Hardware

"You can't stop progress."

1990 1h 34m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

43%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 365🥫43%Rotten Tomatoes●41Metacritic★5.9IMDB · 17,249

HorrorScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mark 13 is a government-built killing machine programmed with artificial intelligence, able to repair and recharge itself from any energy source. Through a series of coincidences, the cyborg's head ends up in the home of a sculptress as a bizarre Christmas present from her boyfriend. Once inside its new home, the cyborg promptly reconstructs the rest of its body using a variety of household utensils and proceeds to go on a murderous rampage.

“You can't stop progress.”

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Cast

Dylan McDermott
Moses "Hard Mo" Baxter
Stacey Travis
Jill
John Lynch
Shades
William Hootkins
Lincoln Wineberg Jr.
Carl McCoy
Nomad
Iggy Pop
Angry Bob
Mark Northover
Alvy
Paul McKenzie
Vernon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Stanley
Writers: Richard Stanley, Graham Humphreys
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Stanley, shot by Steven Chivers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Simon Boswell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Derek Trigg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dylan McDermott and Stacey Travis and John Lynch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Stanley directs. Steven Chivers behind the camera. Simon Boswell scores. Derek Trigg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
336 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Richard Stanley, shot by Steven Chivers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Simon Boswell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Derek Trigg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Dylan McDermott and Stacey Travis and John Lynch carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "You can't stop progress.".
10IMDB entry: tt0099740 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 27 themes, including "cyborg", "killer robot", "disc jockey", "dystopia".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Chivers
Original score: Simon Boswell
Editing: Derek Trigg
Production design: Joseph Bennett
Costume design: Michael Baldwin
Makeup / hair: Lisa Boni
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Box office: $5,728,953
Return: 382% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hardware (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 41/100
IMDB rating: 5.9/10 · 17,249 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 wins & 4 nominations total

Also by

Richard Stanley

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

nihil2012-09-01
★ 7/10
IMO - It's not terrible but not a masterpiece either. I personally liked the villain robot, and a lot of the movies' aesthetics were just pure eye candy. That aside, the movie was a little too slow paced for the style that it was going with, and some of the music and sound effects were a little silly. You get to listen to Iggy say a few amusing lines on the radio in the beginning and the end of the movie. Overall, not bad, a little boring at times. A good watch if you're into cyberpunk.

Production companies