Hardware

Directed By Richard Stanley

Starring: Stacey Travis, Dylan Dermott, John Lynch

Synopsis:

Radiation covers the planet, whilst its citizens hide themselves away, in apartments, in mega-cities. A wanderer sells the remains of what is assumed to be a defunct cleaning droid to a nomadic soldier, Mo. He buys the remains for his artist girlfriend, Jill, who proceeds to use it in one of her sculptures. However, the droid is a prototype Mark13 war droid designed to cull an ever-increasing population. Trapped in her apartment, Jill faces a perverted neighbour and a relentless killing machine that can utilise any machinery to keep itself going.



Review

Optimum Releasing's Special Edition DVD and Blu-Ray of the standout 1990 sci-fi horror, Hardware is long sought after. The only way to have seen this movie before, was from a ropey VHS copy or a just-as-ropey German DVD entitled Mark 13. The latter was uncut (unlike the strangely butchered US version) so it had some charm, but at a 4:3 ratio looked like a pirate copy you'd find on a torrent site, not a professional release. So, Optimum have done us proud.

Back in 1990, I remember being stunned by Richard Stanley’s interpretation of a 2000 A.D. strip called SHOK. I did get a copy of it on VHS, but got rid of it shortly after; the transfer was almost unwatchable. So, it’s important that it’s finally released with a print that is clear and colourful.

Saddled with a review quote “Terminator for the Nineties”, your average movie goer was led to believe that Hardware would follow the same intense chase format. It was a shame because the two movies could not be nay different The movie works well on two levels; the standard horror with a build up to a crazy last quarter or a thought provoking treatment on how human beings react to a crisis in a world gone mad. For the casual viewer there’s enough to satisfy. For anyone who likes depth in their genre movies there’s plenty of subtext and symbolism to be had as well as nods to other sources, without overtly plagiarising them.

Hardware came at a time when sci-fi had been really dumbed down for the big screen. A prime example being Total Recall: Philip K Dick’s novel was adapted losing any of its depth or subtlety. Hardware was a British film made when no other genre movies were being made in this country. Not only was it said that it couldn’t be made, there has still been nothing quite like it.

The basic premise is that a mercenary (my guess, I don't recall his status actually being mentioned) called Moses returns from a war to visit his on/off girlfriend Jill in a post-apocalyptic city. On the way he sells a few items found on his walk through the wasteland and buys the remains of a Droid, from a mysterious wanderer called Nomad. It's Christmas (not that you'd know it) and Moses or "Mo" buys the remains for Jill to use in her sculptures and artwork. The trouble is the remains are of a Droid called the MARK13 - a prototype war droid that has an aggressive nature and the ability to self-repair using any power outlet. Jill is trapped in her apartment whilst the MARK13 causes all sorts of havoc including dispatching a trader, a slimy neighbour and a couple of building security personnel. The movie resolves with a downbeat ending suggesting that the city is in even more dire trouble and sets up a sequel that hasn't been filmed.

This is the type of genre movie that comes along once in a decade if we're lucky; a mix of social, political, spiritual themes underlying what appears to be a fairly simple plot. In the care of most directors Hardware could have been literally been another Terminator knock off, of which there were plenty. Whereas Nemesis had it's charm because of inventive set pieces for it's budget, The look of Hardware implies a much larger budget. The artistic integrity of the movie is what elevates it way above the movies of the time, as talked about above.

The world of Hardware is a harsh, dystopian, future that make the Los Angeles of 2019, in Blade Runner, look cosy. Here, a cataclysmic event has rendered the majority of the planet uninhabitable (we assume from what we see of it). Wars are still fought on and off world, whilst the government struggles to provide resources for an ever-increasing population that badly needs controlling. The city's inhabitants occupy apartments, sealed off from the rest of the world ,in megacities. In Richard Stanley's original cut, the populace seem to be fed documentaries of mankind's atrocities (the holocaust for instance) as if showing that the present may be bad but there have been bad things going on since man first killed one of his own species. Anytime that the occupants dare to step outside their home, they're met by an aggressive band of homeless people, suggesting that the apartments are for the rich despite the condition.

Religious iconography is peppered throughout Hardware, from the overt (MARK13) to the images of Kali focused on before the Droid kills Mo. The inhabitants of these sealed off apartments rely on religion to gain an inner peace, that and drugs. Government controlled supplies of marijuana keep the populace relatively pacifist. Shades appears to take this to an extreme, following Hunter S Thompson excesses as he reaches into his inner God. Thankfully, he snaps out of it to become a hero of the film and a returning character in the sequel Ground Zero, the script of which can be found online.

