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.
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Coventry29 January 2004
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paul_haakonsen21 August 2022When 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. -
mhorg20188 July 2018In WW2, a group of lost US Soldiers, led by the great Tim Thompson, finds a lost alien. A shapeshifter, the creature is also sought by the Nazis. A fun movie with a lot of goofs in it, it's still worth watching.
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schoppy722 July 2002"Butt me Mittens" I loved this movie. Mittens woke up from his beating and gave Hitler one right in the kisser. It was cool. I love movies that are just plain fun. Don't over analyze this movie, just take it for what it is. Fun entertainment! Recommended schoppy7
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Leofwine_draca3 January 2019ZONE TROOPERS is an oddball little flick from Charles Band's Empire Pictures, concerning a squad of American soldiers in Germany fighting the Nazis during WW2. Straightforward enough, you might think, but when an alien is randomly introduced into the story things get weird and very cheesy. The alien is straight out of a kid's film but elsewhere the film offers the usual war violence and nihilism, so it's an odd and not entirely successful mix for sure. The presence of likeable stars including Tim Thomerson and Art LaFleur help with the viewing potential, however.
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Or why didn't someone with a larger film budget? Because this whole movie is a lot of fun. I just wish the special effects had been a little better. I'm sure that crashed spaceship mockup did cost them a pretty penny though.
The cheesiness of the low budget, reflected in the alien costumes and minimal military paraphenelia is about the only bad thing I found in this genre effort. Badmouthing this film is like kicking a friendly puppy. The writing was great, the acting was much better than it had any right to be, and even the directing was absolutely appropriate.
Yes, it is not realistic in the slightest. Yes, it is a version of World War 2 based not on the actual war, but based on other cheap movies about the War. And then it throws crash-landed aliens into the mix. But that just makes it so much more fun.
There's a standard low budget WW2 movie setup: ragtag group of GIs is caught behind German lines and has to fight their way out. Luckily, this is in Italy so the Germans are a little ways out on the end of their supply lines as well. We get all the standard war movie clichés: the gruff Sarge who can't die (Tim Thomerson), the comic relief kid from Brooklyn with his pulp magazines, the green Lieutenant just out of training school, the grizzled Corporal who's been through hell and high water with The Sarge (the Tom Sizemore role, here Art LaFleur) and the hard-bitten, cynical reporter/photographer who tags along.
Into this "haven't we seen this before a FEW times" setup comes strange goings-on in the form of a crash landed alien spaceship. And that, kids, is where things get interesting and fun. Things just get more ridiculous from there, with a blown-up spaceship, magical alien gizmos that make Rita Hayworth appear, and even a cameo appearance from Der Furher himself, just so one of the heroes can punch him right in the face. That's entertainment.
Do check out Zone Troopers, but make sure your tongue is planted firmly in cheek, as they say. -
Tito-85 February 1999Considering 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.
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kzintichmee28 February 2006This movie was pretty much a hoot. Being a fan of WWII and Science Fiction films it had everything a growing boy needs. Charles Band and his company have a good track record turning out good cheesy fun. Tim Thomerson is "Sarge" the battle hardened vet with the tommygun. His character may have been inspired by Lee Marvin's in "The Big Red One" because they both are evidently impossible to kill. It struck me funny that the guy blew himself up,(along with a Nazi) but when he reappears at the end of the film his buddies take it as granted. The young punk kid is the only person with a clue to what's happening because he reads comic books, (see,I told you Mom) A spacecraft crashlands in Italy and the sole survivor is captured by the Wehrmacht. It is important enough that ol' Hitler hisself comes down to take a look and gets punched in the face by one of our boys that was captured. Well, Dogfaces team up with Bugeyes and proceed to kick a little Kraut behind with some nifty rayguns. Some waxy looking dudes who look kind of human show up to rescue the bugeyed alien. Were they the same species? I don't know. The dialog was fairly spot on and the weapons looked authentic. There was a very weird looking German tank that shows up. I'm sure it was homemade. All in all a pretty entertaining film.
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planktonrules23 July 2012For some reason, IMDb does not list the estimated cost to make this film--something that they almost always give for each film. However, it doesn't take a genius to see that this film was done on the cheap--sort of like an Ed Wood or Roger Corman flick. You've only got a very small number of actors fighting for the Germans and Americans--even though it's supposed to be WWII (and this was a relatively large tiff). The acting is also only fair and the film didn't seem to go anywhere despite an interesting idea. Here's the idea--American and German soldiers are killing each other when, out of the blue, an alien lands! Now the idea of aliens disrupting WWII is a great idea and the writer Harry Turtledove did a wonderful series of alternative histories based on the premise. But in Turtledove's case, there are LOTS of aliens and lots of action, whereas in "Zone Troopers" they obviously had no budget, so you only get the bare minimum of everything. An interesting idea but nothing more.
