1990 - Directed by Richard Stanley
 Starring Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis, John Lynch, William Hootkins and Mark Northover

 When I popped in the Blu-ray of this film, I woulda swore on a stack of Bibles that I’d seen it when it originally turned up on VHS way back in the early 90’s, but I now don’t believe that was the case.  I think I just watched this for the first time, and I rather enjoyed myself, even if the plot feels a bit thin for the running time of the film.

 Set in a post apocalyptic world where the government is trying to pass legislation limiting the number of children one can have due to overpopulation and lack of general resources, we open with a nomadic scavenger wandering the desert wastelands, where he finds the remains of a robot half buried in the sand.  Flip back to what passes for civilization in this world, where Moses Baxter (McDermott) and his buddy Shades (Lynch) are bartering with a businessman/junk-dealer/fence over their own scavenged items.  The nomad enters with his loot, including the robot head, which Baxter buys from him because he needs a gift to try to appease his girlfriend Jill (Travis), a sculptress who works in metals, crafting art from the remnants of discarded items.

 Junk dealer Alvy (Northover) remarks that the head must’ve belonged to some sort of robot drone to have been found in the wastelands; begins to look into the other parts that accompanied it. Baxter and Shades head for home, where Jill reluctantly lets Baxter in, then is very pleased with her gift.  Shades retreats to his own nearby apartment to meditate and evidently get high while Baxter and Jill make the beast with two backs; she really liked her severed robot head present.  Take note fellas: Valentine’s Day is always just around the corner and abandoned scrap metal is apparently a real magnet.

 Jill and Baxter are spied on by her neighbor Lincoln, who watches them through the window and via all manner of spy-gear, spouting a filthy stream of dirty talk while doing so.  Seriously, this guy is as creepy as they come and rather hard to listen to with his creepshow sex-spiel, he gave me the willies and I’m a grown-ass man!

 As Baxter falls asleep, Jill slips away for some post-coital creativity, welding the robot head into a sculpture she’s been working on, to the tune of some pounding Ministry (the film has a great soundtrack, BTW), leaving Baxter to surprisingly sleep through all the industrial noise.  Alvy has meanwhile uncovered some info on the parts, indicating that the head is part of a Mark-13, a decommissioned android meant to thin out the population by any means necessary, so he contacts Baxter to let him know how valuable the pieces might be.  Baxter heads to Alvy’s shop to see what’s up, leaving Jill alone with her newly completed sculpture.

 Alvy is killed by the remnants left at his shop, as they begin to rebuild themselves and turn on him, and before you know it, the very same thing is happening in Jill’s apartment, the Mark 13 leeching off the various power sources and reconstructing itself from all the metal detritus that she has lying around her work area.

 The rest of the film is basically confined to Jill’s apartment as the Mark 13 clunks around, trying to kill anything that it encounters, be that Jill, creepy molester neighbor or anyone else who turns up to try and save her.  This is my only issue with the film, as it began to feel a tad overwrought, outstaying its welcome by, oh, let’s say perhaps 10 minutes or so.  The Mark 13 has just one too many Friday The 13^th (Jason Lives!) moments for my tastes, as there are numerous occasions where you feel that the film is at an end, only to hear the whirring of machinery and think “Really?” as the threat presents itself once again.

 This is almost made forgivable by the stylish and creative visuals that Stanley employs, as well as the industrial soundtrack, which offers a great time capsule of the music within that scene at the time.  Edited at times like a music video, the music works well within the context of the film, this could easily fit in as a sequel to Tetsuo: The Iron Man, released the previous year.  Stanley is a strong visual stylist (see Dust Devil), and that's very evident here.

 Oh, and keep your eyes and ears open for cameos and voicework from both Iggy Pop and Lemmy of Motorhead fame.

 I really enjoyed the film (even if it felt just a tad overlong) and I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you’re like me and somehow missed it back in the day, or if you’re looking for an excuse to give it another look on Blu-ray.

 7/10