“Zombeavers” is a 2014 horror comedy film directed by Jordan Rubin. The film tells the story of a group of friends who want to spend a weekend in a remote cabin by a lake. But their getaway quickly turns into a nightmare when they are attacked by a horde of zombie-like beavers.
The appeal of “Zombeavers” lies above all in its absurd and crazy ideas. The film does not take itself too seriously and presents a bizarre mixture of zombie horror and biting humour. One of the crazy ideas is the fact that the beavers have been mutated by a chemical substance and have now become bloodthirsty monsters. The portrayal of these mutated beavers is both ridiculous and frightening, as they appear both cute and dangerous.
Another element of the film is the numerous clichés and stereotypes that are deliberately exaggerated. The characters are typical teenagers who find themselves in a secluded environment and have to fight for survival with the increasingly threatening beavers. There is the daredevil, the naive blonde, the shy outsider and the cunning leader. These stereotypes are taken to extremes in “Zombeavers” and make for many amusing moments.
The film also plays with the genre of animal horror films, in which animals become deadly enemies. In this case, it is the biting beavers that attack their victims and hunt them down in bloody fights. The staging of the beaver attacks is absurd and often contains elements of black humour. Some scenes may seem exaggerated and silly, but that is exactly part of the charm of “Zombeavers”.
