If you're feeling in the mood for watching a movie based on a novella which inspired a comic book, hey my friend, today's your lucky day. A lucky day for you to also check out the following 74 minute movie made in 1974. It was Directed by: Jerry London; and Starred: Clint Walker, James Wainwright, Carl Betz, with Neville Brand.Killdozer
THE STORY:
It wants to kill us, men. Why it wants to kill us? I have no
idea. Who's controlling it? Same answer. But I'll tell you something for nothing.
When I first took on this demolition job we're currently involved with, I never
would have thought I'd be running away from one of our very own rampaging
bulldozers!
Well, as I'm sure you're already too aware of, so far the
'D9' has killed two of our work colleagues. First it fried Mack (Robert Urich) in
what seemed like a freakish accident. And then some time later, when Al (James
Watson) decided to take it out for a joy ride, well, let's just say he didn't
get much joy out of it, although the bulldozer did.
Splat!
Still. Where does that leave the rest of us, eh? All of our
equipment has been smashed to smithereens. We're stuck out in the middle of nowhere.
And the only thing we've got going for us is our fairly chiselled good looks.
Then again, that's most probably why what next transpires all
goes 'beep-beep' when Dennis (Carl Betz) looks over at me and says, 'Lloyd!
(Clint Walker) When are you going to get it through your think skull you can't
kill a machine!'. As Chub (Neville Brand) gets squashed in his car - Dutch (James
Wainwright) doesn't get very far - a bulldozer finally stands it ground - and
at the end of the day, a piece of machinery is carted off to the nearest
impound.
THE REVIEW:
In my opinion 'Killdozer!' is one of those films which should
have been made into a comedy rather than a thriller. Well. Let's face it, folk.
Conceptually it's about a bulldozer that gets possessed by a meteor from outer
space, and -- as you do -- decides to takes it upon itself to kill a bunch of
workmen who actually need this piece of equipment to get their job done. Plus
to make matters even worse, the whole thing was set in a barren yet desolate
quarry, and was complemented with a bunch of actors who deserved a much better script
to play off of.
However, having said all that, the one thing I did enjoy
about this movie were those scenes where the dreaded bulldozer in question
flashed its scary headlights, and -- as I said previously -- went around
squashing and bashing whoever came its way. In fact, I liked these rather
suspenseful sequences to such an extent, I thought it was a bloody shame that
whoever wrote it couldn't have put as much effort into giving it some sort of
motivation. Heck, to be perfectly honest with you, dear reader, I can say
exactly the same thing about some of the characters as well.
Admittedly. Even though from a performance point of view most
of the actors did a pretty good job with what they had at hand, as push comes
to shove I'm sure the whole thing could have been a lot better if each of them possessed
an archetypal trait. You know. One of them could have been made into a fast
talking comedian. Another a more flamboyant chap. And yet another a butch yet surly
type. But no. Whoever was behind this flick made them all into generic workmen
with a communal history which never really aided the plot.
Overall I'd say 'Killdozer' was a film that could have been
a lot better than it was, yet still ended up becoming a cult classic by
mistake. So if you're one of those people who like seventies bent adventures
about workmen and rampaging machines, here, this one is for you.
Nuff said.
THE RATING: C
KILLDOZER! (1974)
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
October 08, 2014
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
October 08, 2014
Rating:
