Taking place in the not-so-distant future, Stephen Norrington's Death Machine is centered around the Chaank corporation, a weapons manufacturer who has come under scrutiny after their latest tech, Hardman malfunctioned and slaughtered a host of individuals at a small diner. The board of the directors is split between Riley, who wants to cover things up, and Cale, who demands full public disclosure, intent on getting to the bottom of this ordeal and firing the man responsible. This leads Cale to Dante, the scientific genius behind this part human/part machine military project, Hardman, a 'mad scientist' type character who takes a strange and borderline obsessive liking to Cale. When Cale fires Dante, he unleashes the ultimate killing machine in the building, the Warbeast, letting his monstrous and deadly creation carry out his revenge on Cale and those who wish to help her. Stephen Norrington's Death Machine is a high-octane and stylish b-movie that draws heavily from a host of iconic horror, sci-fi, and action films to tell its tale. Featuring a memorably off-kilter performance from Brad Dourif as the mad scientist Dante, Death Machine is a playful and cheesy killer robot story that borrows heavily from other highly canonized films such as Alien, RoboCop, and Evil Dead. One of the more funny aspects involves the Eco-Warriors, an anti-corporate group, who show up intent on bringing Chaank corporation down. Intent on breaking into the facility and erasing Chaank's data, they stumble into the destructive path of the Death Machine, finding themselves over-matched and out-gunned, reminiscent to Aliens. Embracing its b-movie pedigree, Norrington injects Death Machine with a healthy dose of atmosphere, giving the whole film a foggy, futuristic feel. The film also is very stylish, with a healthy dose of visceral energy that is reminiscent of Raimi's style used in the Evil Dead series. Death Machine's commentary on corporate greed and man's attempt to defy nature are certainly prevalent, but there is no question that this is a film best enjoyed as a silly, over-the-top b-movie.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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