While working as an AD on David Schmoeller’s The Seduction, Peter Manoogian met Charles Band on Parasite 3D. Since Embassy Pictures produced both films, Manoogian worked with Band on his 3D monster movie as first assistant director. He was so impressed with Manoogian’s work that he hired him to work on Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. After founding Empire Pictures, Band gave Manoogian his directorial debut by helming a segment of The Dungeonmaster. While shooting Ghost Warrior, Band asked Manoogian to direct a script written by Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo. The two previously wrote Trancers and Zone Troopers, but they had another story they presented before those two. Manoogian jumped at the opportunity, and he worked very hard to make it as good as possible. After an arduous shoot, Eliminators hit theaters in January 1986, around the same time that Troll came out.
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Synopsis
The evil scientist Abbot Reeves (Roy Dotrice) has been using a Mandroid (Patrick Reynolds) to steal artifacts through time travel. After the most recent assignment, Reeves orders his assistant Takada (Tad Horino) to dismantle the Mandroid, but he refuses. Instead, Takada helps the Mandroid escape the facility and tells him to find Colonel Nora Hunter before dying. The Mandroid finds Hunter (Denise Crosby), who agrees to join him and stop Reeves from taking over the world. Along the way, they hire riverboat captain Harry Fontana (Andrew Prine) to be their guide to Reeves’ hideout. Soon, the group gets attacked by Reeves’ men and even runs into cave dwellers brought to the present day. They also run into Kuji (Conan Lee), Takada’s son, seeking revenge against Reeves for his father’s death. With a cyborg, a scientist, a mercenary, and now a ninja, they make up The Eliminators!
Review
If nothing else, the poster for Eliminators is probably one of the best B-movie posters ever made. While it has elements from the movie, it doesn’t quite match its overall quality, though not in a duplicitous way. This film had tons of crazy ideas, but the budget wasn’t enough to fully realize them. For instance, the Mandroid has a mobile unit he uses during his initial escape but abandons soon after. Also, we only ever see the Mandroid go back in time once during the opening sequence. If the film had more money, I’m sure they could’ve done something even crazier, but what’s there works just fine. Even for such a low budget, the effects are surprisingly decent, and there are some well-staged action sequences. More importantly, it manages to be fun and have some heart without being stupid or overly sappy.
Patrick Reynolds is great as the Mandroid, managing to squeeze some humanity into a robotic character. It’s eerily similar to Peter Weller’s character in Robocop, right down to him trying to regain his humanity. As the cocky and arrogant Harry Fontana, Andrew Prine is fun, though part of me wishes they cast Tim Thomerson. Denise Crosby is likable as the scientist Colonel Hunter, and she has some good back-and-forths with Prine. Roy Dotrice is having fun playing an over-the-top villain, and some minor characters like Bayou Betty (Peggy Mannix) also shine. There are plenty of explosions, laser fights, and chase scenes to keep any action movie fan entertained. In a way, it’s like watching an 80s cartoon come to life, and sometimes that’s all you need. Overall, Eliminators is a fun, cheesy, and exciting sci-fi/action movie that’s enjoyable for what it is.
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