M.A.R.K. 13 aka Hardware - Richard Stanley 1990

M.A.R.K. 13 aka Hardware - Richard Stanley 1990 Markcover

Plot in a nutshell...

this is a apocalyptic, post-industrial nightmare set in the distant future. Dylan McDermott stars as Moses "Hard Mo"' Baxter, a washed-up ex-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.

Quote :: Overview
The 21st century world is a radioactive wasteland as a result of a nuclear war. A travelling scavenger comes across the remains of a cyborg named Mark 13 in the desert; He salvages pieces of it. The cyborg head ends up with a metal sculptress, who is unaware of the cyborg's infamy as a governmental killing machine project that was scrapped due to its defects. Mark 13 reconstructs itself utilising household appliances and metal parts, and goes amok.

Advertised as The Terminator for the nineties, the film's soundtrack features music from Iggy Pop (who, although never seen in the movie, has a cameo role as the radio personality known as "Angry Bob"), Motörhead (whose lead singer, Lemmy, has a cameo as a taxi driver), Ministry and Public Image Limited. Additionally Carl McCoy, the vocalist from Fields of the Nephilim played the 'zone tripper' who brings the Mark 13 into human contact. Special effects were provided by Image Animation (Hellraiser, Highlander and Nightbreed).

Mark 13
M.A.R.K. 13 is a prototype killer combat droid. Its name is a reference to the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Bible, part of which reads "no flesh shall be spared".

The robot, capable of reconstructing itself if damaged in combat, can augment and rebuild its body using nearest available machinery and metal parts. It also comes equipped with an anti-personnel chemical weapon in the form of an injectable cytotoxin, that causes sensory distortion before death.

Its Achilles' heel is a faulty insulation system, highly sensitive to moisture and humidity. Although built for fighting in arid terrain, this huge flaw in the cyborg caused its governmental project funding to be suspended.

The film is based on a 2000 AD comic called SHOK!

a very nice post-apocalyptic sf thriller! kult! great dark atmosphere! 8/10!!!

M.A.R.K. 13 aka Hardware - Richard Stanley 1990 Hardware5