Zero Boys

This review is for the Arrow DVD/Blu-ray.Boy, what to make of The Zero Boys. Action men go out to a cabin to have some fun with the ladies when they run into some creepy people who are into kinky torture stuff.Straight up, this movie will disappoint you in many ways, and it'll pleasantly surprise you in others. For slasher fans, there isn't a lot of gore, no nudity, and the classic slasher tropes aren't fully realized. Otherwise, there is nice suspense, some scenes of tension, and a lot of scenes that are unintentionally funny. It's a fun ride if you let it be, but the movie's climax falls short. That said, I've seen far worse middle of the pack slasher films. I'd take The Zero Boys over Evil Laugh or Girls Nite Out any day.Kelli Maroney is fantastic. I love her crazy hair and cute girl attitude. The Zero boys themselves are a bunch of machismo idiots. Joe Estevez makes a good bad guy with basically no lines and all facial leers.It's hard to peg down why I enjoyed this movie despite its glaring shortcomings. Probably because it's vintage slasher that'll never be properly replicated or happen again. It also hugs the line between action movie and slasher movie and doesn't fully commit to one or the other. Watch the trailer, and you'll know what I mean.I give it five stars because the extras, commentary, and interviews really bolster this release big time.

The following review was originally written for my site Mind of Tatlock. The product was provided for review.The Zero Boys:I was a little worried going into The Zero Boys when I saw that Nico Mastorakis was the director. If you read my review of Island of Death, which Nico Mastorakis also directed, you would understand why I was hesitant. Thankfully, though, The Zero Boys is in an entirely different league than Island of Death. We don’t have to worry about obscene perversion with this one. The Zero Boys is thankfully just your bona fide ‘80s suspense slasher. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect film. Speaking of perfect, though, Arrow Video once again delivers an incredible Blu-ray release, with a nice helping of special features is some solid video and audio. I may be sounding a little bias with them at this point, but they have yet to disappoint me. Anyway, if you want to know why The Zero Boys movie isn’t perfect, read on…Movie ReviewThe Zero Boys centers on a group of weekend warriors (paintball) out celebrating their recent victory at a survival games competition. While they are drinking up and having a good time, they hear a scream nearby and go to investigate. They happen upon a cabin in the woods, which looks to be abandoned. However, it turns out the inhabitants just happened to be busy elsewhere and when they come back to find these kids eating their porridge and sleeping in their beds, they soon get to work on terrorizing them. Unbeknownst to the killers (one being played by Martin Sheen’s brother Joe Estevez), the kids are packing heat and the skills to survive.The back of the Blu-ray for this Arrow Video release states that The Zero Boys is an “’80s classic with gruesome sequences that anticipate the torture porn horrors of Hostel and Saw.” I’m not entirely sure where they got that idea from, save for the possible hints at the killers having tortured previous victims and videotaped them. The Zero Boys to me felt very tame in comparison to the movies they are mentioning. I thought that the film was going to be riddled with blood and gore, but in actuality, it’s an almost entirely bloodless affair. As for the other staple of ‘80s classics, nudity, the film features not a drop of flesh. This comes down to Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet) refusing to do nudity unless she gets paid an additional $500, in which the director was not going to pay, so, alas we get nothing at all.Another issue I had with The Zero Boys is the lack of tension. It was rare that I felt any sort of fear or worry over our “victims” in this movie. Each member of the Zero Boys is entirely capable of standing up for themselves, with them being avid gun enthusiasts and bringing along semi-automatics by the truckload. The killers have knives and a bow and arrow, which they do occasionally end up getting the upper hand on the kids, but more often than not, the Zero Boys had hardly anything to fear. So, in order to bring some tension into the plot, they decided to have the women of the movie make some of the stupidest decisions possible. A few times the girls would wander off alone or stay behind, leaving themselves wide open for a kill strike. It makes no sense why these skilled people would ever think to be by themselves or leave the ladies alone given the circumstances, so when stuff like this happens it takes you completely out of the film. However, having said all that, there were times where some tension managed to creep into the film, especially during two scenes involving traps set up in the woods.I feel like I’m being overly harsh on this movie and I really don’t mean to be. I still really enjoyed the heck out of it. All the performances are better than your average slasher flick of the ‘80s. Also, I do enjoy the idea of a bunch of would-be victims taking the upper hand in a typical slasher scenario. In the words of director Nico Mastorakis, the film wonderfully cross-pollinates several different genres, mixing humor, suspense, horror and thriller. Also, I would be remiss in not mentioning the early works of musician Hans Zimmer on this movie. He provides a really fantastic score to go along with some of the more action-packed scenes.Blu-ray Opinion:Arrow Video releases The Zero Boys on a two disc set, one disc housing the movie on Blu-ray and the other on DVD. The film comes with several bonus features, with the highlight for me being the 27-minute interview with director Nico Mastorakis, who is actually interviewing himself in a rather humorous way. It provides plenty of information on the making of The Zero Boys. Other features include a commentary with star Kelli Maroney, moderated by Chris Alexander, an 8-minute interview with Kelli Maroney, who fondly remembers working with director Nico Mastorakis, even though he was the one who demanded nudity and she was having none of it. Another interview is with Nicole Rio, which also runs 8 minutes or so. There are two music videos featuring the works of Hans Zimmer, a still gallery, trailer and of course the usual booklet, which is always a nice treat.As for the audio and video side of things, the Blu-ray is looking fantastic, with only a few scenes with some noticeable dirt and debris present. The film takes place mainly at night and thankfully, the blacks are even with no noticeable crush. Audio fares just as well, with clear dialogue and Hans Zimmer’s fantastic score pounding through speakers wonderfully.Verdict:The Zero Boys failed to provide enough tension for my tastes, but it still doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. In fact, it’s a rather highly enjoyable flick, which mixed several genres together, succeeding more often than it failed. It provided a nice amount of action and a few scenes where I actually did feel afraid for the characters, even if a minute later the fear was gone. Fans of the movie are going to fall head over heels for this masterfully restored Blu-ray release, with a bunch of new features to dig into. This is one release that is an easy recommend for all fans of ‘80s goodness.

