Death Machine

In the near future, the Chaank Corporation is under fire for its creation of unethical weapons and involvement in war crimes. New Chief Executive Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget) has been brought in to fill the vacancy of the old executive and right the ship much to the ire of executives John Carpenter (William Hootkins) and Scott Ridley (Richard Brake). Hayden Cale in the course of her duties seeks to put an end to the development programs of weapons developer Jack Dante (Brad Dourif), a man as psychotic as he is brilliant and keeps himself from being terminated by holding leverage over the other executives. As Dante nurses a growing obsession with Cale, Chaank becomes the target of anti-war/anti-corporate saboteurs Raimi (John Sharian), Yutani (Martin McDougall), and Weyland (Andreas Wisneiwski) who intend to blow -up Chaank's mainframe. After circumstances see Carpenter, Cale, and the saboteurs collide at Chaank's headquarters, Dante unleashes his latest creation, a murderous robot called "Warbeast", after them.

Death Machine is the writing and directing debut of effects artist Stephen Norrington. Norrington had worked on a number of genre films since the 80s (including Aliens and Lifeforce) but had grown tired of effects work and wanted to try his hand at writing. As Norrington continued to dabble in effects work while trying to find financial backing, a producer on the film Split Second for which Norrington was providing the effects had taken an interest in one of his scripts as a possible sequel and also took note of another script Death Machine which was viewed as a commercial enough idea that producers brought on board Norrington as writer and director and secured international financing. While the film was given a relatively quiet direct-to-video release in the United States, it did become something of a springboard for Norrignton that lead to him directing Blade. Death Machine isn't any more or any less than it promises and depending on what you're looking for that might be enough.

At its core, Death Machine is what happens when you mix Die Hard, Robocop (or perhaps more fitting Robocop 2), and Alien together into a trashy genre exercise that doesn't have any loftier aspirations other than setting up kill scenes. While per the cyberpunk 101 playbook it follows the old standards of unethical corporations operating without regard to human life or impact on the world, it's mostly used as window dressing so we can justify the selling point of the killer robot. As per usual, Brad Dourif is delightfully slimy playing the unhinged Jack Dante who's basically what Charles Lee Ray would be like if he had technical expertise. Nobody delivers on crazy like Dourif and you can see why his character (as well as the film's violence) led to several different cuts of this movie. Most of the characterization doesn't go for too much depth save for maybe Ely Pouget's Hayden Cale, but they do what you expect in a movie like this and play it well. The real star of the movie is the titular "warbeast" or Death Machine and structured like if the Cain model from Robocop 2 were mixed with a T-rex it's certainly a memorable killer robot and is used for some fun setpieces. The setpieces are made all the more impressive by the fact the budget was only $3 million and Norrington certainly knows how to stretch it effectively.

Death Machine is the kind of movie where it's very much "what you see is what you get?" and if you're looking for something involving a killer robot on the loose and you've already watched Hardware, this will definitely fit the bill. It's pure bloody pulp, but enjoyable if you're into that sort of thing.

When people ask "What are some good straight to video horrors?", Death Machine is usually top of my list. Its a great blend of sci-fi/horror that borrows heavily from others but still emerges as a cool flick nonetheless.

The simplified plot leaves some good guys (and gal) trying to stay alive in a sealed corporate skyscraper, while being hunted by a robot controlled by the fantastically OTT Brad Dourif. There are a few sub-plots to keep things interesting between the characters.

The heroine of the piece is the very cute Ely Pouget, who gives a terrific performance. She is joined by a couple of would-be terrorists - Martin McDougall and John Sharian (who some may recognize from his role in The Machinist).

The plot is good, if a little far-fetched (hey I did say this was sci-fi/horror), and director Stephen Norrington skillfully constructs an effective sense of fear with tongue-in-cheek humor, which belies this being his first time at the helm (he would later go on to direct Blade and the less-than-stellar The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).

The effects are very good for what must have been a small budget, and the robot (which is reminiscent of a alien/terminator hybrid) is well designed.

There are "strong influences" from movies such as Universal Soldier, Alien and Hardware...and most of the death scenes are quite vicious, though its not really that gory. Also many of the characters are named after horror directors - John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Scott Ridley etc - not so much as a wink to them but rather a 10 foot neon sign - but it kinda adds to the charm.

Final word goes out to Mr Dourif, who steals every scene he is in. He's funny, creepy, pathetic and totally manic. I have a feeling Norrington just let Dourif go wild in the role.

TTKK's Bottomline - If you like sci-fi/horror mixed with a bit of cheese and some laughs, you can't go wrong with Death Machine

This horror/psycho thriller/sci fi story pits a hard-nosed, naive and ethical businesswoman against the existing power structure at a very large defense contractor, Chaank Industries. What Hayden Cale (Ely Puget) does not know is that, underlying most of what she knows as Chaank Industries, is a murderous maniac - Jack Dante. Dante is played by the remarkable, under-rated, Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Eyes of Laura Mars, Blue Velvet, Dune, Wild Blue Yonder, Lord of the Rings, etc etc). Dante will do ANYTHING to avoid having his sick little world disturbed... anything. The plot and characters are a string of clichés, but the movie does not take itself very seriously, and what results is a campy, intelligent, self-parody. Direct homages are paid to off-beat directors who frequently use comedy to liven up sci fi and horror stories - There are major supporting characters named Sam Raimi, John Carpenter and Scott Ridley.

