Hardware (1990)

Hardware (1990)

Dir. Richard Stanley

Over the years and after repeated viewings I've grown to really love Hardware even though the things that are wrong with it are probably equal in number to the things that are right.

By that logic, it should be little more than an average movie, but Richard Stanley put so much of himself into the film that it's as if the inner-workings achieved a kind of semi-life of their own, making even the flaws interesting viewing.

From the mystery figure in the opening scene, shown walking through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, scavenging for whatever he can turn into profit in a decaying economy, through to the city, itself a different kind of wasteland, right to the very end credits it's a film that feels strangely familiar but simultaneously, mysteriously unreal.

The story was 'inspired' by (i.e., stolen from) a short story titled SHOK! by Steve MacManus and Kevin O'Neill that first appeared in 2000 AD, a weekly British anthology comic. (The 2000 AD connection is continued with the 25 Year Special Anniversary Collector's Edition of the film coming with two limited edition art cards by 2000 AD artist Clint Langley – pics at bottom of the page.) In Hardware, a former soldier by the name of 'Mo' Baxter spends some time with his conceptual artist girlfriend Jill. She's the typical girl in the high castle, purposefully cut off from the larger world, aware of its condition but harbouring fears that keep her unwilling to engage with it. There's a stillness to the world she looks out upon; a state more akin to a clockwork winding-down than one of actual peace.

Even though it's vague, or, if you prefer, underdeveloped, the world-building aspect of the story is a significant part of what makes it unique. Everything that happens is happening within that slow death atmosphere, paradoxically making every fight for survival one of hopefulness while also being one that's only temporary and therefore largely hopeless. Life, even when it's shit, becomes more precious when it has a definite ending in plain sight.

Much of the story takes place in Jill's high-rise apartment. The locks on the door successfully keep the outside world outside, but from the opposite perspective keep her locked inside. Her relationship with Mo is equally two-sided, the detachment has an element of safety, which is something that's quickly shattered by the presence of a murderous third party.

Stanley borrowed heavily from Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982), but with a lesser budget he had to get extra-creative. Getting musician Simon Boswell on-board to provide music that further helped the world achieve an identity of its own was an inspired idea.

I'm reluctant to say much more about the plot, other than that Jill is unwilling to be just another victim, so, not unlike Ellen Ripley did in her struggle, fights her pursuer to the bitter end.

Stanley wrote a sequel titled Hardware II: Ground Zero, but it remains unproduced for various reasons. However, the website Between Death and the Devil has the screenplay as a PDF if you'd like to read it. Hardware II: Ground Zero. The screenplay for Hardware is also there.

EDIT, Jan 2021: the hosting web page appears to be gone, so I removed the links.

Clint Langley Art Cards: