Steel and Lace

source: Steel and Lace

Trailer—Steel and Lace

Steel and Lace

Jury trial: flashback to a dumpster. Brother makes robots and is angry at the acquittal, a righteous villain in the making. Guilty party winks as he walks out of court, pops champagne in the limo. Sister suicides. Some incomprehensible real estate grift and a broken down car. Unaccountably suicide sister lives and has a drill in her chest. Moment of silence for the dear departed. Agent Spoon is a secret sister. Number two goes down by decapitation. Sister returns home to brother's workshop where he removes her scalp to reveal the mechanisms underneath. Brother's sadism does not compute. Siblings drift. Number three gets caught in the act and his vital essences drained. Number four was an accident, proper number four helicopter decapitation. Wipe the blood from your face pretty sister. You are not made for killing. But you were.

Very good "B" movie directed by Ernest D. Farino. It was his first as a director, having spent most of his career in visual effects. He was visual effects supervisor for such works as "Dune," and "Children of Dune." Unfortunately, he also did the work for Balls of Fury, which is a stain on his career. The movie stars the lovely Clare Wren, who commits suicide when her rapist gets off. Her brother, played by Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion, "Touched by an Angel", Short Cuts)works for five years to turn her into a cyborg to get revenge on those who raped her. He outfits her with some equipment that makes for some gory scenes.

Clare Wren plays Gaily Morton a rape victim, but the rapists in turn get away with the crime. After she commits suicide her brother Albert (Bruce Davison) recreates her into a killing android to exact revenge. Not as good as it could have been and perhaps some changes to the villains and their part of the plot could have made this movie worth your time. The gory deaths and okay effects don't make up the difference. Though there is an interesting death involving a helicopter late in the movie. Also starring David Naughton who plays Detective Dunn who is investigating the murders.

A bizarre mix of I spit on Your Grave, crossed with 80s splatter horror films, Terminator-esquire cyborg flicks and journalistic detective stories. The horror element is made up of the gory deaths the rapists suffer. The deaths are some sick stuff - yet MGM showed it with a 16 rating! There is no way this was made in 1991. I guess this sat on the shelf for at least 5 years. This is pure early to mid 80s. All grey-flecked suits, rolled up sleeves, wide shoulder pads, permed mullets, grey marble, clashing pastels, and bright neon tube lighting. This was made in the 80s and sat on the shelf gathering dust, and no surprise. There's the occasional laughable B movie dialogue which lifts the film, but the overall grimness of the film makes it hard to watch and stomach.

It is a tribute to the makers of Steel And Lace that they made such a watchable movie despite the obviously lacking budget. The main actress is a hottie and can act both sensual and robotic and mission-minded. She is a coquette who attracts men mercilessly and we see a few shots of her body that are unfortunately way too innocent. Her brother pulls the strings.

Stars Bruce Davison (X-men), David Naughton (An American Werewolf In London), and Claire Wren as the rape victim/suicide turned killer cyborg. The story is rather unsettling, especially the way it careens back and forth between the dark revenge scenes, over to some fascinating comic bits (such as the forensic scientist who starts to enjoy the creativity of the murders), to dealing with Davison's character, who seems more like a robot than the robot. Perhaps it is unsettling because juxtapositions like that are so often a hallmark of real life as it is lived. The viewer really is kept in suspense about how the next victim will be claimed, and I defy anyone to guess all the deaths correctly beforehand. The dialogue verges on self-parody at times, and elements of several other flicks from Blade Runner to Robocop are borrowed with little attempt at disguise. Yet it all hangs together somehow, perhaps it is the thread of bad romance. A quirky gem.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* I bought this video. There's just something about the tagline, "She's all woman...and all machine.", that speaks to me. Actually, it shouts at me. The video screamed, "Why are you not watching me?!". I had to obey. "Steel and Lace" is about a Robobabe on the rampage. A hot blonde rape victim kills herself after being denied justice. Her scientist brother won't let those filthy rapists get away with it. He creates a new, hi-tech version of his sister: Robobabe. His robot sister embarks on a mission of truth, justice and dismembering lots of rapists. I enjoyed this one. A killer woman robot causing havoc. That's enough for me. She had a lot of different options for wasting rapists. I especially enjoyed the weed whacker springing out of her chest so that she could drill for oil in the guy's stomach. Now that's how you take care of business.