Crash and Burn
Crash and Burn
R | 01 September 1990 (USA)
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Unicom is a powerful organization overseeing most of the world after its economic collapse. They have banned computers and robots in an attempt to insure "life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic stability". When a Unicom Synth robot infiltrates a southwest TV station and kills the manager, a revolutionary against the gestapo-like corporation, a lowly Unicom delivery man must help the rest of the station survive through the incoming "thermal storm".

Reviews
BlazeLime Strong and Moving!
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
lost-in-limbo At least it doesn't live up to its title, which is a good thing. Crash and burnnnnnn. On the other hand it might have been more exciting if it did. I don't know, but I remember liking this straight-to-video b-grade action / Sci-fi fare by Charles Band when I saw it for the first time many moons ago, but upon my recent re-watch I was left slightly under whelmed. Boy did it take awhile for something remotely riveting to occur. My excitement early on arose from catching a glimpse of a movie poster of "The Angry Red Planet" on the wall. Not once, but twice. Outside a pouting Megan Ward and Jack McGee (in a truly offensive mood), everyone else acts robotic. Is this to throw us off…? I don't think so. Bill Moseley is the life of the party… as what starts off as uncharacteristic (in a slumber mood) later on has you thinking now I'm watching Moseley perform. Paul Ganus is your typical handsome, but stoic lead who catches the eyes of the ladies (young and old). He doesn't do much at first, other than look serious. All in a good days work. Actually I guess sex was on mind. Nothing else. Nothing more. As after getting that out of the way (about mid-way through the movie), while lying in bed (for about 10 seconds) his character was thinking straight (well its either that or he's considerably slow off the blocks) and it came to him that something wasn't quite right (during a "heart-pounding" test set-up to find out if everyone trapped in this remote TV station was who they said they were). Now that he knows who the evil corporate Sythnoid robot in disguise is. Although we the audience (and Ward) have already figured that out long ago. It's time to be a hero. Jump out of bed, break the emergency glass and grab the shotgun. Then get pummelled and shot. Talk about an effective hero. However this is when things do liven up. Nasty jolts, stupid one-liners, robots going haywire and Ward making everyone around her look like dummies. "Hey, kiss this!". Director Charles Band does an economical job with J.S Cardone's material and recycles Richard Band's music talents. Visually is works cementing a futuristic wasteland, as the setting is taut and the paranoid unease is felt. In the dying stages you can see where most of the money went to and the effects of the battery powered tinbot put those recent CGI drenched transformers films to shame. Mildly amusing low-rent Full Moon fodder.
Linda83 I've always liked movies about folks trapped in a building/house/isolated area/etc and this Full Moon production didn't disappoint me.Hottie Ganus arrives at some TV station in the middle of the desert and shortly after people begin to die. Ward was cute as the teenage girl with an obvious crush on Ganus. LaRue I felt was wasted, Moseley was great as always as the robot gone bad. McClellan and Armstrong who play prostitutes are there to boost the body count as well as McGee.The acting I felt was adequate, some of the big robot effects were passable, but I did liked the 2 or 3 bloody death scenes and Moseley's scene where we find out he's a robot, just wish the men had shown as much skin as the women.
Scarecrow-88 Well, unlike others on here who really didn't like this film, I have to say I rather enjoyed it. It's a B-picture all the way and lifts ideas from other films(the checking for blood is from John Carpenter's "The Thing" and the synthoid is clearly an imitation of the monster android in "The Terminator"), but has a capable cast who bring much to the film. It's also a rather short 80 minutes so the film doesn't outlast it's time. The plot is set in the future where the ozone layer has depleted badly and "thermo-storms" often cause havoc. The ultra-violet rays keep everyone from enjoying life outside and this totalitarian government called Unicorp runs the society of the United States. There is a secret organization called ILU which plan to overthrow this government so the Unicorp has sent out synthoids as watchdogs to keep an eye on possible suspects. On a television station ran by Ralph Waite's Lathan Hooks(I liked Waite so much I wish he had more screen time). His granddaughter Arren(a fine Megan Ward who had done some really good work for Full Moon)knows that Lathan is secretly a part of ILU and uses the TV station as a quiet cover for the group's activities. A motorcycle courier for Unicorp named Tyson(Paul Ganus)brings Lathan a supply of freon and decides to stay until a thermo-storm passes the night. He and Arren bond as friends while Tyson is physically attracted to a schoolteacher named Parice(the foxy soap opera star Eva LaRue Callahan). Jack McGee, a fine character actor who often plays leeches, is Winston Wickett..a relative of a Unicorp rep which is the reason he has a sleazy talk show at Lathan's station. He has invited two porn stars, Sandra and Christie(Elizabeth Maclellan, who is quite good in this movie, and Katherine Armstrong)to shack up with him until the thermo-storm passes. Then there's Quinn, a handyman and electrician, played by "The Devil's Rejects" Bill Moseley. During the night someone kills Lathan and it is told that there's a synthoid loose amongst the group(this occurs when Arren hides from the pack, finds Tyson, cuts him to see if his blood is red, and tells him about that very fact). Will Tyson and Arren find the synthoid before it kills the entire group? This film actually has a decent pace and the robot effects at the end by David Allen are solid but don't last near as long as I'd have liked. Anybody that has indeed seen the low budget films, "Robot Jox" and "Robot Wars" should recognize the robot in "Crash and Burn." Many have sided against it for being unoriginal which is a fair argument, but I have to say I enjoyed it for the cast who do bring it up more than a notch. I was entertained and this is the type of movie that might go over for genre fans with low expectations.
cac_mika I really enjoyed this film, it was one of the more interesting "B" type science fiction movies I've seen in some time.As others have noted, the film is set in the future, when giant robots control the earth. Unfortunately Johnny Sucko isn't in this feature, but the other actors make up for this loss. I do wish they'd have added a plot line explaining what happened to Johnny and also why the giant robot can't do his mega-punch anymore.Megan Ward (any relation to Sela?) does a fine job as Erin. I can see why she's embarked on a fine career, with just the right mixture of emotion and sexiness.The plot is a bit plodding in places, like most B movies. And the special effects leave more than a bit to be desired. But the concept is quite imaginative and I must say I was impressed with the take on how our society would develop.The real discovery is the male lead, Paul G. Anus. I'm surprised that he hasn't shown up in other major roles, as he seems to have a certain magnetism. Maybe with his unfortunate surname he's just destined to be in gay porno or something.I would definitely rent this movie again.