Being as forthright as his feature, British auteur Richard Stanley’s Hardware is a true blooded post-apocalyptic cyberpunk cautionary tale which is as successful as it is a misfire.
True to his name, Nomad (Carl McCoy)–roaming the post-apocalyptic radioactive wasteland–discovers the remnants of a robot. He sells his find to Moses (Baxter Dylan McDermott) who, in turn, gives it to his metallurgically-inclined artist girlfriend, Jill Grakowski (Stacey Travis), whom quickly implements her gift into a sculpture. However, unbeknownst to the couple, the scraps are part of the government’s Emergency Population Control Bill, which is monitored by self-sustaining killing machines referred to as M.A.R.K. 13’s. Shortly thereafter, the materials successfully reanimate themselves and begin to run their homicidal program.
Unlike many cyberpunk films, Stanley does not permit the technology of tomorrow overshadow the content of his film as we are issued a very foreboding and bleak vision of the future in which drugs have been legalized, global warming has resulted in 110 degree temperatures in the shade, police reliability is an oxymoron, and rampant radiation leads to a roll of the dice regarding healthy offspring. Much like Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Stanley’s film begins–not in medias res–but after the true climax, leaving us to contend with what preceded our entry. Though as much of a character as the futuristic environment, (lack of) local color, and authentic dialogue may be, the plot leaves a lot to be desired which, in essence, makes Hardware a posthumous viewing of sorts in that its lack of content speaks volumes. In this regard, the premise of Stanley’s work is of little consequence in relation to how we arrived in our present setting. However, this hardnosed and hard won–however potent–facet of Stanley’s film nonetheless makes for a very slow picture but, as Irish playwright Samuel Beckett astutely observed, Whoever said art had to be enjoyable?
A self-sustaining killing machine is nothing new to science fiction and a premise’s success dealing with such is oftentimes solely dependent upon its execution, which is where Stanley falls short. Put simply, Harware is overlong when it needn’t be in that the director takes his time hoping that the moments bridging the action will sire tension and suspense. Instead, what we are left with is a layover in action which, if properly edited, could have been the breeding ground for one hell of a short film.
However, interestingly, Stanley does manage to subtlety establish a very scathing indictment via correlation of American government and military action (aside from the heavy-handed decision to have Jill paint an American flag on the M.A.R.K. 13’s headpiece) in that we voyeuristically watch Jill and Moses have illicit–that is, not governmentally validated–sex from what we are lead to believe is the then-awakening M.A.R.K. 13 only to discover our frame of reference to be that of Jill’s neighbor, Lincoln Wineberg (William Hootkins). Several scenes later, Lincoln forces his way into Jill’s apartment and presents himself as a potential rapist only to have M.A.R.K. 13 succeed him in his assault, ergo we are granted a metaphorical raping (in accordance with the reading of slasher-film-as-symbolic-rape) of our female protagonist by the reactivated robot.
Equally interesting is the symbolism used in Hardware as M.A.R.K. 13 is aligned with Satan as its protocol is BAAL, the pagan God of Rain (which becomes an irony by the film’s true climax) while its motherboard is in the shape of a pentagram as its eyes glow red. Still more intriguing is our witnessing of how our three main characters contend with their present circumstances: Moses–natch–is seen thumbing through the Bible as his friend, Shades (John Lynch), resorts to escape via drugs while Jill pragmatically confronts her dilemma head-on.
Richard Stanley’s Hardware which plays like an early Terry Gilliam work devoid of its wry sensibilities. One gets the feeling that the work was constrained from more than one angle (which becomes prophetic when one considers that Stanley would be fired from the directing chair of The Island of Dr. Moreau six years later). Regrettably, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the film’s production, we nonetheless are forced to contend with what exists in lieu of optimistic speculation. Indeed, Stanley’s setting is arresting to say the least but as admirable as our background may (not) be, Stanley fails to provide us with a complimentary foreground. A minor cyberpunk classic of sorts, Hardware merits at least a second viewing in order to truly appreciate what Stanley laboriously put into his work despite the work’s horrid pacing. Unfortunately, though Hardware exhibits vast potential, Stanley has since all but disappeared from cinema, leaving his tentative audience with the probing, unanswered question of what might have been.
Trivia tidbit: Bill Paxton was the director’s original choice to play the role of Moses and the actor was interested but the production companies weren’t familiar enough with the name (two of the film’s producers were the Weinstein Brothers, go figure) and, subsequently, did not follow through while Jeffery Combs’s part as Shades was negated due to British union legislation, which prohibited more than two American actors in a production. Also, the role of Angry Bob, played by Iggy Pop, was slated for Johnny Lydon while Sinead O’Connor was the original performer in the role of the taxi driver, which Lemmy of Motörhead fame ultimately assumed.
-Egregious Gurnow
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- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
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- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
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