Hardware (1990)

Nineteen years ago I remember going to see a little film called Hardware and I remember HATING it because I felt deceived by the trailers that shamefully advertised this film as The Terminator meets The Road Warrior which being a huge fan of both of those classic sci-fi films was precisely what I was expecting to see. What I got, and was completely unprepared for, was a pornographic visual nightmare filled with gratuitous violence and an incoherent plot about some killer Terminator-esque combat droid found in the sands of a post-apocalyptic wasteland that's transformed into an industrial art sculpture by some hot chick and I remember wanting to walk out of the theater but felt compelled to at least get my (then) six bucks worth before leaving the theater offended and I never looked back... until now.

A few years later I picked up the Hardware soundtrack because I remembered it was the most memorable part of the film. I loved Simon Boswell's haunting electronic score and the unforgettable Public Image Limited song the Order of Death which echoes in your head with "This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get" lyrics ironically summarizing my initial reaction to the film perfectly. Around that time I happened to catch Richard Stanley's following film Dust Devil The Final Cut which I really enjoyed with it's great visuals and also featuring a terrific Simon Boswell score.

When I saw that Hardware was released on Blu-ray I decided to give it another look. It's amazing how the quality of blu-ray makes you revisit many films that you may not have otherwise particularly liked watching the first time around but I remembered the striking post-apocalyptic visuals and 80's industrial music video style and having appreciated Richard Stanley's succeeding films I knew he was a director with vision and made me decide to give it another chance. Upon watching it I had remembered the exact moment that made me want to get up and leave the theater when Jill's perverted neighbor played by William Hootkins (yes that's Porkins from Star Wars) starts singing the "wiberly-woberly walk" and I still find his character repugnant but that's really the whole point. Stanley is intentionally creating a dissonant atmosphere showing the deconstruction of culture precipitated by dependency on technology, intrusive surveillance and the pervasiveness of mass media and invasion of privacy.

Watching it now I can appreciate the film's socio-political undertones such as population control and the realization that this film was actually a few years ahead of its time anticipating the post-modern industrial motifs of Ministry. To the film's credit, Richard Stanley's stylized vision is what sets Hardware apart from the formulaic commercialized mainstream blockbusters of today and somehow manages not to date itself too much and remains a completely unique independent film unlike anything I've really seen since.

Richard Stanley discusses his ideas behind the intended "Hardware 2: Ground Zero" script on the supplemental features that was written at the time of the first film but was never made due to legalities between studios that has prevented him from fully realizing his concept on a grander scale. I actually found myself interested in seeing what Hardware 2 might look like made today with the latest advancements in special effects technology that would enable Richard to open up the canvas and let his ideas spill out onto the screen. Watching the interview you can see that Stanley is a very intelligent and articulated artist who knows what he is talking about and has a precise understanding and vision for his craft. There's also an excellent hour-long documentary "No Flesh Shall Be Spared" produced exclusively for the blu-ray that features all new interviews that will make you appreciate the film and the complications of working with visual effects pre-CGI along with deleted scenes, a German theatrical trailer and some of Stanley's short films including "Incidents In An Expanding Universe" the Super 8 genesis of Hardware.

Hardware is definitely not a film for everyone and if you you are looking for accessible sci-fi-/horror that's easy to swallow you won't get it here. On the surface Hardware is a visceral nightmare whose disturbing and offensive imagery is conveying ideas and themes far more complex than the average mainstream audiences are simply willing or capable of grasping and most will find it a struggle to interpret the lines between self-indulgent art and purely cinematic entertainment.

"This is what you want... and this is what you get."

Having read all the reviews, including some very articulate and intelligent ones, I'm moved to add one more because, to my surprise, no one commented on Mo's lengthy, psychedelic death scene. I enjoyed the grungy, post-apocalyptic atmosphere, sound track (esp. Order of Death) and the general off-the-wall weirdness, but what blew me away was Mo's pschedelic visions as he's dying after being injected with the killer robot's poison. The plot having already established that the victims basically experience an acid-trip death, the graphic, through-his-eyes psychedelic experience was visceral, fascinating and believable. That's not all that the film has to recommend it. It was, as others have noted, ahead of its time, and sophisticated in ways that go right over the heads of some of its mass-entertainment-conditioned detractors, but that scene was for me the most amazing segment of an amazing film.

Buy Hardware (1990) Now

This 1990 vintage sci-fi horror is a cut above average, but is short changed by a restricted budget. However, if the story was editing down to fit the funding, there is some compensation in the stylist photography and the music (especially Order of Death by PiL). You can categorize this film as cyberpunk and you can compare the theme to a cross between Mad Max and Terminator, but actually it had the potential to go further than either of those franchises.

Acting contributes to the style everyone in this movie is working hard and they certainly deliver. Nearly two decades have passed but this film still looks fresh.

So this quirky sci-fi romp may not make the A list but it sure beats out any film released by the Sy-Fy channel on American cable over the past five years!

If you like sci-fi movies from that era then this should be on your must-have list. Amazingly there are even a couple of extras including a strange but interesting interview with the man behind the film (Richard Stanley). I would dearly like to rework the script into something more sophisticated, complex and deliciously dark. Sigh.

Read Best Reviews of Hardware (1990) Here

I have been waiting for a region 1 release of this movie since I got my first DVD player back in 2001. Heard from a friend it was finally coming out and ordered it immediately.

It's low budget, but wonderful gritty dystopian vision of a future where everything has gone to hell. No spoilers here, but this movie oozes atmosphere. Also of note is the amazing score. (Which I enjoyed long before I saw the movie.) The DVD is great, though some people have had issues with it not playing correctly, but Severin have done the right thing and sent out replacements.

You can keep Blade Runner. I'd rather watch this any day.

No Flesh Shall Be Spared.

Want Hardware (1990) Discount?

i was 18 when i first caught a glimpse of this film. that was 20 years ago. time has a way of both dulling the recollection and creating a longing for things that we somewhat remember. This movie has some good atmosphere and a weird but admittedly effective soundtrack. Some of the images are visually stunning in their use of light, texture and sound. the contrast/combination of Mo's cold metallic grip on Jill's pale, moist and supple skin in the shower scene was artistic and understated unlike some scenes which are mostly gratuitous and languid. The baby tethered to it's lifeless mother in the stairwell is another riveting image.

the killer robot is actually more threatening before it begins to assert itself. the foreboding red eyes and lifeless stare promise much more than what is ultimately delivered. Mo's death scene has nice editing and once again the score does not disappoint. The plot is straight forward and the acting is standard fare. this film has potential and probably would benefit nicely from some good ol' fashioned CGI and a little less sex. not a terrible addition to a well rounded sci-fiction collection.

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