Robot Maniac (1984)
52KRobot Maniac: Directed by David Blyth. With Michael Hurst, Margaret Umbers, William Upjohn, Norelle Scott. A kid is hypnotized by a scientist to kill his parents and ends in a mental institution. As a grown up he returns to seek revenge over the scientist.
“Personally Iu0026#39;m convinced u0026quot;Death Warmed Upu0026quot; was completed by a clique of people suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (the infamous A.D.D. syndrome) Either that or a bunch of mushroom-addicted guys with a permanent overdose of acid in their blood. How else would you clarify the filmu0026#39;s total lack of narrative structure, the exaggeratedly high amount of nonsensical plot-twists, the overzealous editing, the demented characters and the copious number of grotesquely over-the-top grossness? u0026quot;Death Warmed Upu0026quot; is a wildly incoherent and thoroughly bizarre horror effort from New Zealand reputedly the countryu0026#39;s first full-blooded genre outing that more or less describes itself as a demented and very loose interpretation of the legendary u0026quot;Island of Dr. Moreauu0026quot; tale. But then again, Dr. Moreau at least had a clear mission he wanted to achieve whereas Dr. Archer Howell, the lunatic scientist in this film, seemingly just surrounds himself with a large collection of genetically altered freaks for his own personal amusement. Throughout the entire film, his motivations for performing medical experiments on random island people remain unexplained. He has freaky half-man and half-monster guinea pigs working for him, creepy guys without eyebrows running loose and an entire army of deformed abnormalities locked away in a basement. The predominant storyline, however, revolves on one of Dr. Howellu0026#39;s very first victims seeking vengeance for the agony he cost. As a teenager, Michael got brainwashed and shotgun-massacred his own parents under the malignant influence of Dr. Howell. He spent the following seven years in a mental institution, but now Michaelu0026#39;s back (with a new and Blade Runner type of hairdo) and unstoppably furious. Along with his girl and a befriended couple, Michael ferries to Dr. Howellu0026#39;s island resort, but theyu0026#39;ll have to face his creations first before they can get to him. u0026quot;Death Warmed Upu0026quot; is, well, shall I say completely bonkers! The script makes very little sense (or even no sense at all) and leaps from one subject to another all the time. Michael u0026amp; C° supposedly come for revenge, yet they start their trip by going to the beach and during several situations itu0026#39;s actually Michaelu0026#39;s friend Lucas who proves to be the most courageous one of the bunch. There are plenty of odd homosexual undertones in the film, as well as some misplaced attempts at humor (the Indian store clerk) and a bizarre type of ambiance I canu0026#39;t possibly categorize. One thing u0026quot;Death Warmed Upu0026quot; does deliver plenty of, however, is gore and bloodshed! The aforementioned shotgun killings are supremely nasty, and theyu0026#39;re just at the beginning of the film. Furthermore, there are repugnant brain surgeries, impalements and gooey zombie make-up effects aplenty. The zombie creatures are quite menacing, particularly the bloke without eyebrows (displayed on the cover-image) and the typical New Zealand accents and slang are a joy to listen to. The acting performances are below average and insignificant, still devoted horror fans should keep an eye open for a brief appearance by Ian Watkin (awesome, arse-kicking uncle Les from u0026quot;Braindeadu0026quot;) as Bill the ferryman. u0026quot;Death Warmed Upu0026quot; is far too unbalanced to be considered as a worthwhile horror outing, but itu0026#39;s still a fun and gore-soaked excuse to spend 85 minutes of your time.”
