The Vindicator (1986)
Directed by Jean-Claude Lord
I couldn't choose between which Killer Robot movie I should watch, and so I watched them both. First up was a Canadian B Movie about a feisty Scientist who's loving wife is pregnant. Of course this is the moment he chooses to piss of his evil boss who has him blown up in an arranged accident. Since the brain is undamaged (more or less) why not place it into the experimental robot body we've been working on. Hey, I know what else would be a good idea, what if we programmed the robot to flip out and kill anyone who touches him. Oh no! The robot has escaped and is bent on revenge.
This movie had some similarities with The Terminator (which came before it), and Robocop (which came after it), but it also reminded me of Wes Craven's Swamp Thing. It's also Canadian to the core, with not only Maury Chaykin in a prominent role, but one of the ex hosts of The Polka-Dot Door running around. They also pulled the totally Canadian move of bringing in a down on their luck American ex Movie Star in the form of Pam Grier, to play the bad ass Assassin/Trouble shooter.
We get some Skull crushing, and synth
talking, but also some tender moments before the big robot fight in the
end.If I had rented this at the Red Circle when I was a kid, I would
have been stoked.
Mikadoroido (1991)
Directed by Satoo Haraguchi & Tomo'o Haraguchi
Up next we have a Japanese film about the fall out from a World War 2 Era super soldier program. At the end of the war when soldiers came to dismantle the project, the scientist in charge set two of his candidates free, and set his third fully converted candidate loose on the soldiers, who he made short work of. We then skip ahead to the present day of the early 90's. An underground disco is having trouble with it's generator, so a young electrician is sent by. As luck would have it the robot super soldier in the basement has also awoken and has started killing everything in sight. The two other candidates(who haven't aged a day) arrive to kill their former comrade, and put him out of his misery, though that’s much easier said than done. The electrician and a patron from the disco are stuck in the middle and do their best not to get shot too much.
This movie his hyper stylized, almost like a live action anime. It manages to do that typically anime thing where it's brutal and violent, but also has an atmosphere of philosophical sadness.
If you like Killer Robots, and who doesn't, both these films are a good time.
Goodbye Bear... Goodbye Marigold... Goodbye Humpty.
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