In 1979 a new Indianapolis pizza eatery was purchased by a local couple to provide the North-East side of Indy with great pizza, and as a venue for their musically talented child and his friends. The Pizza Castle hit the ground running with great shows that could be attended by the Under 21 crowd, as well as the over 21's. The Zero Boys - Live At The Pizza Castle was one of these shows. 30+ years later I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. And now I get to see it all over again with the purchase of this video. It was a great night of music and no dancing (lol) and the band's performance on this video is Classic. Paul Mahern is one of the greatest talents to spring from the Broadripple Night Clubs to national acclaim for his raw brand of punk music. The band was awesome. And they still are today. Thank you for releasing the sale of this timeless DVD on Amazon.com.

This a watchable recreation of the mind 80s and tells a complete suspense horror story. There are plot holes galore to make the story flow and some really bad assumptions and decisions by the protagonists and the bad guys. Thus that is why we have a story--even if it is really hard to believe. I find it really hard to believe a team who supposedly know how to work together, have automatic weapons, and a defensible position should not be destroyed to the extent they were by the supposedly backwards psychos. But, then again, The Zero Boys did decide to trespass and make themselves at home in the dragons lair so to speak and thus may have earned their outcomes. This is a slightly below average B movie that is still watchable for good scenery and a story line that does flow. And they even had to reload their firearms so there was some attention to detail.

If you've checked out the new Zero Boys release "Monkey", and I'm sure you have, you'll love this blast from the past circa 1981. The Zero Boys rip through 22 songs that will blow your socks off. Taped at the infamous Pizza Castle in Indianapolis, the ZB's show you how midwestern punk rock is done. All original members except for the bass player Tufty, who replaced John Mitchell. You will love the energy on this dvd, buy it and help carry the Punk Rock Torch!

Product arrived on time and as shown on picture. No concerns. Disc and inside of movie was intact and authentic.

80s fun

Though this product is on VHS, I received it in the original shrink wrap from MCA Universal. The seller explained everything perfectly, and the product arrived ahead of time. If given the chance, I will purchase other items from this seller.

Pelicula de accion y terror ochentera, imagen y sonido correcto

Cannot ask for a better purchase if enamoured by the eighties. Thumbs up for Arrow Video and Mastorakis’ genre-bending catalogue.

I loved this ridiculous movie and had my own copy on VHS back in the eighties.It tells the story of a group of champion paint ballers who go off into the woods with their girlfriends for a weekend of fun (sound familiar so far?) and discover a deserted house in the middle of nowhere.As most people would do, they break in and start making themselves at home, there's lots of beer in the fridge and a severed head in the freezer in case anyone gets hungry.Turns out the property is owned by a gang of snuff movie enthusiasts who have turned the barn into a torture chamber, but don't worry, our thirty - ish looking teenagers are packing Uzi machine guns and pistols (because they are paint ballers...right?).I won't go any further because that would spoil it but I was pleased to note that this is a longer version than the old VHS I had and this being a bluray release the picture quality was far superior, it was only in the darker segments of some of the scenes that the picture was a little grainy but with some not bad bonus material this disc was well worth it.

great movie worth watching would recommend it

Ich habe das Mediabook von The Zero Boys hier bei Amazon für einen schmalen Taler gekauft. Ich muss gestehen ich kannte den Film vorher nicht. Also bin ich ganz unbefangen ran an den Film. Der stammt aus dem Jahre 1986 was man auch gleich an den Frisuren und der Kleidung erkennt. Was dann kommt ist aus vielen bekannten Horror-/Gruselfilmen zusammengeklaut (allerdings mehr als billig). Irgendwie erinnerte mich die Location etwas an die Freitag Filme. Als ich dann das Booklet las kam auch raus das The Zero Boys an den gleichen Drehorten und Sets von "Und wieder ist Freitag der 13." gedreht wurde. Ist ja erstmal nichts schlechtes. Dann gehen die Peinlichkeiten allerdings los und jedes typische Horrorfilm Klischee wird bedient. Beispiel gefällig? Die Gruppe von jungen Leuten flieht im Wald vor den Psychopathen, dabei geht einem Mädchen der Schuh auf. Beim zubinden sagt sie zu den Anderen : "Geht schon vor, ich komme gleich nach." Der Anführer der Gruppe antwortet : "Ok aber lass dir nicht zu viel Zeit." Echt jetzt??? Dann scheinen sich die Psychopathen auch noch teleportieren zu können, denn sie tauchen an zwei Orten gleichzeitig auf. So geht es immer weiter....Wenn man darüber hinwegsehen kann wird man aber doch recht gut unterhalten.Das Mediabook mit der SPIO Fassung ist ein paar Sekunden länger als die FSK 16 Fassung. Allerdings muss ich sagen das selbst die SPIO Fassung sehr zahm und blutleer daher kommt. Da kam der erste Wrong Turn Teil mit der FSK 16 Freigabe wesentlich härter daher. Auch der Bodycount hält sich sehr in Grenzen.Als Extras bekommt man einen Audiokommentar von Darstellerin Kelli Maroney, Interview mit Regisseur Nico Mastorakis, zwei Musikvideos, Bildergalerie und drei Trailer.Das Booklet ist sehr informativ ausgefallen.