I recalled hearing about this movie in the past but never
having seen it. Don’t get me wrong, there wasn’t a lot of talk about it but now
I’ve learned that the film has developed a cult following among fans. It’s
amazing the number of films from the heyday of video stores that have begun to
develop die-hard fans like this one.
The film opens with a group of military clad college age
students fighting off another group that’s led by someone in full on Nazi gear.
We then discover that rather than walking into the latest post-apocalyptic film
of the week that these are weekend warrior types armed with paintball guns
rather than real weapons. Steve, the leader of the good guys here, made a bet
with Casey, the leader of the other team. The winner of this matchup gets to
take home Casey’s girlfriend Jamie (Kelli Maroney). An independent woman of the
times Jamie isn’t too keen on how she’s being treated but goes along anyone, in
search of something new to do.
Steve and his group, consisting of two other couples, head
to the country for a bit of fun in the country. When they hear screams and
Jamie thinks she sees a woman running through the trees they discover a cabin
in the woods. Checking to see if anyone is home they find the place deserted
and make the decision to hang out there.
After much beer and several jokes are played they discover
that a massacre has been taking place here and being filmed. Making the wise
decision to get away as fast as possible they discover that their vehicle has
been disabled and rush back to the house to take a defensive position. But as
the night moves forward several of them are attacked and killed prompting them
to try to get away once more. The Zero Boys will have to use all of the
survival skills they developed as paintball champs to handle this situation and
survive.
So plot wise there are a number of items here that make you
scratch your head and say “Really?” That Maroney would allow someone to treat
her as a trophy to be handed over to someone else is the first outlandish moment
on screen. Then you have the funny man in the group of friends who just isn’t
all that funny. Toss in the fact that when this group comes across someone
else’s cabin and decides to take advantage of it without a thought and you get
where I’m going with this.
And yet it all works. The movie is typical of films at the
time, those quickly pieced together action films that didn’t care about things
like deeper plot devices. Instead it concerned itself with combining a group of
attractive actors into a weird setting and having them bounce off action
sequences on them.
The movie also does a good job of combining several genres
of film here, predominantly the backwoods yokels horror films of the 80s. This
combination of what has been called DELIVERANCE or SOUTHERN COMFORT for teens
along with the horror genre and the teen flick genre pulls all of them together
in a story that while offering little depth does give you enough story to
remain involved with what is going on on the screen.
The movie also looks good for a low budget film from the 80s
with some solid lighting (a definite must have for a movie that mostly takes
place at night), decent cinematography and set designs that work well with the
story. The cabin looks fairly modern while the barn outside where the killing
goes on looks reasonably seasoned.
While all of the actors turn in standard performances it
will be the fans of Maroney that will want to make sure that they have this
movie in their collection. Always attractive she looks at her best here and
there is little doubt those fans will find her lacking. But besides that she
also gives a good performance as a character that could have been coy and
hiding but instead is willing to join in the fray when the time comes. Add to
that a special item of a recent interview with her and yes, those fans will be
pleased.
Arrow Video once more proves why they are a company to be
reckoned with when it comes to high quality releases of less than mega powered
studio films. Some companies might have released this with little fanfare of
loving care but not Arrow. The blu-ray offers a new 2K restoration approved by
director Nico Mastorakis as well as the original stereo audio. The extras
include an audio commentary tracks featuring Kelli Maroney moderated by Shock
Till You Drop’s Chris Alexander, an interview with director Mastorakis, that
new interview with Maroney, a new interview with actress Nicole Rio, the
original trailer, a stills gallery, a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork
and a fully illustrated booklet written by critic James Oliver.
Fans of the movie can rejoice at this quality release of the
film. If you’re not acquainted with it you may want to at least give it a
watch. It’s fun, it gives you what all horror/action films of the 80s promised
and it won’t induce nightmares.
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