The Demolitionist (1995)

A murdered police officer is brought back to life by a cold-hearted scientist to serve as "The Demolitionist", the ultimate crime-fighting weapon in a city overrun by criminals and internal... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Kurtzman

Writers:

Brian DiMuccio (screenplay), Anne Kurtzman (story),

Stars:

Nicole Eggert, Bruce Abbott, Susan Tyrrell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Eggert	...	Alyssa Lloyd
Bruce Abbott	...	Prof. Jack Crowley
Susan Tyrrell	...	Mayor Eleanor Grimbaum
Peter Jason	...	Higgins
Sarah Douglas	...	Surgeon
Andras Jones	...	Daniel Dupre
Heather Langenkamp	...	Christy Carruthers
David Anthony Marshall	...	One Eye
Richard Grieco	...	Mad Dog Burne
Randy Vasquez	...	Little Henry Burne
Yvonne M. Cohrs	...	Mall Patron #1
Christopher Thunderwolf	...	Mall Patron #2
Jack Nance	...	Father McKenzie
Chris Cowell	...	Executioner
Joseph Pilato	...	Boxer (as Josef Pilato)

Storyline

A murdered police officer is brought back to life by a cold-hearted scientist to serve as "The Demolitionist", the ultimate crime-fighting weapon in a city overrun by criminals and internal corruption.

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Plot Keywords:

police | police officer | cyborg | revenge | robot | 

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Taglines:

Hell Has No Fury...Like A Woman Transformed.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, some nudity and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Demolitionist

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-Pix Entertainment, Le Monte Entertainment, Planet Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 89 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the beginning of the film, a Fangoria Magazine featuring Heather Langenkamp on the cover can be seen in the Burne Brothers prison cell just before she appears on the television.

User Reviews

From the minds of FX wizards KNB

Plot Synopsis: In the not-too-distant future, the mayor of Metro City introduces a law banning all guns in the city. Her mortal enemy, Mad Dog Burns, escapes from Death Row & stages an unsuccessful attempt to kill her. He then exposes an undercover police officer, Alyssa Lloyd, & kills her. A police scientist resurrects her as an invincible zombie warrior, gives her weapons & a motorcycle & sets her loose on Mad Dog & his gang.

Film Review: It is probably an unwritten rule that any genre film directed by someone who is better known for producing visual effects is going to be a dud. The Demolitionist comes from the mind of Robert Kurtzman, one of the founders of KNB EFX Group, a prominent makeup effects company. Following in the footsteps of Chris Walas (THE FLY II), Gary J. Tunnicliffe (WITHIN THE ROCK), Bob Keen (PROTEUS), the Brothers Strause (ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM), Tom Savini (the NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD remake) & the late great Stan Winston (PUMPKINHEAD), Kurtzman tries his hand at directing.

Of those films, only three actually stood out from the pack. Savini's remake of NOTLD was the best of the bunch, while not beating the original, it was still a good zombie film. Within the Rock was a passable monster film that had the indignity of having half its plot stolen by a certain Michael Bay flick the following year. And the most notorious of them all, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, despite all the crap poured on it by practically everybody, was slightly better than the first AVP, mainly by delivering on the action that the original failed to do (although its biggest mistake was not having a fully-fleshed out plot & having the monster attacks being shot in the dark).

Which brings us to the $62, 500 question: is The Demolitionist a good film or is it a bad one? Well, to be honest, the film is one of the shoddiest genre actioners ever to come out of the 1990s. I don't think it even had a theatrical release. Anyway, the film has a slightly interesting premise – female cop is killed by a wanted terrorist, resurrected from the dead as a cyborg zombie super-warrior, goes after the bad guys with a vengeance. But the poor script does it no favours.

The Demolitionist does have the occasional moment where it looks halfway promising – Richard Grieco conducts a business negotiation between his police mole & a guard dog – but the poor plotting, atrocious dialogue & under-cooked action scenes conspire to weaken it considerably. Not to mention the fact that the visual effects, despite being produced by a top-shelf EFX group, look very cheap.

On the acting front, the performances range from the okay to the very bad – Richard Grieco overacts wildly (though you can't fault him for not having any fun) but the real worst actor here is Susan Tyrell – her relentless mugging of the stage causes any scene with her in it to collapse to the ground in a heap of flames. Look out for Tom Savini as one of Grieco's fellow gang members & Joe Pilato (Captain Rhodes from the original DAY OF THE DEAD) as a drunken gangbanger.