In the "near future", a corporation named "Chaank" is in the business of exotic weapon technology. After the death of a higher-up, a new joint chief executive named Hayden Cale (model turned actress Ely Pouget) is brought in to clean house. One of her first orders of business is getting rid of utterly demented, childlike genius Jack Dante (veteran screen psycho Brad Dourif). But Dante has an ace up his sleeve: a lethal death-dispenser dubbed the Warbeast, complete with giant, gnashing steel teeth. Hayden must team up with some unlikely allies in her battle to stay alive.
Debuting writer / director Stephen Norrington doesn't set out to be particularly innovative or imaginative, with a script that's largely routine and not many characters one can truly care about. That said, he achieves a pretty good "futuristic" feel on a B level budget, and whatever "Death Machine" lacks in originality is compensated for by the fast pace and the sheer intensity on display. The Warbeast in particular is a cool antagonist of sorts, and Norrington makes it most effective when we get partial looks at the thing.
Matching the Warbeast for absolute ferocity is the great character actor Dourif, one of those thespians often at their best when allowed to utterly devour the scenery. He's the most interesting character here, although Pouget makes for a reasonably effective, Ellen Ripley-style heroine.
The supporting cast consists of such familiar faces as William Hootkins ("Hardware"), John Sharian ("The Machinist"), Martin McDougall ("Batman Begins"), Andreas Wisniewski ("Die Hard"), and Richard Brake ("31"), and the performances are generally quite capable, even if some of the characters are the type whom you hope will die gloriously. Look for Rachel Weisz ("The Mummy" '99) in her film debut as a "junior executive".
Norringtons' in-jokes range from the obvious (giving characters names like "John Carpenter", "Sam Raimi", and "Scott Ridley") to slightly less obvious (the character names Weyland and Yutani, "Weyland-Yutani" being the name of the evil corporation in the "Alien" franchise).
While reminiscent of earlier films in the sci-fi / horror genres, "Death Machine" is still a decent example of this sort of thing.
Seven out of 10.
Debuting writer / director Stephen Norrington doesn't set out to be particularly innovative or imaginative, with a script that's largely routine and not many characters one can truly care about. That said, he achieves a pretty good "futuristic" feel on a B level budget, and whatever "Death Machine" lacks in originality is compensated for by the fast pace and the sheer intensity on display. The Warbeast in particular is a cool antagonist of sorts, and Norrington makes it most effective when we get partial looks at the thing.
Matching the Warbeast for absolute ferocity is the great character actor Dourif, one of those thespians often at their best when allowed to utterly devour the scenery. He's the most interesting character here, although Pouget makes for a reasonably effective, Ellen Ripley-style heroine.
The supporting cast consists of such familiar faces as William Hootkins ("Hardware"), John Sharian ("The Machinist"), Martin McDougall ("Batman Begins"), Andreas Wisniewski ("Die Hard"), and Richard Brake ("31"), and the performances are generally quite capable, even if some of the characters are the type whom you hope will die gloriously. Look for Rachel Weisz ("The Mummy" '99) in her film debut as a "junior executive".
Norringtons' in-jokes range from the obvious (giving characters names like "John Carpenter", "Sam Raimi", and "Scott Ridley") to slightly less obvious (the character names Weyland and Yutani, "Weyland-Yutani" being the name of the evil corporation in the "Alien" franchise).
While reminiscent of earlier films in the sci-fi / horror genres, "Death Machine" is still a decent example of this sort of thing.
Seven out of 10.