Death Machine

Death Machine. Stephan Norrington, dir. UK (prod. 1993): Trimark (US dist.), n.d. Direct to Video, 1995.

Title death robot looks "like a giant metallic version of the Alien from Ridley Scott's" Alien, plus the featured machines from RoboCop, The Terminator, and Hardware. Pre-release coverage in Cinefantastique 26.6/27.1 (Oct. 1995): 94 f. Said by John Thonen to be the best direct to video SF movie for 1995 (i.e., in VHS distribution only, not theatrical release). Described by Thonen as "essentially a hybrid of The Terminator and Die Hard," but not merely a rip-off. Includes, Thonen says, a "somehow antimilitary subtext reminiscent of [James] Cameron at his best" (Cinefantastique 27.8 [April 1996]: 55). (RDE, 05/08/95, 03/06/96)