Review: Monster Force Zero (2020)
Monster Force Zero is part Galaxy Quest, part The Last Starfighter and part The Zero Boys. (I’ll understand if you had to look that last one up). It wraps them up in cosplay and nerd culture trappings and sprinkles them with low budget charm. The result is an enjoyable bit of lightweight fun.
Calvin “A.I.” Cashill (Adam Singer, The Jurassic Dead) is struggling to get his comic book Monster Force Zero noticed. In an effort to get some attention he, Ammorama (Aeon Cruz, Terror Tales) and Kadabra (Dalena Nguyen) for a cosplay team to work the conventions. That goes nowhere until by a twist of fate they find themselves teamed with a Yeti (Shale Le Page, Sirona, Tsunambee) and pitted against the Destroyers of Destruction led by Gunns Lazer (Heath C. Heine, Dragon Soldiers, Rage of the Mummy) in a mysterious tournament.
The good news is they win, and have the superpowers of their comic book characters. The bad news is now they have to be superheroes and save the multiverse from Doctor Eeche (Rachel Darden). But, like all good comic books, the plot may have a few more twists.
We really get two films in one from Monster Force Zero. The first half introduces the teams and takes us through the competition. The convention footage looks pretty authentic, although I don’t remember there being so many Furries when I used to go to them. The contest itself is like an episode of American Gladiators or American Ninja Warrior crossed with the movie version of The Running Man. The teams have to hunt through the course for beacons to unlock their powers. While fighting each other of course.
Once we get into the actual mission, the film feels like one of those old TV superhero shows. One from before they were considered worth spending millions per episode on. Granted there’s one scene that’s a bit to bloody for TV. But other than that they do a good job of capturing the feel, much more so than the Electra Woman and Dyna Girl reboot from a couple of years ago.
There are a couple of familiar faces to add to the fun. Garrett Wang from Star Trek: Voyager turns up as the host of Aliens for Dummies. And former pro wrestler Pat Tanaka has a supporting role as The Janitor. Plus I’m fairly sure the T Rex, like a few of the cast, was also in The Jurassic Dead.
Everyone involved in Monster Force Zero should be proud. For a fairly inexperienced cast and crew on a small budget, they’ve produced a fun and polished-looking film. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’d love to see the sequel.
Wild Eye will release Monster Force Zero On Demand in October. In the meantime, you can check the film’s website and Facebook page for details.