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Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis, John Lynch, William Hootkins, Iggy Pop ... see more see more... , Mark Northover , Lemmy , Barbara Yu Ling , Mac McDonald , Chris McHallem , Paul McKenzie , Carl McCoy , James Oscar Lee , Karen Lindsay-Stewart , Betsy Fels

Music video director Richard Stanley made his feature debut with this apocalyptic, post-industrial nightmare set in the distant future. Dylan McDermott stars as Moses "Hard Mo"' Baxter, a washed-up ex... read more read more...-soldier who spends most of his time in "The Zone" -- a scorched, ochre-colored desert littered with the radioactive debris of an unspecified war (or wars). Mo's recent Zone foray with war-buddy Shades (Jon Lynch) turns up an interesting find -- a pile of droid parts he purchases from a spooky "Zone Tripper" (Carl McCoy, frontman for goth-rock's Fields of the Nephilim), which he carts home to his reclusive artist girlfriend Jill (Stacy Travis) to serve as raw material for her latest work. Unbeknownst to them, the dismantled robot is the prototype of a controversial new battle-droid dubbed the Mark 13, which is designed to reassemble itself from available materials if damaged in combat. In short order, the Mark 13 proceeds to do just that, tapping into the power grid in Jill's fortress-like apartment and targeting her for death. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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56% liked it

4,930 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

11 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Richard Stanley

Release Date: September 14, 1990

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DVD Release Date: May 6, 2003

Stats: 363 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (363)

  • WrenchLT
    June 26, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk horror based on a short comic book story called "Shok" about a self-repairing combat cyborg that terrorizes a lady in an apartment block. Pretty good I thought. I liked its interpretation of a post nuclear holocaust world. Pretty cool soundtrack too wi... read moreth cameos from rock legends Iggy Pop and Lemmy from Motorhead. Takes a while for the action to get going but there are a couple of awesomely bloody deaths. As for the cyborg itself I didn't find it too menacing really and it moved quite awkwardly too, the low-budget obviously played its part in the special-effects department. But the "M.A.R.K. 13" does have enough character to make it as memorable as other villainous robots like "ED-209" from the Robocop films. Good film overall, but not great. It's earned its cult status though.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    November 22, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Crtics have hailed Hardware as a misunderstood post apocalyptic masterpiece in the tradition of Mad Max.
    Having watched it, I initially had mixed feelings about this film. It's raw, gritty and it's low budget only adds to the films energy. The biggest problem I had with the film... read more is the characters, I felt they were not well developed and not likeable. The acting is standard B movie shit and you really don't care for the characters in the end. The movie itself is awesome for it's violence, and when it starts, boy does it start. This film lacks character, and plot developpement but really delivers in the violence department. This is a picture that needs multiple viewings to really like it, but in the end; this film is in the you either love it or hate it category. The plot is very simple, and effective. A soldier finds parts of a robot in the desert and brings it to his sculptor girlfriend. The Robot turns out to be a Mark 13 robot, a killer bot designed to control the human growth population. The only thing now is that the droid goes on a killing rampage and kills everything in his path. The gore factor for the film is high, and the film will definitely make you bit your nails. But Hardware isn't a film that has a great story, the film relies more on the on screen violence to create the Horror. Theres plenty of destruction going on here, as the Mark 13 droid kills everything in his path. Even though the film feels low budget, this still a fairly well done Sci Fi horror flick, though lacking in plot, it makes up for it in thrills. Hardware is a violence driven film, and in some case it works, which is the case with this film. A wicked post apocalyptic style film set in a dystopian society. Alkso worth mentioning is a cool cameo by Lemmy from Motorhead.
  • Stinger839
    August 10, 2010
    Stinger839
    This begins with a tight dystopic aesthetic but it loses its way when it confines itself to the one set - a main character's apartment - for the majority of the film. I wanted there to be more to this film because more was promised in the first act. Once it gets rolling, there ar... read moree a few very cool gore installations but the film didn't keep me engaged in the suspense once it confines itself to the one location because then it becomes just a series of "we killed it! oh no, we didn't kill it!" and then rinses and repeats too many times to remain interesting.
  • romy861
    May 22, 2010
    romy861
    Trashy, but kind of watchable.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    March 18, 2010
    cancercapricorn2002
    I must admit I am a huge fan of under-estimated, enigmatic South African director Richard Stanley

    Like his magnificent masterpiece, Dust Devil, Hardware deals with similar themes - the desert, the Old Testament, and sexual violence.

