Hardware

This movie is one of the best looks at a bleak future that I've seen. It's effective in every way, except one. I've never been a big fan of self-regeneration, and it seems like a less-than-subtle way to bring our "killer robot" into play. If you look past that, and write it off as Richard Stanley's only conceivable way to bring the robot into existence, you have a masterpiece of modern sci-fi. From the sick, obsessive neighbor, to the radio-active environment, to the incredible pieces of "cyber-punk" music (PIL, Ministry), to the casual look at substance abuse,...this movie will leave you dreading what the future might hold for the computer obsessed masses. It's not a movie about a killer robot, it's a movie about the future that we are making for ourselves.

This is a very cool little sci-fi flick. OK, it's no Aliens, but it has a lot of really interesting things happening. First off it has a slick look, filmed very well by first time director/writer Richard Stanley, a lot of strobes and brilliant colour give it a perfect setting for the `robot goes crazy' plot. I also liked the post-apocalyptic landscape, which I think worked well along with Iggy Pop's narration as `Angry Bob'. It takes a little while to build, but the ending packs a decent punch, along with just enough gratuitous violence to keep me happy. There are also plenty of religious references and imagery to look for, all centering around the `MARK 13 Cyborg.' So, if you like sci-fi, I think you should give this movie a try, it's a pretty cool ride with some very cool imagery.

After all the horrible things I heard about this movie, I wasn't expecting much when I found it for $3 in a pawn shop... and, after watching it a couple of times, I don't know what the hell people who say this is "the worst movie in the world" were smoking... because this is one of the best low-budget sci-fi flicks I have ever come across. Though it is by no means a sublime piece of art, I find the fact that the plot concerns one woman and her boyfriend fighting off this robot in her apartment, with the collapsing world as a backdrop around them to be somewhat refreshing in an age of sci-fi films trying to be epic and ending up trite. Though clumsily written at times and with the robot looking almost ridiculous at points, we get a nicely shot, stylishly lit sci-fi thriller that takes place on a human scale and whose premise has enough depth, symbolism and irony to make it all worthwhile. Best film I have ever seen? Hardly. But the best deal I've had for $3 in a very, very long time.

I saw this movie when it came out on VHS and from then on every few years. What is it that makes this movie so addictive? It is the GREAT soundtrack "The order Of Death (This is what you want... this is what you get)" from Public Image Ltd.? The song being 37 years old still is great. Is the atmosphere in the movie? Yes, certainly, this is the kind of movie where the creative mind goes all ways in every scene, adding the extra dimension only so few movies have of not only watching a movie, but being 'in' it. The effects, for it's time pretty good, nowadays not but just like "Blade Runner" the viewer will accept it. In my book, this movie is a classic.