Zone Troopers

7 1/2 out of 10

I was scanning some titles at a local video store when I happened upon a bizarre little film called Zone Troopers. A group of American soldiers in WW II stuck behind enemy lines, run across a crashed alien spacecraft. The box art looked promising, but my expectations were low. Surprise! This movie was actually entertaining. Sure there were some gaping plot holes, the script wasn't exactly academy award material, and the alien costume left a little to be desired, but I had no trouble getting into this film. It never got boring, I even became attached to a few of the characters. This won't top anyone's movie list, but it's definitely worth a watch. For Full Moon fans out there you'll be happy to know that Tim Thomerson, the "Dollman" himself, acts as the Sarge in Zone Troopers, easily my favorite character of the bunch.

Why are some people reviewing Zone Troppers as if the makers had intended to make a serious sci-fi film? This movie was intended as a satire of both alien invasion flicks and cliched World War II movies. While not all the jokes worked, I found the movie throughly enjoyable, and so did several friends who watched it with me at a later date. Band's Empire Pictures did indeed make some real clunkers. But this is no clunker. This movie reunites most of the cast of the earlier Charles Band production "Trancers." That movie was also a satire, though Band's direction was so flat it was hard to tell. Danny Bilson, who directed Zone Troopers, seems to understand the spirit of fun much better. Some of the movie's best bits have been mentioned by other posters, but I would add the beginning sequence when the young Lieutenant rashly runs over the hill thinking reinforcements have arrived, and is machine gunned by the Germans. "Damn green kid," Thomerson (as the tough as nails NCO) mutters, in perfect deadpan echo of hundreds of B war movies of the late forties and early fifties. And did anyone catch the "Buy War Bonds" tag at the end of the credits? How about the fact that the first shot morphs from the cover of a comic book Mittens (Art Lefleur) is reading? That should have served as a hint of the filmmakers' intentions. This movie is a hoot, and was intended that way. I have never seen Bilson's follow up, the Wrong Guys--equally low rated by most posters. But based on Zone Troopers, I sensed he might have the talent to go a long way. However, it appears he was only able to find a career in TV.

Set in World War II somewhere in Italy, Sgt. Stone (Tim Thomerson), Joey Verona (Timothy Van Patten), George "Mittens" Minnesnski (Art LaFleur), and civilian journalist Charlie Dolan (Biff Manard) are the only survivors of their unit after being ambushed in a Nazi attack. Now stuck 10 miles behind enemy lines the group attempts to make their way home, but soon come across artifacts that are extraterrestrial in origin that cause the group to run into the Nazi's elite troops.

Zone Troopers is 1985 sci-fi/war film that along with Trancers was one of the earlier projects for noted writing team Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo who between them are responsible for the 90s The Flash tv series and the cult Disney adventure film The Rocketeer. Made by noted B-movie makers Charles Band Productions, the movie features all the charm you can expect from one of Band's high concept low-budget productions that isn't afraid to be anymore than what it is and for my money that's pretty enjoyable.

Much like how Bilson and De Meo embraced the comic book tone in their works such as the 90s The Flash TV show or The Rocketeer, Zone Troopers feels like the kind of story that wouldn't be too out of place in an anthology comics magazine like Tales to Astonish or the like. The core group consisting of Tim Thomerson, Timothy Van Patten, Art Lafleur, and Biff Manard make for a likable set of characters even if maybe they're not given as much development as they could've been. The movie does feel undeniably like a lower budget film with the Italian countryside in the film mostly consisting of the woods, a meadow, or the occasional building but there's significantly less hardware (tanks, vehicles, etc.) than you typically expect from this kind of movie so it is noticeable. But while Zone Troopers may not have the money of larger budgeted productions, there's a level of joyful innocence to the movie that feels like a mixture of the Humphrey Bogart film Sahara with a mixture of E. T. with the alien elements nicely silly and endearing.

Zone Troopers gives you exactly what you want from a movie like this and that's all you can reasonably ask for it. With committed performances, a playfully silly tone, and a high concept that it embraces to its fullest ability this is the kind of B-movie that makes up for in heart what it lacks in resources.

Considering the budget, this isn't a bad film. Compared to movies in general, however, it comes up a little short. I always enjoy seeing Tim Thomerson on the screen, and the story is likable enough, but all things considered, it just didn't do anything for me. There was the occasional laugh, perhaps a touch of drama, and some decent action, but really there was nothing to make this film stand out, and as a result, there is no reason for me to recommend this film to anyone else.

A group of American soldiers end up deep behind enemy lines in Italy during WWII. They're flabbergasted when they encounter some honest-to-God aliens and alien artifacts in the woods. The aliens are hard to read at first, not seeming to be on either side. Our heroes consist of the growling Sarge (Tim Thomerson) who clearly has as many lives as a cat, the earnest Joey (Timothy Van Patten), who digs pulp sci-fi magazines of the era, a corporal nicknamed "Mittens" (Art La Fleur), and war correspondent Dolan (Biff Manard).

You know you're in for a good time when Hitler himself (Alviero Martin) shows up, basically so he can get decked in the face by Mittens. The actors are all very engaging and entertaining, especially the always amusing Thomerson, and "Class of 1984" villain Van Patten, who believes that the aliens must be from Mars. Granted, the characters sometimes do reckless and stupid things, but in a lark like this, that's not as much of an issue as it might ordinarily be. Co-writer / debuting director Danny Bilson maintains a fairly breezy tone, occasionally getting serious but never too, too serious. He and his co-writer Paul De Meo (their other credits include "Trancers" and "The Wrong Guys") have no pretensions about what kind of movie they're making, which helps. It's just amiable, straightforward, goofy fun.

Visual effects are kept to a minimum, but the sets and props are nicely done, and the creature makeup (by John Carl Buechler and his team) is pretty good. A Charles Band production (his first to be filmed in Italy), it features a solid music score by Bands' brother Richard, and makes good use of the classic tune "In the Mood".

It's hard not to have a smile on ones' face while watching this.

Seven out of 10.