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John-John (Texas Battle) punches a zombie in Death Valley.

A zombie pimp and his vampire prostitute cause trouble for goofy cops in the debut episode of MTV’s horror comedy, Death Valley.

Yet another variation on the prime-time monster theme, the shaky-cam series, which premieres Monday, looks for gore-spattered laughs in its Cops-meets-The Walking Dead scenario: Supernatural creatures roam Los Angeles’ desolate suburban sprawl known as the San Fernando Valley.

Members of the LAPD’s laid-back Undead Task Force, accompanied by a reality-TV crew out to capture their exploits, hunt zombies, vampires and werewolves, though the cops working the monster beat seem more interested in digging into snack food than vanquishing the evil dead.

In the land of brush fires, earthquakes, rabid coyotes and catastrophic auditions, the Undead Task Force treats the monstrous infestation as just another run-of-the-mill Southern California disaster.

Werewolf sighting? Whatever.

The result is a horror-comedy blend that Death Valley showrunner Eric Weinberg calls “more rock ‘n’ roll” than hits like Walking Dead and True Blood.

“The approach has been, ‘Let’s go full tilt in both directions,’” showrunner Weinberg told The Hollywood Reporter. “In other words, when it’s horrific, let’s be horrific as much as we can do on TV at 10:30 p.m.; when it’s supposed to be comedic, let’s be funny. There are changes in tone as you go along from minute to minute and hopefully second to second when the tone shifts and catches you off-guard.”

Lecherous Capt. Dashall (played Bryan Callen) sets the tone in the first episode, lashing out at Glee during the squad’s daily meeting. “I hate that show!” he rants, apropos of nothing. He’s easily sidetracked, and the less-than-heroic approach to leadership sets up the potential for more idiot-in-charge humor as the series progresses.

Meanwhile, Undead Task Force cops nonchalantly blow away a blonde zombie and discuss their
favorite tacos even as the boom mike operator accompanying them on their patrol vomits at the sight of the splatter.

Nobody’s going to get nightmares watching the transparently staged action sequences. The violence looks like it was fun to film as a slightly more grown-up version of backyard kid play. When a doofus plunges the sound man’s boom stand through the belly of a vicious zombie, it’s hard to take seriously no matter how loudly the terrified TV crew members scream.

This is joke mayhem, played for cheap thrills. Though it falls short of gloriously stupid Cops parody Reno 911, Death Valley oozes the kind of low-budget charm that has made zombies so popular with DIY filmmakers who can’t afford fancy CGI effects.

The show appears to take its cues from the “How to Shoot Horror Flicks on a Shoestring” playbook:

1. Hire out-of-work actors and recruit friends with the promise that they won’t have to memorize any dialog beyond, “Arrrgghhhuumm!”

2. Smear zombie characters’ faces with mud and fake blood, then instruct them to race like rabid lab monkeys as fast as possible or lumber stiff-limbed in the direction of the nearest human flesh. For vampires, hand out plastic fangs and instruct the characters to act mysteriously sexy.

3. Plant exploding plastic packets of corn syrup colored with red dye on and around the scene of the crime.

4. Shout, “Action!”

Cast with smart actors who play dumb, the mildly amusing Death Valley ensemble includes Caity Lotz (Mad Men), Bryce Johnson (Sleeping Dogs Lie), Texas Battle (Final Destination 3, Dragonball), Charlie Sanders (Funny or Die’s The Big Dog) and Tania Raymonde (Lost).

Death Valley debuts Monday at 10:30 p.m./9:30 Central on MTV.