Trailer—Killdozer

source: Killdozer

Killdozer

Killdozer (1974) 2 of 5 Dir: Jerry London Stars: Clint Walker, Carl Betz, Neville Brand A group of construction workers are building an airstrip on a remote island. While clearing earth they discover a meteor that when disturbed omits a bright blue light and then possesses the massive bulldozer they use into 'Killdozer'. No where to run or hide the workers get picked off one by one until they formulate their final stand. 'Killdozer' is an entertaining made-for-TV movie. Not too well done and a bit simple but once you get over its age you'll find yourself having a decent time.

A window into the past; the plight of the blue-collar man, the danger of the corporate machine, the folly of the new religion of science and technology, black-sploitation and major homo-erotic undercurrents. Not that any of this is unique to the 70's late-night horror genre, but boy that dee-niner is a beautiful old girl. As a kid, basking in the artificial light of the tube way past my bedtime, I felt conflicted as to the identity of the protagonist....but even now I end up siding with that big yellow dozer, though I've been hardened with age such that I no longer cry when her temper gets the better of her and she meets her cruel fate. Well, maybe sometimes.

I bought the comic book adaptation of this (some Marvel adaptation) for 10 cents years ago... after seeing the film, I'd say that that was worth a whole 25 cents. I actually enjoyed the movie; it's another in the long line of preposterous "horror" flicks from the 70's wherein something that will NEVER be terrifying attempts to terrify people... and people actually get scared! I imagine movie execs ran out of disaster flick ideas, ran out of horror ideas, so decided to combine the two... lest they have to pay decent sums to script writers for better plots. Combine with Atomic Train for a great double-bill about scary transportation devices that spans the decades...

OK. This is a fun film. Caterpillar D9 gets possessed, starts killing workers. But, what the hey, wasn't it great to see Clint Walker, Carl Betz and Neville Brand again? Eerie? Yeah, kinda. Spooky? Not unless you bought into it a lot more than I did. Liked the scene where Betz holds the D niner (glad to hear some construction worker ex-militaris speak here) at bay with a steam(?) shovel. Scary? Not really. But, fun...and it was great to see Carl, Clint and Neville again. BTW, this non-videoed TVdrama became a kind of campus cult classic for a while. Check it out.

I recall seeing this film as an ABC TV Movie in 1974. Great science fiction and great cast, especially the late Carl Betz. Summary; Small construction crew working in alone in Pacific. A long dormant alien entity residing on the desert isle enters giant D-9er Bulldozer when the meteorite it's contained within is struck by the blade. A young Bob Urich suffers fatal radiation burns from the blue flash in the collision. The possessed Bulldozer then wreaks havoc with the remaining crew knocking them off one by one till only Walker and Betz are left. They finally trap and electrocute the thing with a portable generator. Would've been great to see how they explained the mayhem and pile of dead bodies to the authorities....

KILLDOZER, progenitor of more collegiate howls of laughter than even the 1974 Wisconsin Badger football team, and that was a bad, bad team. Two big stars, Clint Walker (movies) and Carl Betz (TV) peeking out from hiding, trying to figure out how to kill KILLDOZER -- "Can't shoot it...won't fit in a gas chamber." (!!!) When it came up for rerun the student lounge was jammed full. A construction crew on a tiny island, a huge bulldozer (sorry, KILLDOZER) with a roaring diesel engine. And yet, eerily silent as it maneuvers around hills to spring, well crawl, out at its next victim. KILLDOZER!!! The two-mile-an-hour menace no one could escape.

I hunted this one for years, based on memories of terror in childhood. To finally see it again, for the first time since original airing, it was a treat. Hadn't realized how much the more recent "Virus" was borrowing from this. Clint Walker, still about 7 axe-handles wide, does his damnedest to complete an important job. It's no "Duel", but I'd take this over "The Car" (hate that crap, can't understand all the affection), "Virus" (like this, but with various "Hardware" steals), "Race With The Devil", and especially "Maximum Overdrive" (notice that they haven't let King direct again). It's simple, somewhat ludicrous, but quite effective little thriller. It's true that the story is immensely simplified from the original, but Theodore Sturgeon did the rewrite himself. Lovely parade of classic character actors, just adds to the fun. Proud to have it in my collection at last.