The Bruce LaBruce film is about an alien zombie who roams the streets of Los Angeles in search of dead bodies and gay sex, an activity that reveals a gift of ''shagging'' the deceased back to life. It has full-frontal nude scenes and zombies with prosthetic cucumber-shaped penises. Starring French porn star Francois Sagat, it features wound penetration and implied sex with corpses.

It was given an R18 rating by the Classification Office, with the warning it includes "horror, violence, sex scenes and content that may disturb".

The Secretary of Internal Affairs has granted the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards (SPCS) leave to apply for a review of the decision, which will happen on 3 June, just three days before the film is due to show at the Auckland leg of Out Takes at Rialto in Newmarket.

Out Takes says SPCS has also applied for an interim restriction order that would block it from screening LA Zombie, despite the fact the decision to give it an R18 rating is going to be reviewed anyway.

Reel Queer Incorporated, the non-profit community group that presents Out Takes, will be making a submission to the Board of Review in support of the censor's classification of LA Zombie.