Killdozer is a 1974 sci-fi horror film about aconstruction crew on an island is terrorised when a spirit-like being takes over a large bulldozer and goes on a killing rampage.
The movie was directed by Jerry London from a screenplay by Ed MacKillop, adapted from a 1944 novella by Theodore Sturgeon. Also advertised as Killdozer!
The movie stars Clint Walker (Snowbeast; Scream of the Wolf), James Wainwright, Carl Betz, Neville Brand (Evils of the Night; Eaten Alive aka Death Trap), James A. Watson Jr. and Robert Urich.
Gil Melle (Blood Beach; The Sentinel; Embryo) composed the soundtrack score.
Plot [contains spoilers]:
a meteorite crashing onto a small, isolated island off the coast of Africa. Decades later, a six-man construction crew employed by an oil company arrives to build an airstrip in preparation for drilling operations. The crew is led by Lloyd Kelly (Clint Walker), a recovering alcoholic determined to prove himself after previous professional failures.
While clearing the site, bulldozer operator Mack McCarthy discovers a strange metallic rock embedded in the ground. When his Caterpillar D9 bulldozer pushes against it, the meteorite suddenly glows with an eerie blue light. A surge of energy passes into the bulldozer, severely burning McCarthy, who later dies from his injuries. Kelly dismisses McCarthy’s dying claims about the mysterious blue light.
Soon afterward, the bulldozer begins operating by itself. It crushes the camp’s radio equipment, isolating the workers from the outside world, and demonstrates an uncanny intelligence, stalking the crew across the island.
The first victim is Beltran, who ignores Kelly’s warning and attempts to drive the bulldozer. The machine takes control, forces him to jump clear, then relentlessly pursues him until it crushes him inside a large drainage pipe.
As panic spreads, Dennis Holvig concludes that the meteorite housed a malevolent extraterrestrial energy that has possessed the bulldozer. Kelly is initially sceptical but becomes convinced after witnessing the machine repeatedly act without a driver.
The survivors attempt several plans to destroy it. They try using vehicles as decoys, build signal fires for rescue, and attempt to lure it into explosions, but the possessed bulldozer anticipates many of their actions. It destroys their camp, their vehicles, and eventually kills mechanic Chub Foster by crushing his fuel truck. Dutch Krasner, driven nearly insane by fear and drink, recklessly confronts the machine in a jeep and is also killed. Only Kelly and Dennis remain.
They eventually devise a trap using stee landing mats connected to a powerful generator. By luring the bulldozer onto the electrified metal surface, they unleash a massive electrical surge through the machine. The alien blue energy emerges from the bulldozer before dissipating into the air, apparently destroyed by the high-voltage current.
The bulldozer finally falls silent, its supernatural humming gone. Kelly and Dennis are rescued, but Kelly realises that no one is likely to believe their incredible story about a murderous, alien-possessed bulldozer. The film ends with the two survivors leaving the island, having defeated the extraterrestrial force but knowing their ordeal will sound unbelievable
“Once the alien-possessed bulldozer becomes sentiment, it rampages all around this tropical landscape, hunting down roughneck crew members to kill by dozing. Slowly. And stupidly. Though the movie lasts just seventy minutes, Killdozer is lethally lethargic.”Mike “McBeardo” McFadden, Heavy Metal Movies
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“As a gore film, Killdozer will sourly disappoint. You have to keep in mind that Killdozer is a made-for-TV movie that’s almost four decades old. It was designed to be fast, fun, and ultimately throwaway. But this is a real gem, if you like this kind of forgotten fare. This is b-movie fun with a little bit of darkness thrown in for good measure.” Cinesploitation
” … its retro-cool title, and the intense portrayal of mass destruction have endeared this movie to kids and Junkyard Wars addicts alike. In fact, its many fans’ favorite “machine inhabited by evil presence flick.” Michael Karol, The ABC Movie of the Week Companion
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
Film Facts:
A comic-book adaptation appeared the same year, in Marvel Comics Worlds Unknown #6 (April 1974).
The Wisconsin punk band Killdozer was named after the film.
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