Corona Zombies

Corona Zombies is a 2020 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Band, and produced and distributed by Full Moon Features. The film stars Cody Renee Cameron, Russell Coker and Robin Sydney. It is the first installment of the Barbie & Kendra film series.

Corona Zombies was released digitally through Full Moon Features' website and app on April 10, 2020. Later that year, it was followed by three sequels also directed by Band, Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King, Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51 and Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob's Drive-in Jamboree with Cameron and Sydney reprising their roles.

Plot
Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film stars Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie, a woman who finds herself facing an outbreak of zombies infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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 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 called Corona Zombies "a hilarious satire of this whole pandemic", comparing it favorably to the 1966 film What's Up, Tiger Lily? and the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Sequels
Corona Zombies was followed by three sequels, Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King, Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51 and Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob's Drive-in Jamboree. Both sequels were directed by Band, star Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie and Robin Sydney as Kendra, and were released in 2020. Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob's Drive-in Jamboree released in 2024.