2020.
See also
*
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters have been closed, festivals have been c ...
*
''Corona'' (film)
*
''Coronavirus'' (india film) *
''Songbird'' * ''
The Covid Killer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
References
External links
*
*
{{Charles Band
2020 comedy horror films
2020 films
American comedy horror films
American zombie comedy films
Collage film
Films directed by Charles Band
Films about the COVID-19 pandemic
American satirical films
American exploitation films
2020s English-language films
2020s American films