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The post-apocalyptic subgenre is a wasteland of cheap indie flicks that use desolate locations and wilderness to cover up their lack of a budget. Cyborg is one of those that does the same thing, but somehow actually manages to work. Cyborg is not the best or anywhere near the best in any one category, but despite its many flaws, it still reigns as one of the most solid post-apocalyptic movies in existence.

The film is simplistic in nature and sets up as a Western flick transported to the future, where a deadly plague has decimated the world and ruthless, sadistic villains do what they please. Into this hell of a world, hope appears in the form of a cyborg that has the cure for the deadly plague running around in her memory banks. An evil blue-eyed villain named Fender captures the cyborg and takes her to Atlanta with the purpose of owning the cure. A gunslinger by the name of Gibson Rickenbacker refuses to let this happen and sets out with the aid of an ugly chick with funny tits to stop Fender.

Cyborg does an excellent job of creating atmosphere, and much of the credit goes to director Albert Pyun who manages to spread out his ridiculously low-budget and make it go as far as it possibly can. The sets feel full and genuine and they are only enhanced by Pyun’s excellent use of desolate environments, such as burned out streets, old dilapidated factories, and even a desolate stretch of tidelands. The look of the film captures the feel of a post-apocalyptic movie and Pyun’s decision to adopt a Western style aesthetic with which to tell his story was a brilliant move, as the cast he’s working with is absolutely horrid… with the exception of the guy that plays Fender. Steely glances and less dialogue is the perfect choice for a cast of this quality.

Seldom has such a bad cast been able to avoid completely ruining a film. I’ve seen better line delivery from cokeheads. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a character named Gibson Rickenbacker, a Clint Eastwood type western character combined with a little Seven Samaurai homage… of course the illusion is ruined as soon as he opens his mouth and spits out that poor excuse for English that he’s so famous for. Thankfully, Van Damme doesn’t talk enough to bring the film down that far. Deborah Richter plays the chick that follows him around like a lost puppydog and she provides one of the funniest moments in the film when she shows her bare breast to Van Damme and he quickly covers it up because it’s so weird looking… one of the best unscripted moments in movie history. Vincent Klyn is the true star of the film as Fender, the blue-eyed boss of a gang of ruthless vandals, whose only intent is to sharpen their knives and kill some fuckers. Klyn’s deep voice and striking looks combine to create one of the most memorable movie bad guys in history.

The action scenes in the film may look bland today, thanks to all the advancements that have been made in fighting with slick choreography, slicker editing, and the actual reliance on actors that can do martial arts, but Pyun once again swoops in to save the day. Most of the fight scenes are filmed with a combination of slow motion, excellent use of environments, and a style that is lacking in most low-budget films of this ilk. The superlong chase and fight sequence on the beach is one of the best looking fight scenes around… even though not much actual fighting goes on. The blend of excellent lighting and character design combined with Pyun’s decision to turn all of the characters into grunting images of brutality keeps the film fresh and entertaining.

Cyborg is definitely far from perfect, but the techniques that Pyun uses to circumvent some of the larger problems in the film are amazing. The film may be a cheap post-apocalyptic tale, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a certain style that will appeal to a certain percentage of movie lovers.

Final Synopsis: For a film made on a small budget and cursed with bad actors, Pyun came about as close to creating a masterpiece as is possible. The film is worth seeing for the character of Fender alone. It may not be the most expensive or the most well-made post-apocalyptic film out there, but it is one of the most enjoyable… in a guilty pleasure sort of way. Give it a watch.

Points Lost: -1 for shit acting, -1 for some weak special effects, -1 for making me look at some strange boobies

Bonus Point: +1 for Vincent Klyn’s performance as Fender

Lesson Learned: If you’ve got weird tits, don’t show them to Van Damme, because he’ll just cover them up and make you feel like an ugly whore.

Burning Question: Can you believe that girl with the weird bazooms was Miss California 1975?

Cyborg
8/10

Tags: 1989, action, adventure, albert pyun, cult classic, dystopic, jean-claude van damme, latest movie reviews, martial arts, post-apocalyptic, ralf moeller, recent, sci-fi, science fiction, vincent klyn