In the near future, a police officer specializes in malfunctioning robots. When a robot turns out to have been programmed to kill, he begins to uncover a homicidal plot to create killer robots... and his son becomes a target.
Practical Effects
Spider-bots that actually crawl—no pixels harmed.
Acting
Gene Simmons hissing villainy like it's a KISS encore.
Direction
Crichton's only theatrical directing gig—Jurassic Park energy on a budget.
Director
Michael Crichton
Tom Selleck
Jack R. Ramsay
Cynthia Rhodes
Officer Karen Thompson
Gene Simmons
Dr. Charles Luther
Kirstie Alley
Jackie Rogers
Stan Shaw
Marvin
G.W. Bailey
Chief
Joey Cramer
Bobby Ramsay
Chris Mulkey
David Johnson
Anne-Marie Martin
Hooker at Bar
Michael Paul Chan
Wilson
Elizabeth Norment
Miss Shields
Cec Verrell
Hooker
Babs Chula
Construction Foreperson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Crichton wrote, directed, and produced this in 1984—the same year he released The Terminator novel, making this his less-remembered killer robot project.
The film predicted smart bullets, household robots, and widespread automation anxiety—just with way more shoulder pads and synth scores than reality delivered.
US
