Review of Hardware (1990) by Al M — 06 Nov 2009

When Hardware was released on DVD finally, I had to watch it because I remember the rating controversy surrounding the film back in 1990 when I was an eleven-year-old boy. At the age when one is on the verge of puberty and when one already has a predisposition towards the transgressive, Hardware's X-rating (this was before the days of NC-17) made it extremely alluring.

And I did manage to catch glimpses of the film on late-night HBO, and yes my young mind was shocked by the suggestion of using a popcorn string as a device to pleasure one's anus. So, now as a 30-year-old man, I had to watch the film--it beckoned to me on the list of upcoming DVD releases.

I saved it for Halloween and watched it with the lights off and the jack-o-lanterns burning bright. And I can't say I was disappointed. Hardware doesn't quite achieve the level of sophistication and transgression that he aspires for--William Gibson's cyberpunk novels manage to create much higher levels of cyberpunk literacy and Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man had already taken cyberpunk to more disturbing levels a year before.

That being said, Hardware is an exqusitely filmed piece of sci-fi/horror that blends the gorey with the cerebral in innovative and entertaining ways. It also is the first feature film of a horror director with genuine promise.

Sadly, Stanley's career has never quite coalesced--Harware and Dust Devil (released in a variety of butchered prints) remain his only two full-length, horror films. Still, Hardware features breathtaking cinematograpy, a disturbing blend of eroticism and violence, and a rather insightful exploration of the mechanization and commercialisation of att.

Plus, Hardware feature a cameo from Lemmy of Motorhead (as well as music from the band), Gwar videos, clips from Pasaolini's Salo, and an awesome soundtrack of metal and industrial bands. A heady and rocking mixture of science fiction and horror that will most likely delight fans of the genre.