Hardware: Special Edition

Hardware is a highly derivative low budget british sci-fi shocker that inexplicably became a cult hit for palace pictures upon its original release. Based on the story "shok!" from magazine 2000ad, the movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a young scavenger acquires a "mark 13" robot head found in the desert wasteland and unwittingly takes it home to his girlfriend for her sculpture - unprepared for the mayhem that lies in store. The awful truth is soon revealed - the mark-13 head has the ability to reassemble itself into a formiddable (yet slightly cumbersome looking) killing machine that wages war on humans. Director stanley should have taken notes from terminator director cameron in terms of pacing - this film takes far too long to get going, before cutting loose in the second half with some effective action sequences and gore. It's not without style, but demanding sci-fi fans may expect much more. Hardware never looked particulary good on vhs with a reliance on orange… more »

Hardware is a highly derivative low budget british sci-fi shocker that inexplicably became a cult hit for palace pictures upon its original release. Based on the story "shok!" from magazine 2000ad, the movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a young scavenger acquires a "mark 13" robot head found in the desert wasteland and unwittingly takes it home to his girlfriend for her sculpture - unprepared for the mayhem that lies in store. The awful truth is soon revealed - the mark-13 head has the ability to reassemble itself into a formiddable (yet slightly cumbersome looking) killing machine that wages war on humans. Director stanley should have taken notes from terminator director cameron in terms of pacing - this film takes far too long to get going, before cutting loose in the second half with some effective action sequences and gore. It's not without style, but demanding sci-fi fans may expect much more. Hardware never looked particulary good on vhs with a reliance on orange and red filters, so it really does benefit from an improved presentation on dvd. Optimum's special edition release is loaded with extras, some of which are exclusive to r2, making this a very collectable purchase.