A seldom-seen, made-for-television-movie that belies its modest budget and limited circulation.
Here's that familiar old plot; a group of people go somewhere isolated and find something unpleasant that they don't know how to deal with. It's served up terror and suspense from 'The Thing' to 'The Blair Witch Project'.
In this case, a group of blue-collar types seconded to a desert island, ram a strange boulder with their excavator. Some entity in the rock relocates to the machine and - presumably now regarding humans as a threat - decides to sort 'em out.
It's a very Stephen King premise. Machines assuming a malevolent will are just his ticket. Think of 'Christine', or 'Trucks' - the latter released as a mediocre effort called 'Maximum Overdrive'.
The rest of the movie is dedicated to a battle of wits between the excavator trying to kill them off, and the mens' attempts to stay alive long enough to outfox it somehow.
There are some sly little moments of tension. The nocturnal confrontations are particularly hairy as the machine has its headlights on, giving it the appearance of two great big eyes. Of course, the problem of being pursued by a bulldozer is similar to that of being pursued by Daleks. In the latter case, before they discovered levitation, you simply bade them goodnight and went upstairs. With the 'dozer, you just needed to keep well ahead of it, because it could barely manage walking-speed on the soft sand. Alternatively; one could just walk down to the water's edge. It would very quickly sink-in. And in any case; its diesel must run out. A big piece of plant would have enormous fuel-consumption.
These little quibbles aside, it ain't half bad for what it is. Short and simple, no frills, mid-1970's TV movie. Not remarkable, but certainly not bad.
The cast are largely C-list, headed by Clint Walker. He pulls off a surprisingly good turn in most of the movies that have featured him. He's a very big bloke in the natural way, rather than the muscle-bound sculpturesque excess of Schwartzenegger. He's also a much more expressive actor, too. Directing, lighting, editing are all up to the job and workman-like. Sound effects are simple but interesting.
As a comparison; I recently watched the modern teen-flick 'Cabin Fever'. Same premise again; people go somewhere isolated etc, etc. Well, despite its greater age, smaller budget and simplicity; 'Killdozer' could shovel earth all over it.
Give it a whizz, if you get the chance. It ain't a classic, but at the right price it shouldn't disappoint.
Here's that familiar old plot; a group of people go somewhere isolated and find something unpleasant that they don't know how to deal with. It's served up terror and suspense from 'The Thing' to 'The Blair Witch Project'.
In this case, a group of blue-collar types seconded to a desert island, ram a strange boulder with their excavator. Some entity in the rock relocates to the machine and - presumably now regarding humans as a threat - decides to sort 'em out.
It's a very Stephen King premise. Machines assuming a malevolent will are just his ticket. Think of 'Christine', or 'Trucks' - the latter released as a mediocre effort called 'Maximum Overdrive'.
The rest of the movie is dedicated to a battle of wits between the excavator trying to kill them off, and the mens' attempts to stay alive long enough to outfox it somehow.
There are some sly little moments of tension. The nocturnal confrontations are particularly hairy as the machine has its headlights on, giving it the appearance of two great big eyes. Of course, the problem of being pursued by a bulldozer is similar to that of being pursued by Daleks. In the latter case, before they discovered levitation, you simply bade them goodnight and went upstairs. With the 'dozer, you just needed to keep well ahead of it, because it could barely manage walking-speed on the soft sand. Alternatively; one could just walk down to the water's edge. It would very quickly sink-in. And in any case; its diesel must run out. A big piece of plant would have enormous fuel-consumption.
These little quibbles aside, it ain't half bad for what it is. Short and simple, no frills, mid-1970's TV movie. Not remarkable, but certainly not bad.
The cast are largely C-list, headed by Clint Walker. He pulls off a surprisingly good turn in most of the movies that have featured him. He's a very big bloke in the natural way, rather than the muscle-bound sculpturesque excess of Schwartzenegger. He's also a much more expressive actor, too. Directing, lighting, editing are all up to the job and workman-like. Sound effects are simple but interesting.
As a comparison; I recently watched the modern teen-flick 'Cabin Fever'. Same premise again; people go somewhere isolated etc, etc. Well, despite its greater age, smaller budget and simplicity; 'Killdozer' could shovel earth all over it.
Give it a whizz, if you get the chance. It ain't a classic, but at the right price it shouldn't disappoint.