Rating: **
Review Date: 6/27/26
Written And Directed By: Albert Pyun
Cast: Kathy Long, Kris Kristofferson, Lance Henriksen, Gary Daniels,
cameo by Tim Thomerson
"Dying doesn't concern me because I'm not alive."
After the apocalypse, a cyborg army rises up to enslave the remnants of humanity. Somehow, they evolved to be fueled by human blood rather than electricity, so they need a constant supply of humans to feed on. Okay... But one cyborg stands against them. His name is Gabriel (Kris Kristofferson), and he's been programmed to destroy the bad cyborgs. Oh, and he doesn't drink human blood, so you know he's a good guy. A spunky young woman named Nea (Kathy Long) befriends him and he teaches her how to kill cyborgs. After that, it's just one fight scene after another as the cyborgs get wiped out by Nea's newfound ass-kicking skills.
B-Movie master Albert Pyun is in his element here, shooting on location in Utah with a threadbare script and a miniscule budget. While this film marks the debut of kickboxing champion Kathy Long, the real star is the gorgeous scenery, shot in Moab and Monument Valley. Long is strapped with some dreadful dialog and isn't a great actor, but she's an outstanding physical performer. Her skill, athleticism, physique, and presence do an excellent job of selling the action scenes, even though the choreography and camera work are lacking. Her fight scenes are fun to watch and she clearly has skills, confidence, and experience. Kris Kristofferson is laughable as a cyborg vigilante and is sorely miscast. He must have been desperate for work, and is clearly doubled in his fight scenes. Lance Henriksen is completely over the top as the cyborg leader, Job, and seems to be the only one who's both having fun and taking the material seriously. He also has a ridiculously large prosthetic arm which one reviewer said "is the size of a Volkswagen." I was excited to see Gary Daniels show up, as a showdown between him and Kathy Long could have been quite a sight, but he only has a handful of scenes and then disappears at the end. Maybe we're supposed to believe that he's one of the endless stream of masked bad guys that fall to Nea's blade, but it's a disappointment that we don't get to see him in action more.
Speaking of the ending, or lack thereof, the film ends abruptly with no resolution. A new character called Master Builder shows up right at the end and kidnaps Nea's brother, followed by Nea saying that the quest to save him would take place "beyond the stars at the end of the universe." Seriously? Give me a break. I watched 90 minutes of this crap for a cliffhanger with no closure? That alone would warrant a 1-star rating, but Kathy Long's kinetic and charismatic action scenes keep it from being a total loss.