The war droid's designation is MARK13, a reference to a passage in the bible, which is not lost on what appears to be the lead character, Mo. The important line being "No Flesh will be spared" - almost a modus operandi as far as the Droid is concerned. The war droid, it transpires, is actually a way of controlling the out of control population growth. It contains a cell-destroying toxin that sounds morbidly scary, yet the toxin causes the victim to enjoy their last moments, as if the designers had a certain conscience problem with the task. Seemingly, the Droid is activated by what could be termed as illegal breeding by its makers, as Jill and Mo get down to some catch-up time in the sack. The MARK13 has a handy trick of utilising anything available to power and enhance its systems. The closest genre parallel I came across was the Borg in the Star Trek universe. In fact, the Borg ended up being shown as using not needles but a sort of protuberance to instil their self-replicating nanites into their victims. Jill's apartment has a junk shop aesthetic, ideal for a droid that can turn useless metal gadgets into parts of it's body.

The acting in the movie is on the whole very good. Dylan Dermott is miscast as Mo, I feel. He hasn't quite got the presence that this film needs, whereas Stacey Travis is a joy. With her benchmark, Dermott appears redundant. Saying that, the character is essentially useless and inadvertently makes any situation worse with his appearance. Stacey Travis' Jill is en par with Linda's Sarah Connor and Sigourney's Ripley at a time when there were few proper strong female roles in the genre. She toughs it out both in the sex scenes and the escape scenes. Shades is...well, stoned for most of the movie so the actor does an adequate job but I reckon he was to be more of an integral part of the follow-up. Bill Hootkins' Lincoln Weinberg Jr is a marvel to watch. He's a horrible slimy lascivious peeping Tom/Stalker. His "wibbly-wobbly" song stands out as one of the most sociopath performances in the movie. Full marks to that guy.

Oscar James plays Chief. Some of you around and about my age (40 for the curious amongst you) will recognise Oscar from the early days of Eastenders - you know, the days when proper actors appeared in it and not comedy has beens from a bygone, forgotten era. Well, Oscar puts in a fine performance in Hardware as "Chief" the security head of the building, as does his subordinate. Both have too little screen time, but Richard Stanley says in the Commentary that there was more footage that could have been used in a Director's Cut. Mark Northover plays the trader, Alvy, with a certain charming flair that could have led to George Lucas, the fallen angel, to think of a short trader in the Star Wars prequels. (Watto on Tatooine).

Throughout the movie are music related cameos; not surprising as Mr Stanley had directed a number of music videos. First off is Carl McCoy, from Fields of the Nephilim, playing Nomad. Presumably, wardrobe had it easy as McCoy seems to be wearing his own clothes. Next up is the unmistakable voice of Iggy Pop, ranting on the radio. Who would have thought he'd "sell out" selling insurance on TV ads. I wonder if Mr Stanley could have predicted that grim fact back in 1989/90. My favourite cameo is from Lemmy, as a Taxi Driver warning Mo and Shades that things have got worse. Lemmy is what he is, he makes no attempt at acting whatsoever, and he doesn't need to.

Simon Boswell's score is haunting for the most part and anarchic for the rest. Coming from scoring Italian horrors, he composed a score that could not be easily referenced from other movies. On the whole this is unusual in itself. His theme, entitled on the soundtrack album “No Flesh Will NBe Spared” sets the atmosphere of the film from the very opening scenes. The soundtrack also consists of Goth bands and metal (as it was then, not the growly metal of now). The stand out track used is for a superb sequence in the film. According to the Commentary, Pavarotti gave permission for the track Stabat Mater by Gioacchino Rossini to be used and thank the maker that he did. The combination of visual imagery and the music help again to raise the movie far above the usual sci-fi.

Steve Chivers' cinematography is top notch. From the Argento-esque reds to the shadowy darkness that prevails in the apartment, Chivers understood the time when it was necessary to hide some of the budget's limitations. The artistic masterstroke is the decision to whiten the epilogue once the creature has been defeated, as if the rage has dissipated from the droid and the movie.

I’m old fashioned and still favour animatronics enhanced by CGI instead of an entire character being a CG interpretation. So, seeing the animatronic Droid is welcome. As stated above, Chivers knows how to light the Droid without revealing too much of its inaccuracies and spoiling an otherwise serious movie with unintentional humour. There is humour in the movie but it is understandably dark and unobtrusive.

Verdict

The new release of Hardware, by Optimum is impressive. Care has been taken to source relevant special features; an illuminating commentary, deleted/extended scenes, a promo reel, the original 2000A.D. story that the movie was based upon and a collection of art cards. The picture is a blessing after the awful VHS prints and the Germany DVD named Mark 13.

I’ll be straight with you, this film does not have mass appeal, but I truly believe that the world is more open to a film like this than it was in 1990. It would never be mainstream. If it was it would have lost something. If anybody buys the movie on the strength of this review then I hope you get a blast out of watching it. I keep my fingers crossed that the sequel gets to be made.

The Standard DVD and Blu-Ray releases were available from 22nd June 2009 from the usual retailers.

8 out of 10 (Wayfarer)