This British production may be derivative, but like its villain, it recycles spare parts into something swift and effective.
In the near future, the Chaank Corporation faces public protest because of its weapons program, which includes the "Hardman" suit, designed to transform its wearer into a fearless warrior but plagued by technical malfunctions. New executive Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget) advocates public disclosure and
the ousting of psychopathic designer Jack Dante (Brad Dourif), which makes her unpopular with others in the company. But Dante has been tinkering with his own creation, a monstrous, robotic "frontline morale destroyer" called the Warbeast, and one night after hours he sics it on Cale and the other
execs in the Chaank building. At the same time, a small group of protesters has broken in to take them hostage, but all are soon fleeing the metal monster, which senses and tracks them by their fear.
As the group is decimated, one of the protesters, Sam Raimi (John Sharian), dons a Hardman suit to fight the Warbeast. But he is unable to defeat the monster, which pursues him and Cale even after they make it out into the street. Fleeing back into the building, Cale lures the Warbeast into a long
chase and eventually traps it in a room with Dante and an explosive that vaporizes both creator and creation.
DEATH MACHINE's story is admittedly simplistic and certainly derivative, combining the basic plot of ALIEN with the futuristic technology and wry satiric bent of ROBOCOP. But on these terms, the film succeeds quite admirably, with special effects man turned writer-director Stephen Norrington
keeping the story racing along. His previous technical experience allows him to give the movie a handsome technical sheen on a low budget, and his handling of pacing and tension is expert, particularly in the Warbeast attacks. The mechanical monster is a striking creation, a hulking but
fast-moving contraption with slashing claws and snapping jaws that remains a plausible and frightening menace throughout.
Norrington knows how to indulge genre fans: several characters are named after well-known genre directors, two others after the Weyland-Yutani corporation from ALIEN. But the director is also successful in translating his own fannish enthusiasm into on-screen energy. He is also well-served by an
above-average cast that makes its characters vivid and believable, with Dourif doing his patented psycho act to a tee and Pouget becoming an engaging warrior woman in the Sigourney Weaver mold. (Graphic violence, profanity.) leave a comment