Patrulla extraterrestre

When I sat down to watch the 1985 movie "Zone Troopers", I must admit that I was expecting nothing really, because the synopsis sounded really corny, and the movie's cover was very low budget. But I opted to sit down and watch what writers Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo had to offer with this 1985 sci-fi action adventure, as I hadn't already seen it.

Needless to say that I had never even heard about this movie from director Danny Bilson as I stumbled upon it here in 2022. But I have to admit that director Danny Bilson delivered a surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable movie here. I was genuinely entertained by how this movie turned out.

The storyline was actually nicely written and entertaining, and it was enjoyable from beginning to end. Especially so as the story mingled classic World War II action with sci-fi in a good manner. And I will say that the World War II elements were really great, and it was such a pleasure to experience the German soldiers actually speak German, and not just English with a thickly added accent.

The acting performances in the movie were good, with the likes of Tim Thomerson, Timothy Van Patten and Art LaFleur on the cast list.

Visually then "Zone Troopers" was okay. The costume and props department did good jobs in bringing the American and German soldiers to life. And the alien creature design was actually also pretty good. Sure, the special effects were somewhat outdated, but it fit the movie well enough.

I can actually warmly recommend "Zone Troopers", because it is a good movie.

My rating of "Zone Troopers" lands on a six out of ten stars.

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.

When watching certain movies, you just know from the very first minute that you're about to have a great time. Zone Troopers is like that…the film opens with the credits while a golden oldie song is playing (I believe it's called ‘In the Mood'…) and the right light-hearted atmosphere is set immediately. Of course, I can't give too much praising and recommendation, but I certainly enjoyed my viewing. It reminded me about the silly and funny quickies from the 60's. Like Roger Corman used to make ‘em! (Little Shop of Horrors, The Raven). It's a pleasant mixture of comedy, war and Sci-Fi, but comedy definitely gets the overhand. Four surviving members of a platoon in WWII are stuck behind German enemy lines and they discover a crashed space ship. They rescue the funny looking alien from Nazi-experiments and continue their battle along with the invaders. The script is filled with hilarious sequences and one-liners. The absolute highlight is Art LaFleur hitting Hitler himself in the face after nearly being recovered from a beating he took himself!! Furthermore, the make-up and visual effects are really cheesy and silly but that only makes the whole thing even funnier. The aliens (their origin is never revealed, but they're considered to be Martians) look like an inferior breeding of Ewoks and they make adorable yummy-noises. Zone Troopers surely gets my recommendation if you're looking for 90 minutes of pure, brainless fun. It's a nice (and even necessary change) from all those so-called Sci-Fi classics that take themselves way too serious anyway.

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.