Dourif, the deft pacing of the film, and the cleverly written script make this predictable farce thoroughly enjoyable. Richard Brake makes a very good impression in a support role, and lead Puget is charismatic and manages to play her role laudably straight as a counterpoint to Dourif's utterly bizarre behavior.

Death Machine was Stephen Norrington's directorial debut. Norrington has done and continues to do a lot of visual effects and robotics work on major releases which require substantial, cutting edge, effects. He also directed the decent but disappointing League of Extraordinary Gentlement and is now working on a re-make of The Crow.

One of the characters yells at his friend: "You just knew Ho-Ho was going to turn out to be the fat, sweaty, desperate psycho!" And of course, we all did too...

There is no question what this movie was. There are even characters named Scott Ridley, Sam Raimi, and John Carpenter. While the surface of the film is a long-corridor (Aliens) horror movie, what lies beneath is sort of a manic, director-oriented comedy that reminds me more of Evil Dead 2 than anything else. The hyper sound to dead silence, the overly dramatic lighting, the first-person Missile Cam, the cool line followed by backlit explosion... it all leans towards a wild but fun ride through all of the most common camp in these types of movies. It's a satire subtle enough to pass as just another bad horror movie, if you're not paying attention.

Brad Dourif (who was B-B-B-B-Billy Buh-Bibbit, a long time ago, and the voice of Chucky-- and might become a little more prevalent in film after being in the upcoming Lord Of The Rings trilogy) is the great shining spot in this film, and alternates from acting well (check out his outpouring at the end) to completely terrible (awful references to hacking... "Molebdenic composite"?). And all of the best subtle jokes are bad guy parodies-- my favorite example is his inability to get his threat right over the monitors: "Turning me off won't turn you off. No. Wait. Turning you off--" click.

But the real flair here is in the direction. None of this would work if it wasn't played half serious with the sights and sounds. As the climax builds, the ambient noise cuts out completely for the doors to chime "Welcome!" cheerily. The HUD from the machine's point of view displays 1P and Hi Score. The Robocop-style machine whirring in the Hardman gear as Raimi actually gets into a fistfight (!) with the machine... there is never any "set 'em up, knock 'em down" standard cue that *these* are the jokes... but there they are. Dig in.

Quirky little sci-fi flick that has its share of goofy charms. Unfortunately, though, Death Machine goes too far in a few categories, resulting in an eye-rolling-groan instead of the genuine amused chuckle. It doesn't quite nail the blending of two genres appropriately nor is it entirely effective, but it does an okay job. The movie does wear out its welcome by the time the final act starts.

The Death Machine, aka the WarBeast, didn't set well with me. Kind of a mechanical, terminator-ish Alien with autism-inspired hyper-twitches with its claws (reminding me of the guy from Cube for some reason). It's not that the thing looked unrealistic, it's the fact that it moved like a chihuahua on a coffee high.

Also the character suited up in the super soldier gear went a bit too far over the top with his Unisol-from-hell impression. Every now and then I found myself chuckling at him or his comments, but for the most part I think he should've pulled back just a tad.

There's a few others, but I'll just comment on one more that bugged me. The all-too-blunt reference to famous directors, giving characters the same first and last name (or in a 'clever twist' swapping 'em around) . . . I really think references are more effective when they're subtle and not glaring at you from the screen with a big red blinking light.

The tongue-in-cheek approach, and goofy nature and the fact they walked a thin line of parody/seriousness didn't bother me . . . I just felt they didn't do too hot a job of walking that line and frequently went overboard on the parody side.

On the plus side, everyone feels right in their appointed roles and the production value/effects are, for the most part, appropriate. Ely Pouget and Brad Dourif are the stars here; they play off each other nicely. The Dante character would've come across as incredibly lame in the hands of a lesser actor, but Dourif gives Dante a very unique aura of childish menace and pulls off one one the performances and creating probably the best character in the film.

Pouget is fun as Cale, constantly bouncing her chivarlous and noble comments off the demented Dante. The humor in Pouget and Dourif's performance comes about from their serious/straight forward delivery. Despite the wackiness surrounding them, these two characters are probably the most grounded in reality . . . which is weird, sad, and entertaining at the same time and well, you have to see the film to understand.

If material has to be 100% believable for you to like a movie . . . why do you still watch movies? Death Machine is a movie where you suspend your belief just to sit back and embrace the corniness as it pokes fun at its big cinematic brethren . . . I just wish it did a little better job of it throughout the whole movie. Oh well, it was worth the rental price.