    I first saw this movie back in high school.
    ... read more
    Watching it again on blu-ray,the movie seems a little dated or rather post-rock video in places, but when it was made in 1990, this was all cutting-edge stuff. I am not giving anything away by saying that the plot is in many ways a re-working of The Terminator or Alien, when Dylan McDermott gives his girlfriend Jill (played by Stacey Travis)what he thinks is a load of unusual scrap metal salvaged from the desert. She is an artist and welds these robot parts to a sculpture she is making...

    This is an extremely visceral movie, laced with religious iconography (mark-13 often adopts crucifixion poses and in the shower scene at the end, appears to be in a prayer position) and boosted by an extremely eclectic and unusual cast. Motorhead singer Lemmy crops up playing a sort of ferryman, Iggy Pop plays DJ Angry Bob, and John Lynch is excellent as my favourite character from this film, Shades.

    The narrative is essentially straight-forward but what makes this movie different and memorable is Stanley's vision. The mise-en-scene is bleached red (post-appocalypse), the use of montage is often extremely effective and nightmarish and I was frequently reminded when watching it of Renaissence paintings, just in glimpses here and there (hell, maybe that's just me..!) There is also some American comment in this movie; mark-13 is adorned with a stars-and-stripes, and the deadly toxin it employs is described as 'smelling like apple pie'. This of course is akin to Dust Devil, where the demon is simply called 'Texas' by Wendy.

    So, to conclude, if you haven't seen this movie or heard of this director before I urge you to seek him out. Anyone with a love for avant-garde and challenging cinema (like me) should have heard of this guy (proper auteur by the way) and his thematically-consistent visions.

    This is still a fine film but probably hasn't aged as well as it might have done - it's strength is that it is far more complex than it first appears to be.
  • DrBenway
    March 31, 2008
    DrBenway
    Mark 13; No Flesh Shall Be Spared

    Desert style, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk horror that one will either love or hate. A former soldier salvaging for scrap brings the head of a robot to his girlfriend to use in her scrap metal sculptures. The gesture is enough to get him thro... read moreugh the door and into her bed when we find the robot head is actually an experimental battle robot from a failed "population-control" project.

    Hilarity ensues as blood, guts, spit and ass paint the walls in a washed-out-color world. Though at times it becomes a bit tedious and seems to offer no more than visuals, Hardware is still worthy enough for any fans of cyberpunk.

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  • YosemiteSamFan
    October 13, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Great 80's music and dusty post-apocalyptic danger zone . It's a simple robot-girl suspense story. Nothing great, but it has an appeal - blame the Public Image Ltd. song "The Order of Death" which makes it unforgettable.
  • nuheart
    December 27, 2006
    nuheart
    You pick this movie up and you see that it boasts Lemmy Killmister in its cast, and you go, "How good can it be", right?. Well, it's even worse.
  • garyX
    December 13, 2006
    garyX
    Style most definitely triumphs over substance in a highly derivitive tech-noir horror. Nice to look at but ultimately unfulfilling.
  • deano
    November 20, 2006
    deano
    Bored stylish, atmospheric horror tale of a US military android reviving itself after the Big One and going on the rampage.

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Critic Reviews

Ian Berriman
October 19, 2010
Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine

One of those lovingly crafted movies where ingenuity and enthusiasm overcome the budgetary limitations. Full Review

Walter Chaw
January 19, 2010
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Shut up. Try to pay attention. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
October 26, 2009
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

Nearly two decades later, Hardware retains its merciless poise, and while the filmmaker has slipped into obscurity, his finest work still lunges for the throat. Full Review

Bryant Frazer
October 14, 2009
Bryant Frazer, Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

They say all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun. But if you've got a girl and a killer robot, then you're really onto something. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
August 16, 2006
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

Stanley is nothing if not a master of efficient filmmaking. Full Review

Widgett Walls
May 6, 2003
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

Surprisingly capable sci-fi/monster thriller. And the soundtrack is so cool it can kill from fifty yards away.

Luke Y. Thompson
January 16, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Fantastic "future shock" movie about a killer robot run amuck in a postnuclear future. Not to be missed!

Scott Weinberg
January 1, 2000
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

If the story were as involving as the visual style... Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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