Now Available from Shout! Factory
I’m all for the idea that every movie no matter how bad they may be, has some kind of value to them. I’m not saying that “Eve of Destruction” is a bad movie, I’m just wondering why it received a Blu-Ray release from Shout! when it’s a fairly unremarkable movie. It’s about as routine and stale as you’d imagine a movie made in the post-“Terminator” era could be, where every studio dealt us their own movie about a killing machine run amok with a big gun or massive weapon. Here we’re given a weird central plot about clones Gregory Hines who is about the least convincing military mercenary ever put to film.
When a gift scientist creates an android version of herself, known as EVE VIII, and equips it with both the passionate emotions she lacks and a nuclear bomb, the trouble begins when the android is taken out for a test run and ends up in the midst of a bank robbery. During the chaos, the internal bomb is accidentally activated, and EVE becomes emotionally unglued, launching into a destructive rampage, all while enacting out its repressed creator’s darkest desires. Col. Jim McQuade and EVE’s creator Dr. Eve Simmons are tasked with stopping her, despite being outmatched.
Duncan Gibbins’ “EVE of Destruction” wears its influences clearly on sleeve with scenes that look outright ripped out of “Terminator” from the robotic vision, to “Eve VIII” going in to a bar and having a confrontation with sleazy bikers. Any attempts to undercut the comparisons by injecting a mild erotic element is completely botched as the movie can’t seem to decide its direction, thus Renée Soutendijk’s performance comes off confused most of the time. Is Eve VIII a deadly machine, or a slick seductress? Is she operating out of malice or deeply embedded programming?
Is EVE VIII going in to battle mode because of her memories, or is she going in to battle mode because she’s convinced she’s her creator? If she’s strictly a military robot why does she take such glee in hurting people? Why would Eve program Eve VIII to be exactly like her without anticipating some kind of identity dilemma? And we know Eve VIII is going a rampage, but what’s her end goal, ultimately? Why is she engaging in this campaign? Gregory Hines for the most part is another confused casting decision, portraying a barking military officer tasked with taking down Eve VIII. There are hints of him having some kind of romance with Eve, but it, like a lot of the other plot threads in the movie, is never fully developed and just left hanging.
“EVE of Destruction” is not without its fan base, but I found it to be a fairly stale, and abundantly forgettable scifi thriller with a concept that’s been accomplished with a much better degree of competence and camp before it.
The original theatrical trailer is all that’s included in this release, sadly with no audio commentary or bells and whistles.