Zombeavers

Rarely as enjoyable as its title might’ve indicated, Zombeavers follows a group of friends as they arrive at a riverside cabin and are subsequently attacked by the title mutations. It’s clear immediately that filmmaker Jordan Rubin is going for a so-bad-it’s-good type of vibe, but, as becomes increasingly obvious, the movie’s surfeit of hopelessly incompetent elements drains the proceedings of anything resembling fun – with Zombeavers instead, for the majority of its padded-out running time, coming off as nothing less than a total chore to sit through. In addition to its amateurish performances and lack of compelling production values, Zombeavers suffers from an absolute dearth of engaging characters that (naturally) proves disastrous – as Rubin has infused each and every one of the movie’s protagonists with a one-dimensional, wholly stereotypical feel (which, in turn, makes it impossible to root for or sympathize with any of these people). And although some of the stuff involving the title creatures is agreeably silly – the puppets are as ridiculous and over-the-top as one might’ve hoped – Zombeavers‘ second half devolves into a series of hopelessly tedious sequences involving the surviving characters’ relentless arguing and ongoing efforts at extricating themselves from the situation. The end result is an absolutely abhorrent piece of work that seems to be trying way too hard to become a cult item, with the film’s massive failure confirming its place as a missed opportunity of epic proportions (ie given the title and the premise, this could and should have been a Tremors-like creature feature).

* out of ****