Death Machine (1995)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Stephen Norrington

Writer:

Stephen Norrington (writer)

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It feeds on your fear

Plot:

Chaank Armaments is experimenting with the ultimate fighting machine which is part human - part machine...

Plot Keywords:

Killer Robot | Psycho | Cyberpunk | Cyborg | Robot

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Brad Dourif	...	Jack Dante
Ely Pouget	...	Hayden Cale
William Hootkins	...	John Carpenter
John Sharian	...	Sam Raimi
Martin McDougall	...	Yutani
Andreas Wisniewski	...	Weyland
Richard Brake	...	Scott Ridley
Alex Brooks	...	Sheriff Dickson
Stuart St. Paul	...	Glitching Hardman
Jackie Sawiris	...	Waitress
Annemarie Zola	...	Screaming Demonstrator (as Anne Marie Zola)
Julie Cox	...	Screaming Demonstrator
Kathleen Tessaro	...	Reporter
Ronald Fernee	...	Reporter
Lesley Lyon	...	Reporter
Jason Shepherd	...	Reporter
Colleen Passard	...	Anchor Woman
Robert Jezek	...	Media Controller
Dominic Hawksley	...	Argumentative Executive
Rachel Weisz	...	Junior Executive
Nicola Van Dam	...	Cale's Personal Assistant
Rob Freeman	...	Obstructive Executive
Randall Paul	...	Duty Sgt. Bateman
Matthew Justice	...	Oily Corpse / Oily Dead Diner / Oily Executive
Joe Scott	...	Chaark Recovery Squad / Lecherous Engineer
Melissa Charrington	...	Chaark Recovery Squad
Dominic Anciano	...	Dead Diner / Executive
Ray Burdis	...	Dead Diner
Chris Edwards	...	Dead Diner
Anna Lisa Seccombe	...	Executive
Lisa Shanley	...	Executive
Ian Stanley Norse	...	Executive
Stephen Norrington	...	Executive
Richard Brenchley	...	Executive
Samantha Jane O'Neill	...	Executive
Maurice Fellouhe	...	Lab Technician
Tony Haynes	...	Lab Technician
John Schoonraad	...	Lab Technician
John Morris	...	Deputy Sheriff Poyer
Fredrick Lopez	...	Deputy Sheriff Randall (as Frederick Lopez)

Directed by
Stephen Norrington

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Stephen Norrington		writer

Produced by
Dominic Anciano	....	producer
Jim Beach	....	executive producer
Ray Burdis	....	co-producer
Nigel Green	....	co-executive producer
Matthew Justice	....	line producer
Heidi Lester	....	associate producer
Teruhiko Noguchi	....	co-executive producer
Stephen Norrington	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Crispin Merrell

Cinematography by
John de Borman

Film Editing by
Paul Endacott

Casting by
Beth Charkham

Production Design by
Chris Edwards

Art Direction by
Su Whitaker		(as Susan Whitaker)

Costume Design by
Stephanie Collie

Makeup Department
Lisa Boni	....	makeup artist
Chris Cunningham	....	tattoo designs
Dave Elsey	....	special makeup effects artist
Alan Hedgcock	....	special makeup effects designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oscar Beuselinck	....	second assistant director
Kieron Phipps	....	first assistant director
Richard Walker	....	stand-in/trainee assistant director

Art Department
Nic Stubbings	....	stand-by props
Richard Van Den Bergh	....	set dressing
Tim Youngman	....	property master
Will Ayres	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Mark Allen	....	sound designer
Rudi Buckle	....	production sound mixer
Michael A. Carter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin Codner	....	boom operator
Nainita Desai	....	sound designer
Patrick M. Griffith	....	supervising sound editor
Pauline Griffiths	....	foley artist
Chris Kelly	....	foley editor
Peter Lacey	....	adr mixer
Jenny Lee Wright	....	foley artist
Otto Snel	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin Tayler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mike Wood	....	sound editor
Sandy Buchanan	....	post-production sound assistant (uncredited)

Special Effects by
David Brighton	....	special effects senior technician
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects supervisor
Nick Middleton	....	special effects
Graham Riddell	....	animatronics designer
Mike Tristano	....	special effects makeup
Cliff Wallace	....	special makeup effects and design
Nik Williams	....	animatronic special effects

Visual Effects by
Sally Goldberg	....	computer animator
Pete Hanson	....	studio manager: CFC
Christian Hogue	....	digital special effects supervisor
Ian Morse	....	model maker
Roy Scott	....	miniature special effects supervisor
Richard Thomas	....	prop maker
Richard Van Den Bergh	....	model maker
Brendan Lonergan	....	makeup effects/sculptor (uncredited)
Kevin Phelan	....	scanning and recording producer: CFC London (uncredited)

Stunts
Jonathan Cohen	....	stunts
Ray De-Haan	....	stunts
Frank Henson	....	stunts
Dave Holland	....	stunts
Sy Hollands	....	stunts
Stuart St. Paul	....	stunt coordinator
Stuart St. Paul	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Roger Bonnici	....	director of photography: second unit
Jasper Fforde	....	focus puller
Tony Haynes	....	clapper loader
Lisa Lloyd	....	clapper loader: second unit
Michael Metcalfe	....	camera operator
Rebecca Peters	....	video assistant
John Ward	....	Steadicam operator

Editorial Department
Tristan Mullane	....	assistant film editor
Clive Noakes	....	color grader
Jason Wheeler	....	negative cutter
Sylvia Wheeler	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Gardner Compton	....	body double
Chris Cunningham	....	tattoo designs (as Chris Halls)
Memphis Perkins	....	body double
Joyce Turner	....	production coordinator
Steve Vaughn	....	body double
Elizabeth West	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Fugitive Features

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Trimark Pictures
• Vhero Films S.A. (Spain)
• Vidmark Entertainment (video)

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (compositing)

Other Companies

• Pinewood Studios  movie studio
• A1 Animals  rats supplied by
• Animated Extras  animatronic special effects
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Sapex Scripts  post-production services
• Silent Movies  catering
• Speedform Construction  steelwork construction

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi terror and violence, language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Germany:18 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Fugitive Features

Trivia:

"Scott Ridley" is named after Ridley Scott, and "John Carpenter" is named after John Carpenter. "Weyland" and "Yutani" are named after the company in Alien (1979), directed by Scott.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the Warbeast attacks Raimi and Weyland in Vault 10, they defend themselves by firing their rifles at it. Why would they do that, when then know well that they have only blanks in their guns?

Quotes:

[Imitating Hellraiser 3]
Sam Raimi: Jesus!
Jack Dante: Well, no, not quite. But close.

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

Death by Metal !!!

Set in the future, this film turns out a top performance from Brad Dourif, who plays a psycho-pathic weapons designer whose latest creation, the DEATH MACHINE is put into action when Brad resents a colleagues promotion, and engages maximum overdrive in the schizo department.

The film maintains a good pace throughout. Although borrowing from the style used in ALIEN, (that of dark corridors and chase sequences.) it moves on from this with the introduction of a comical element provided by three of the worlds most badly prepared eco-type warriors, who pick the wrong time to expose the corporation for what it is. Needless to say, all are ruthlessly hunted to extinction by a first class front-line moral destroyer.

The storyline, the tense combination of will they survive? and the fluid motion of the robot especially, is what makes the film appealing, with a very strong performance from Brad Dourif thrown in for good measure.

This is definately a guys movie, even though the heroine comes no-where near to romping around a commercial cargo vessel in panties and a tight T-shirt!