Cybernator

Low-budget Sci-Fi/Action-Trash, Troma does it again!

C-Y-B-E-R-N-A-T-O-R is that a cringey enough title for you LOL! Yep, the very title of this movie just reeks of low-budget cyborg versus cyborg action and, not surprisingly, that's exactly what we get. And guess what? It's bad, but good for laughs though.

Starting with James Cameron's classic genre-defining film: The Terminator (released to great acclaim in October of 1984) there was an explosion of "cyborg" themed action films (most of which suck, including the last several Terminator films) in the later half of the 80's and well into the 90's. These movies are typically low-budget and were indifferently churned out in great numbers by mostly B-List talent (cast and crew alike) who were, shall we say, not burdened by fame (or even marginal recognition) and expectations. Fortunately the bulk of these movies were direct-to-video, so they never soiled the big screen to any great extent. Anyways back to Cybernator, sad to say this stodgy amateurish effort represents the genre to a T and is a profoundly underwhelming movie by all measures; starting with it's lame opening credits sequence and ending with a VERY VERY lackluster finale, this movie offers it's viewers little in the way of entertainment. On the plus-side, I did thoroughly enjoy the high-energy scene with the sleazy adulterous couple in the beginning, they're over-the-top acting is a real hoot and it's easily the movies most energetic scene.

As for an overview of CYBERNATOR (again, that title LOL!!!) the cast is bad - as is their acting, the script is often questionable (but hey, who wouldn't want to be a "Blackhawk 2000" cyborg, right?) the sets are very cheap, the location photography is boring and mundane, the movie is often poorly paced and it's action scenes are less than stellar - to downright unconvincing (Having just taken multiple rounds in the gut! Just lay down and play dead, very convincing). This film would have been better had they cast David Carradine in the lead, he was made for low-budget action-trash like this and his filmography is proof of that. You will be amusingly underwhelmed at how lame most of the cyborgs look, due to their terrible looking make-up and prosthetics and how about the "dumpy cyborg" about 70 minutes in. ROFL! With all joking aside there's not one single impressive action sequence or even any good stunts to be seen anywhere and with that being said one can easily -and quite logically- conclude that Cybernator is, by all possible metrics, a total failure of an action film. Terminator 2 this is not. Hell, this well below Cyborg Cop 2 for that matter OR EVEN Robo Vampire.....

Closing Note: "Cybernator" is simply as amateurish as they come and you can safely skip it and not miss out on anything - at all. However, if you have a fetish for terrible movies, like I do, then by all means watch Cybernator TODAY! But please don't spend and therefore waste any money on it, because it's not worth a dime or a damn.

To anyone: In the scene with the 350 pound belly-dancer (I know - WTF?), is that James Cameron in a cameo or do my senses betray me? It looks like him. It sounds like him. Hmmmm.....

I have over 100 movies in my "too be watched" pile. I know there are some good ones in there but for some reason I am drawn to the crap. If you can believe it, CYBERNATOR is worse than the crap. You've heard of bottom of the barrel? Well, if you pick up that barrel and dig about 10 feet into the ground – that is where you will find CYBERNATOR.

The future is now and, oddly enough, it looks a lot like the late 80s. Director Robert Rundle definitely shot CYBERNATOR on the fast and cheap. He uses rote camera setups and has a stiff directorial style that would make Amir (SAMURAI COP) Shervan jealous. Sets are re-dressed over and over to appear as different rooms (the tops of the flats can even be seen sometimes). However, shoddiness can be forgiven if a clever script is used. Keep dreaming. The script, by Rundle and producer/co-star Ed Sanchez, features amazingly cliché and laughable dialogue exchanges. My favorite:

Snitching lab assistant: "Meet me at the alley way at Hollywood and Vine."

All knowing cop: "Yeah, we know the place."

Lead Lonnie Schuyler is hands down the worst actor I have ever seen. Seriously, my dog conveys emotions better. Looking like a cross between Corey Feldman and John Stamos (and sporting some big 80s hair to boot), Schuyler delivers some of the funniest facial expression while trying to act dramatic. You would think he is acting in a spoof the way he acts. Schuyler is complemented in the horrific acting department by female lead Christina Peralta as love interest/lounge singer Blue. Her swaying during a lip synched musical number is a sight to behold. Also, watch for the scene where they surreptitiously break into a building at nighttime and she is wearing a black turtle neck and short jean shorts. The only saving grace is the reliable William Smith as evil Colonel Peck. While his screen time ads up to just under 10 minutes, Smith's gruff voice is a welcome reprieve from the amateur hour on display. I hope he was paid and paid well.

Amazingly, director Robert Russell failed upwards and went on to make more films. Also noteworthy in his cinematic canon is the trash classic THE DIVINE ENFORCER (1992) starring Erik Estrada, Jim Brown, Robert Z'Dar, Don Stroud and a very drunk Jan Michael Vincent (whose lines you can actually see taped to the inside of a newspaper!). Thankfully, he keeps Schuyler out of the picture.

"Cybernator" is great fun, if you don't take this all to earnest. It's a trashy movie with cheap special effects but it is a must for fans of William Smith. He has just three appearances als Colonel Peck but they are really worth to watch.

This movie is quite possibly the signle worst movie ever created. Not only does it look like it was filmed using camcorder for a high school production class, but the acting is below that of most invertebrates.

How MST3K missed this one I'll never know.

Cybernator is a terrible terrible movie. If you can laugh at B movie incompetence, then this will be right up your alley!

The movie is packed with goofs a-plenty: the weird background noises when the actors are talking; the moment in the showdown when the villain pauses, checks his mic, then carries on with the scene; the hilariously dorky cyborgs (one of whom has a high-tech cyber-chin); the cartoonish rubber-faced acting from our "hunky" male lead; the list goes on. The film's main cyborg, Captain Hair, has a laughable, scream-filled death scene reminiscent of Bela Lugosi getting killed by a fake, immobile octopus in Bride Of The Monster.

Thanks to the hammy actors and schlocky visuals, this film doesn't get boring. Despite having some obvious padding scenes, it stays entertaining throughout, which is a feat for a B-movie. The final showdown has a lot of talking, but William Smith as the smug villain is so entertaining, and both characters are so totally bumbling that even this scene is a hoot. (At one point, the villain is strangling the life out of the hero... then just quits and starts to wander away while still talking to him, as if he just got bored with the strangling and forgot to keep it up.)

Fans of Invader Zim might recognize Captain Hair from his little cameo in that cartoon. ("What I'm trying to say, sirrrrr...") If the creators of Zim enjoyed this movie, that's quite an endorsement if you ask me!