25th REICH, THE

SYNOPSIS:
Five American GIs - led by RKO matinee idol Capt Donald O'Brian (Jim Knobeloch) stationed in Australia in 1943 are in search of the company's missing mascot - a puma - and find themselves embroiled in a secret OSS time-travel mission that goes horribly wrong. The hapless soldiers are catapulted 50,000 years back in time, to retrieve an alien spaceship that might help the Allies win the war against Hitler.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Giant Nazi robot spiders and a swarm of giant mosquitoes are two of the classic sci-fi B movie elements given a new run in this throwback from Aussie filmmaker Stephen Amis, who clearly loves the genre. The only giveaway that it isn't a 50s movie is the rather sophisticated CGI work, making those spiders and mosquitoes - and the spaceships - look too polished. Maybe they should have been less perfectly rendered for a genuine retro look ...

After a hesitant 30 minutes or so, the story kicks in and the disparate US soldiers turn desperate as they are whisked back 50,000 years. Since this is set and filmed in Australia, there isn't much difference in the flora.

Fans of the genre will be blown away by the way the Nazis of the future turn humans into those robot spiders - especially when one of them takes his nasty, metal rod revenge on the Captain. It's a sort of reverse bestiality thing ...

Ricky Edwards' music is as clever and relevant as the production itself, positioning the film into its tribute/homage of the genre perfectly.

With plenty of bravado, the filmmakers throw the men forward - into a world in 2243 which is under the Nazi heel. Hitler was victorious; now it's time for the few remaining US soldiers to carry the flag and go kick Nazi butt. But that's in the sequel to come: The 25th Reich and the War With God.