The Zero Boys. Bit of an odd title for a slasher film. Yet, The Zero Boys isn’t a run of the mill slasher film from the late 1980s. Instead, it takes influence from Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game as much as it does from Friday The 13th. But does that make for a comfortable mix? Or are we in “what the fuck” territory? Well, read on to find out…
Synopsis:
Steve, Larry, and Rip are part of a paintball team known as “The Zero Boys”. After winning a paintball tournament, they decide to celebrate. When the trio and their girlfriends take a leisure trip into the mountains, they stumble upon the most gruesome massacre in history. Blood-chilling screams lead the group to a deserted cabin, where they gradually discover the horrors of the killings and the evil causing it. Now the Zero Boys, armed with real weapons of their own, must do what comes best – destroy the enemy.
(Taken from Wikipedia)
So, the set up is pretty standard for a slasher film. A group of young people, in an isolated location, who end up being stalked by a mostly unseen killer. Or killers in this case.
Analysis:
The Zero Boys synopsis reads like a standard slasher film set up. However, it adds a couple of twists to the formula. First off, the films antagonists appear to be making snuff films in the barn at the property the film takes place in. And secondly, their stalking and hunting of the group feels much more Deliverance like in it’s execution. I mean, a bunch of backwoods rednecks trying to pick off some city folks just because they have strayed into their turf?
This slightly odd amalgam of themes actually works pretty well. Whilst the film lacks the outright gruesomeness of most of it’s peers, there are still some disturbing moments, such as when the group have to watch one of their number be tortured via videolink. And the film has a surprisingly low on screen bodycount. Only 3 characters die when seen, and 1 extra is killed off-screen only for her corpse to appear.
In terms of it’s production, The Zero boys is a very competently made film. Clearly low budget, it still manages to look pretty damned good. The night shooting isn’t overly grainy for the most part, and the film benefits from being shot at the same location as Friday The 13th Part 3, so you know that the sets look good.
Buy The Zero Boys: Amazon UK
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