''Future War'' is a 1997 American
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
about an escaped human slave fleeing his
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. masters and seeking refuge on Earth. It was lampooned in a 1999 episode of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''.
Plot
A spaceship is undergoing a revolt. A man enters and activates an escape pod which travels to Earth and crashes into the Pacific Ocean. The pod contains “The Runaway”, a human slave played by
Daniel Bernhardt
Daniel Bernhardt (born 31 August 1965) is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist.
Career
Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in '' Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite'' (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in ...
. He is being pursued by
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. slavers and dinosaurs that they use as “trackers”. Since he was kidnapped some time from Earth's past, The Runaway is familiar with the English language and the
King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
, and he regards Earth as a literal heaven.
The Runaway finds refuge with novice nun Sister Ann (Travis Brooks Stewart), whose past involved dealing drugs and prostitution. Together, they fight the dinosaurs and their robotic masters, seeking help from a street gang. ''Future War'' features star Daniel Bernhardt's
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
skills in several fight sequences, including against the Cyborg Master (
Robert Z'Dar
Robert James Zdarsky (June 3, 1950 – March 30, 2015), better known by his stage name Robert Z'Dar, was an American character actor and film producer, best known for his role as officer Matt Cordell in the cult horror film ''Maniac Cop'' and it ...
).
After being arrested as a suspect in a rash of deaths due to strange animal attacks, The Runaway is interrogated by federal agents. They present to him a dinosaur collar found on the beach. The Cyborg Master breaks into the police station during the interrogation and The Runaway manages to escape in the confusion. He returns to Sister Ann and her gang friends with a plan to attack the dinosaurs where they live, as Runaway simply explains, "Near water...".
Using dynamite, The Runaway successfully destroys a water treatment plant, killing the dinosaurs. Later, though, the surviving Cyborg Master attacks The Runaway while he watches Sister Ann make her final vows to become a
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
. After The Runaway finally kills the Cyborg Master, he becomes a counselor for runaway teens, working closely with Sister Ann.
Cast
*
Daniel Bernhardt
Daniel Bernhardt (born 31 August 1965) is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist.
Career
Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in '' Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite'' (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in ...
as The Runaway
* Travis Brooks Stewart as Sister Ann
*
Robert Z’Dar as Cyborg Master
*
Mel Novak
Mel Novak (born June 16, 1942) is an American actor who is best known for villainous roles in ''Black Belt Jones'', ''Game of Death'', and ''An Eye for an Eye''. He is also known for doing all of his own stunts and fighting scenes.
Career 1970s ...
as SWAT Leader
*
Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction authors, science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror ...
as Park Victim
* Solly Assa as Cyborg Dominic
Production
This was the directorial debut of Anthony Doublin, the award-winning special effect/miniature model maker from films like ''
Bride of Re-Animator
''Bride of Re-Animator'' is a 1990 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, Rick Fry, and Woody Keith. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Re-Animator'' and the second entry in the Re-Animator (film ser ...
'' and the ''
Carnosaur
Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as ''Gig ...
'' films. The actual "tracker" feet and mechanical tracker from ''Future War'' were taken by Doublin for use in ''Carnosaur 3''.
During the movie's production crew members joked that the film should end up on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000.'' When Doublin finished his work, he turned in a director's cut that ran with 40 minutes of mostly dialogue. ''Future War'' was screened for several members of the crew. After the screening a discussion was held and Doublin quit, forcing a "Damage Control Unit" to be organized. Johnny Saiko from Steve Wang FX was brought in to take over the "trackers" and the film was completed and screened at AFM.
''Mystery Science Theater 3000''
''Future War'' was featured in the season 10 of the movie-mocking television series ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'' in April, 1999.
Mike Nelson and his crew commented on the low-budget look (several scenes are in a warehouse where people are stacking apparently empty boxes), the use of
forced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation ...
for the dinosaur sequences, Bernhardt's near-similar appearance to
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
(referred to as "Jean-Claude Gosh Darn" by Nelson), and the overall nonsensical nature of the film. As
Crow T. Robot
Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Crow is a robot, who, along with others, ridicules poor-quality B to Z movies.
Overview
Accordin ...
remarked, “You know, I could point out that it’s not the future, and there isn’t a war, but you know me; I don't like to complain.”
Having first been released in 1997, it was the most recent film to be featured on the original run of the series. The next most recent was ''
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders
''Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders'' is a 1996 American fantasy horror film written and directed by Kenneth J. Berton.
The film stars Ernest Borgnine as a grandfather telling his grandson a story about the wizard Merlin opening up a store in ...
'', which was released in 1996, and also lampooned in a 1999 episode.
Release history
''Future War'' was released directly to
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
on January 28, 1997 by Screen Pix Home Video. It was later released on
Region 1 DVD by Trinity Home Entertainment on May 4, 2004.
There was also a 2002 DVD release by EVG Digital Entertainment. This release contained no bonus materials. Despite the film itself being unrated, the
Film Advisory Board
The Film Advisory Board (FAB) is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe (1919–2005). The FAB's "Award of Excellence" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and elec ...
rated this DVD EM or "Extremely Mature" (the equivalent of an R rating from the
MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
).
The film was also released on DVD as part of the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition'' DVD set released by
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
on October 8, 2008.
Legacy
In 2015, the film was featured on an episode of
Red Letter Media
Red Letter Media, LLC is an American film and video production company operated by independent filmmakers Mike Stoklasa (formerly of GMP Pictures) and Jay Bauman (formerly of Blanc Screen Cinema). It was formed by Stoklasa in 2004 while he was li ...
's ''Best of the Worst'', together with ''
The Jar'' and ''
White Fire''. The film was positively received by the hosts, who named it as the episode's "Best of the Worst".
References
External links
*
*
*
''Mystery Science Theater 3000''
* {{IMDb title, id=0762888, title="Mystery Science Theater 3000" Future War (TV episode 1999)
Episode guide: 1004- Future War
1997 films
1997 independent films
1990s science fiction action films
American independent films
American science fiction action films
Cyborg films
Films about dinosaurs
1990s English-language films
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Direct-to-video science fiction films
Films about time travel
1997 directorial debut films
1990s American films