Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release.
Part 21, is the 80’s Sci-Fi action film, Cyborg!
Released in 1989, Cyborg is exactly what you want form a Cannon Film. You want some totally over the top violence? Check! You want an awesome perfect kicking performance from Jean-Claude Van Damme? Check! You need some random nudity? Check!
Cyborg is directed by Cannon Film veteran Albert Pyun, behind some truly “great” films like 1990’s Captain America. Taking place in the future, Gibson Rickenbacker (Van Damme) or his totally 80’s badass nickname “Slinger” must escort a woman Pearl Prophet who underwent surgery to become a cyborg courier woman person with a cure from a deadly plague to Atlanta. Pearl must get to Atlanta and only Gibson can help her!
Along the way Gibson and Pearl encounter a seemingly unbeatable gang of evil pirates, the most dangerous named Fender. Can Gibson resist the temptation to have sex with another traveler named Nady and defeat Fender’s blood thirsty pirates while still getting Pearl to Atlanta safely?
Of course Cyborg is out of control 80’s silly, which in turn makes it out of control 80’s radical. The story is not that good, the acting is not that good, the direction is stiff and uninspired, but damn it’s a fun movie to watch. Van Damme is really great at ass-kicking and that’s truly all you need from an 80’s action film starring him. And at a brisk 86 minutes it is a fun watch.
Sporting a brand new 4k scan, Cyborg looks really good for a movie made in the 80’s for according the special features, 500k. I really appreciate that Scream Factory did not clean the print up so much that it lost its 80’s film look. Bright colors, bright red blood highlight a sharp looking film.
The audio is solid. Cyborg did not receive an audio boost like the film did but it gets the job done. Radical music and punches pack a wallop.
The other big draw of course is this is a Scream Factory Collector’s Edition so Cyborg comes packed with some truly great features. The Audio Commentary with director Albert Pyun and moderator Michael Feisher is a great listen. The track contains some great insight in making and casting this low budget film. There are a couple of new interviews with Cast and Crew as well, unfortunately Van-Damme is not present but the interviews are top notch and really fun. The Effects of Cyborg is another fun featurette, detailing how the crew pulled of this film with no budget. The highlight for me is the extended interviews from Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films. If you haven’t seen this film, go to Amazon Prime and watch it, it’s amazing. The extended interviews clock in at over an hour and are priceless.
Cyborg might just be a silly 80’s movie but that’s exactly what makes it fun. Not every movie we watch has to be thought provoking, some can just be entertaining and that’s what Cyborg is, one hell of an entertaining movie. Scream Factory’s Collector’s edition is a must buy for fans.
Film: B
Video: A-
Audio: B
Extras: A
Overall: B+