THE ZERO BOYS is a typical and average slasher film of the 1980s which just so happens to be directed by Nico Mastorakis, the Greek director responsible for the notorious ISLAND OF DEATH. It suffers a great deal from having an extremely average script which fails to offer up any decent characterisation and instead goes through the motions throughout. The titular characters are a bunch of paintballing enthusiasts who head off to the usual cabin in the woods for a weekend of debauchery before finding themselves targeted by a psychotic killer or two. The film offers some action and some bloodshed, but it tends to veer towards cheese rather than scares and as such is a largely forgettable viewing experience.

Zero Boys has the ultimate philosophical import. According to the philosophy of Georges Bataille, the ultimate experience of life is the limit, the experience of a little death. Zero Boys, although on its surface a film of hot ladies and even hotter guys, is the philosophical exemplification of the theory of the limit. There are numerous scenes within Zero Boys in which the limit of death is experienced as the absolute extreme of life; I interpret that as the experience of smoking pot at an abandoned house that belongs to a secretly sadistic killer. The rare person experiences such an intense, prophetic, personal experience as occurs in this film, when life stares death in the face in the most incredible film experience since he now clichéd shower scene in 'Psycho'. This is truly a film that unflinchingly examines the hideous questions attached with death. Kelli Maroney (of Chopping Mall fame) is absolutely amazing. You will love this film!

The Zero Boys is a good, old fashioned 80's action/horror/comedy. It's also rare. I just found this one on DVD (if you believe that) and it's marketed as an action movie; the trailer, the cover art, everything. It does start out that way. The Zero Boys, Steve, Larry, and Rip, are the best at what they do: paintball wars. The movie starts with a great game of paintball. When the Zero Boys win, they take a vacation in the woods and stumble upon an abandoned cabin. That's when the horror starts. The action part is so good that I almost didn't want it to turn into a horror flick. It all works out though because the horror is just as good, and cheesy, as the action. It's actually turns into a decent slasher flick which creates an eerie atmosphere. The cheesy dialogue and the one liners are what really make the movie. Such phrases as "Jason old boy, are you in there?" and "Probably just a bunch of faggots living in the woods." make this one a classic. All through the movie I kept remarking about how much the lead killer looked like Martin Sheen. It turned out to be his brother, Joe Estevez. If you're looking for an entertaining mix of genres, catch The Zero Boys, if you can find it.

I saw this movie when I was still living in Mexico about 8 years ago, and I loved it, then when I moved back to the USA, I saw that a video store had it for sale and I bought it. I watched it and I was slightly disappointed when I realized that the USA release had the real end missing. Anyway, it still is a great slasher flick, it has all the elements: beautiful babes, their boyfriends, the crazy madmen, the house in the middle of the woods, a garden full with human remains and lots of screaming and gun shoots. Rent it, its fun and fast paced, plus chances are you will recognize the main actresses, who continued making horror flicks: Kelli Maroney and Nicole Rio.