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Hey_Sweden16 August 2015A 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. -
kinnygraham21 April 2001Speaking as somebody who likes science fiction, fantasy etc etc this has to be one of the worst movies I ever had the misfortune to see. I can't remember too much bout the plot, but I do remember awful acting and even worse special effects. It was on as a supporting feature with 'Troll'. So serves me right I guess.
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Jennel217 December 2001Why 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.
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gavin694229 November 2012In Italy, during World War II some American soldiers find an alien UFO.
We have the usual Empire crew here, with Charlie Band taking the lead. With him are Debra Dion, John Carl Buechler, Tim Thomerson and even Ted Nicoleau. The production was done in Italy with dozens of Italian crew members. Oh, Empire, you really knew how to make a good movie!
Directing this lost gem is Danny Bilson (who co-wrote it with his long-time writing partner Paul DeMeo), who Empire fans will know for "Trancers", others might know for "The Rocketeer", and those who do not know him may be more familiar with his daughter Rachel Bilson ("The O.C.").
Richard Band's score seems to blatantly rip off the "Imperial March" from "Star Wars", which seems all too appropriate (I mean, you know, Nazi soldiers were called storm troopers). Is it better than ripping off the theme from "Psycho" for "Re-Animator"? Maybe... maybe not. -
bensonmum217 July 2019The quick pitch: In the midst of WWII, the Nazis and Allies find something else to fight over - a crashed alien craft.
Ever wondered what would have happened if aliens had crashed in the middle of a WWII battlefield? Yeah, me neither. Zone Troopers takes this lame idea and sucks the life out of it. The script is horribly dull, the direction is flat, and the acting is poor. My biggest complaint though is that Zone Troopers is so cheap looking. I wasn't expecting much from the aliens (and the FX didn't disappoint), but I hoped for more from the battle scenes. Instead of battle-hardend soldiers, these guys reminded me of yokels playing paintball out in the woods. The googly-eyed alien comes of looking not-half-bad in comparison.
My "favorite" bit had to be the American soldier punching HItler. How stupid was that?
3/10 -
dukeakasmudge20 May 2017Zone Troopers is a movie that I'm glad I got to watch but that's about it.Watching it once was enough for me.The entire time I was thinking I'd like to see the aliens fighting along side the Americans against the Nazis & it does happen but when it does, there's less than 10 minutes left in the movie so it was like when you wait awhile for something to happen, only to think after it's over, I wasted all this time, just for that??? The aliens lazer guns, ray guns, whatever you want to call them were weak looking.When they shot them at the Germans & the Germans vanished into thin air, it was weak as well.I don't know what I was expecting but even for a low budget movie I expected something better.Not all of the movie was bad though.There were a lot of times where I either laughed out loud or chuckled.I didn't HATE Zone Troopers but I wasn't all that into it as much as I expected to be either.When I read the description I thought this movie is going to be AWESOME & after watching it, I'm just sitting here like....... It did have a 1950's Sci Fi vibe to it for a movie made in the 80's which I think was pretty cool (Maybe that's why the lazer/ray guns effects were so weak.It was done on purpose to give it that 50's Sci Fi effect.I might have to give it a 2nd look someday) Even though I wasn't all that into it, I'd recommend checking it out if you were thinking about watching it.It's worth checking out at least once
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IonicBreezeMachine15 December 2022Set 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. -
skampster23 March 2019This movie is about as original as a German Shepherd named Fritz. Yeah, they used that Didn't expect to see a alien spaceship with chicken wire on the exhaust, though
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parkerbcn1 July 2021Another easily enjoyed Empire/Charles Band production from the 80s with all his usual suspects in the crew, but with some surprises; like the fact that even when this is a Sci-Fi comedy, it's also a war film (a genre usually not touched by Empire). Written by the duo of Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo, responsible for some other classics for the company during the 80s and with an excellent alien design by the great John Carl Buechler (that I wish it would have had more screen time), it delivers the usual Empire fun for which it's so fondly remembered.
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BandSAboutMovies4 July 2018In Italy, an American military patrol discovers a crashed spaceship and its alien crew. It also finds itself up against a Nazi flank packed with soldiers and tanks. Also: Hitler gets punched in the face.
Written by Paul De Meo (Eliminators) and directed by Danny Bilson (who also wrote The Rocketeer), this is a film long on humor and crazy ideas but short on plot. If you like Trancers, well, you'll like this as it shares a lot of the same actors. Tim Thomerson is great as the near-mythic Sarge, a man who never dies no matter how many times he's shot. If you've ever read Sergeant Rock, he'll seem pretty familiar.
If Empire Pictures was around today, they'd be talking about a shared universe where characters from ReAnimator would battle Jack Deth from Trancers and The Dungeonmaster. Oh man - don't forget RoboJox, Dolls, The Eliminators and Klaus Kinski from Crawlspace! -
An interesting flick from the 1980's that I am sorry to say I only watched for the first time today. I distinctly remember the cover art and recall seeing the VHS case several times while scanning the titles at my local rental stores over the years. I just never took the time to rent the film; always choosing some other flick - some good (Critters, Fright Night, Return of the Living Dead), and some not so good (Creepshow 2, Terrorvision, Spookies).
