Hardware (1990)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Richard Stanley

Writers:

Steve MacManus (story) and
Kevin O'Neill (story) ...

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It activates it exhilarates... it exterminates

Plot:

A wandering soldier finds a robot head in the post-apocalyptic desert. He brings it back to his girlfriend for use in one of her sculptures...

Plot Keywords:

Sculpture | Scavenger | Future | Sculptor | Surrealism

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dylan McDermott	...	Moses Baxter
Stacey Travis	...	Jill
John Lynch	...	Shades
William Hootkins	...	Lincoln Wineberg Jr.
Iggy Pop	...	Angry Bob
Carl McCoy	...	Nomad
Mark Northover	...	Alvy
Paul McKenzie	...	Vernon
Lemmy	...	Taxi Driver
Mac McDonald	...	Newscaster
Chris McHallem	...	Premier Boelgaxof
Barbara Yu Ling	...	Chinese Mother
Oscar James	...	Chief
Arnold Lee	...	Chinese Family
Susie Savage	...	Chinese Family (as Susie Ng)

Also Known As:

M.A.R.K. 13

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language. (also edited version)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 (MGM channel rating) | New Zealand:R18 (original rating) | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (also edited version) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

BSB

Trivia:

The band that Jill watches on TV while she makes the sculpture is Gwar, though the music is Ministry's "Stigmata".

Quotes:

Chief: Machines don't understand sacrifice - neither do morons.

Movie Connections:

Features A Bitter Message of Hopeless Grief (1988) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Order of Death

Undeserving of its bad reviews... fun film!

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.