Hardware (1990, Review)
aka M.A.R.K. 13
Director: Richard Stanley
Cast: Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis
Severin Films / Region 0 / Unrated / 1.85:1 Widescreen / 5.1 Dolby Surround / 93 minutes
I have never been a huge sci-fi fan. Yeah, I enjoyed the classics like the original Star Wars movies and even grittier stuff like the original Terminator and Blade Runner but I never have been turned on by techno-futuristic cinema. More specifically, I’m not really into stuff like the Mad Max trilogy and other post-apocalyptic films. You know, where dirty, mongoloid looking kids are running around throwing boomerangs at armored vehicles and shit like that. But what I am into is horror. Gritty, tense and thought-provoking horror. So on the rare occasion a movie maker mixes the two – ala Cronenberg’s Videodrome – I’m all over it. When I heard Severin Films was releasing writer/director Richard Stanley’s (Dust Devil) M.A.R.K. 13 aka Hardware, I had to take a look.
A post nuclear war scavenger (McDermott) buys a destroyed android body in hopes of reselling it for a profit. When his usual buyer won’t give him the money he thinks he deserves, he takes his losses and returns to his artist girlfriend and gives her the robot as a gift. She quickly makes a piece of art from it but little do they know that the scraps of metal – specifically the head – are still alive and able to rebuild and recharge its body. The Mark-13 unit is a military machine designed to kill almost indiscriminately and its body is full of weaponry including bio-chemical toxins, saws and what looks like a drill penis. The rest of the movie is full of all kinds of carnage as the droid runs amuck and a small group of people try to blast it back to spare parts!
“Mark 13″ refers to the book of Mark chapter 13 from the Bible where Jesus is speaking to his disciples about what will happen on Earth during the “End Times” or the time right before end of the world. More specifically verse 20 that says “no flesh shall be spared”. The mood of the movie from the opening scene is very depressing, grimy and truly attention grabbing. It reminded me a lot of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner in the hi-tech yet run-down kind of look and atmosphere. It even had that other-wordly feel where things just aren’t quite right and a little askew. While not overtly sexual, gory or shocking by today’s standards, Hardware brings some real scares and gross-outs that are made effective by the cinematography and use of shadow.
The real horror comes from the uneasy feeling you have throughout the movie. The viewer is constantly on guard thinking at any moment something could jump from the darkness and devour you or assimilate you in some way. The technology itself creeped me out somehow with all of the wires and tendrils and whatnot. Not to mention a disgusting, fat, perverted peeping tom being thrown into the mix for good measure as the viewers are already on-edge about the damn murderous robot! Richard Stanley created an acid trip-like techno-nightmare here and it deserves a spot right up there along side Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange and 1984 as a classic dystopian story.
Thanks to Severin Films, we are able to discover (or rediscover if you are one of the lucky few) this nearly lost classic. Not only did they bring it back, but they gave it the royal treatment. This 2-Disk Special Edition doesn’t skimp on anything. The video transfer lets Stanley’s use of lighting – or lack thereof – be a very effective tool in creating the suffocating bleakness that amplifies the terror. The audio is also crispy clear so you can hear the fantastic soundtrack and score that features bands like Motorhead, GWAR and Johnny Rotten’s second band, Public Image Limited. The second disk is worth the price in and of itself which features the tons of extra features including commentary with the director, a “making of” documentary, 2 shorts by the writer/director and so much more.
click to enlarge
I saw this movie when I was a kid on cable. My dad had one of the big dishes so we were able to get everything free. This movie was awesome. It is one of the few really good and creepy sci-fi horror flicks.