A unique sequence of events led to me watching this film. A violent electrical storm hit early this morning and I was awoken to the sound of our dogs barking their heads off. I found myself unable to fall back asleep afterward so I decided to watch a bit of TV. I started scanning the guide and I happened to run across "Zone Troopers" on a local station and decided to finally watch it, and boy was I surprised. The movie was actually entertaining and I felt kinda bad for not giving it a chance years ago. Although the story is as far fetched as they come and the believability factor scores an 0.01 out of 100, I still found myself entertained and quite amused. 'Zone Troopers' is a solid 1980's Sci-Fi offering and is definitely worth the 1 and 1/2 hours it takes to watch it. -
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. -
jellopuke21 October 2019The first 2/3rds of this are great, but it loses a little steam at the end. You can tell the lack of budget hurt their ideas for a finale and the aliens are so low rent that it hurts the movie, but the rest was a great WWII action/comedy/adventure that moved along well. Crazy to think that this same team went on to the ROCKETEER!
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NoDakTatum8 October 2023This sci-fi/war film is a perfect example of the word "average." This is average in every way. Tim Thomerson is The Sarge, in charge of a squad during WWII in Europe. His men are ambushed and only three others survive: Joey (Timothy Van Patten), Mittens (Art LaFleur), and Dolan (Biff Manard). Joey is an aw-shuckser who reads pulp sci-fi comics. Mittens is the tough corporal, and Dolan is the combat reporter. The group knows they are behind enemy lines, but they do not know where because all of their compasses are out of whack, due to some strange happenings in the nearby forest. Mittens and Dolan are captured by the Nazis and discover an alien as their fellow prisoner. At the same time, The Sarge and Joey stumble upon a crashed space ship. The Sarge destroys the craft, they rescue their comrades, and the five now try to get the alien home.
The film is less than an hour and a half, but it still feels padded by about twenty minutes. The alien they find looks nothing like its rescuers, which made me think they were going to drag in a subplot about warring alien sides as well- no such luck. The four leads are immensely likable, and you find yourself cheering for them. The film makers take themselves a little too seriously, but make up for it with the cast and very good filming locations. A special mention about the special effects: they suck. The creature effects are awful, as are anything involving the aliens' weapons, which deteriorate down to weak, glowing animation. The only impressive effect comes from the set department, who build a huge crashed space ship that looks big and is totally convincing. Also, listen for Richard Band's musical score, which sounds suspiciously like a few bars from the themes in "Star Wars." "Zone Troopers" is a harmless, goofy film that has a good cast and a good idea, but no way to make this really outstanding. Close, but no edible Lucky Strike cigarette (the alien eats tobacco for food), and I do not recommend this film. -
FlashCallahan9 October 2011When their platoon is attacked only The Sarge, Joey, Mittens, Dolan remain.
When they're lost behind enemy lines, Joey thinks he's seen alien in the clear blue moonlight.
The next morning, Joey has been unable to convince his friends of what he saw.
Mittens and Dolan (thinking the creature was actually a deer) go on a hunt to find food, but they find a seemingly abandoned Nazi camp containing images and studies of a mysterious space craft in the deep forest, sadly they're captured before warning the others.
As this happens, The Sarge and Joey discover the UFO themselves along with an alien creature following their every move...
Any film with Dollman in is worth watching, but this takes a while to get going. Having heard it was a cult classic in some circles, I was getting ready for some camp lines and cheesy set pieces.
For the first half an hour, it's an all out war movie, with the same action scenes and characters you would expect from any carbon copy war movie. It's comical in this first sequence though because Th e Sargein one instance shoots a platoon of Germans and they all fall over at the same time.
Just when tedium sets in, it goes from generic to plain bizarre. The crew befriend the six foot cigarette eating grasshopper, and before you know it, extras from space 1999 arrive on the scene with cool ray guns and even cooler translators.
The performances are what you would expect from a film like this, and you can forgive the dire editing and effects. Thomerson is as gruff as usual and the final sequence will have you laughing at the unintentional hilarity. -
dsparkes2 June 2006I am a big fan of Tim Thomerson and apart from the Trancers films, this one has to be my favourite.I think the humour is great and the four Gi's work together brilliantly.I know there is some cheesy acting in it, but this adds to the charm of the movie.I felt sorry for Mittens,I don't think he had his cigarettes for very long 'Butt me Mittens'. Somestimes B-movie films like this are far better then high budget blockbusters.Anyone could make a movie on a high 00000000 figure sum,but to make a great film with 600000 dollars well, class hay!If you are a fan of ww2 and si-fi movies as well as dry humour then this is one for you.If you like this movie you should also check out the Trancers films,I finally managed to track down the movie poster for this BRILL. When are they going to release Zone troopers on DVD?