It's the year 2003, and the ultra-powerful corporation known as Chaank Armament are under fire from the press and the public for their controversial project known as "Hard Man," which strengthens mere fighters and soldiers to almost superhuman levels through cybernetic enhancements. Unfortunately, the latest experiment with the procedure has gone awry, with many innocent lives having been lost due to a malfunction by its deranged creator Jack Dante, whom some within the company want to be let go as soon as possible. A large portion of Chaank's employees are fearful that the backlash and negative publicity will cause them to lose several contracts, yet there are those, such as new Chief Executive Hayden Cale, who would actually go to great lengths to see these changes implemented. After a series of events leaves Jack unemployed, the mad architect unleashes a secret invention of his: a towering, murderous monstrosity nicknamed "Warbeast," which is comprised of metal, gnashing teeth, sharpened claws, and pure malevolence.
That plot description for Death Machine, a 1994 cyperpunk/thriller/horror film sure does sound alluring, doesn't it? After all, I can dig the idea of a robotic, hulking piece of metal that is controlled by an egotistical scientist with delusions of grandeur. Plus, as an added bonus, we have the director of Blade sitting in the big chair.....wait, didn't he go on to direct The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as well? *readjusts note* Ahem. As I've learned over the years, however, a good concept and idea doesn't necessarily guarantee a quality picture. This is all the more true when your script is seriously intent with shoving in as many references and nods to other Science Fiction properties as it possibly can and if you just can't keep up an exciting pace. But more on that later.
Initially, I was not aware that actor Brad Dourif, who is making his second appearance for Unseen Terror this year, was actually the top billed performer for Death Machine. Sure he is playing a villain, but those instances where the bad guy receives a larger screen credit that the rest of his colleagues is a rarity in cinema these days (one that comes to mind for me is Tim Burton's Batman). I certainly was relieved to see his scraggly-haired, smarmy, psychotic hide show up though, because he does the best job that he possibly can to ensure that you don't fall asleep or wander off. It won't go down as one of his more well-known roles, but for purveyors of comically bad over-the-top acting, it's always a delight to see him in even the crappiest of movies. The only other slightly recognizable faces in here are Richard Brake (the lone standout of last year's fairly hideous 31), who desperately needed more screen time than most of his cohorts, and a then-debuting English actress named Rachel Weisz, who at the age of twenty-four, does show signs of her future potential considering that she appears for a grand total of about ten seconds. Disappointingly, most of the main cast just seems far too content on attempting to ape our aforementioned Child's Play alum, and instead come across as trying far too hard to be bad or shaken up.
Thankfully, what isn't bad are the technical aspects of Death Machine. Considering that this wasn't exactly gifted with a wide release into cinemas, the set designs and special effects are fairly okay. The titular beast looks surprisingly good, resembling sort of an Alien Queen-meets-cybernetic Tyrannosaurus Rex hybrid. It's one of the cooler-looking creations that I've seen pop up on here in quite some time. The film also has a certain mucky, bizarre look to it, giving off the impression that this version of 2003 (or the "Near Future" according to the opening scene) must absolutely stink to live in, as it is overrun with big corporations and a disregard for human life or safety. But those positives could be Death Machine's only non-Dourif aspects worth praising, as it gets stuck in the mud by clinging on to the choice of utilizing "movie worship" a little too much. Don't get me wrong, I can get some amusement by seeing that a trio of activists are named as obvious nods to Aliens and Evil Dead, and Brake's character is named "Scott Ridley," but when you have moments which seem like a direct ripoff from the former motion picture, as well as a showdown between two machines of comically different proportions, you just start wondering why you aren't watching one particular flick from the late 1980s instead or whether Roger Corman was secretly involved in the production. And for Lemmy's sake, you really aren't being subtle whatsoever when one of your executives is named John Carpenter. If you really want to see properties which wear their influences on their sleeves but don't constantly shove it in your face, go watch The Cabin in the Woods or Stranger Things. Worse yet, the moments of silence or inactivity that litter most of the second half (i.e. when Dourif isn't planning to sic his pet on the hapless group) don't really add as much intrigue as they should, which ultimately leaves you feeling a tad bit bored until the Warbeast comes calling.
In the end, there isn't a great amount that's worth salvaging from Death Machine. True, it does sport a solid-looking "monster" and Brad Dourif turns in a wonderfully unhinged performance like usual, but the movie is too reliant on nostalgia and hoping that you won't just choose those other films in the genre that it clearly loves oh so dearly over their one instead. As of now, you can purchase a rather cheap copy of the movie over on Amazon, but that seems to be about it for availability. I have serious doubts that this will ever see even a halfway-decent release on Blu-ray, especially since it's been reported that director Stephen Norrington was rather dissatisfied with the final cut and the flick has undergone several changes on the home video market since then because of it.
Better yet, if you just want to save your hard-earned cash, you can watch the best scene in the movie below.
Tomorrow, my love of horror and professional wrestling clash in one giant, bloody bonanza! But will I get swerved?
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