Killdozer

I remember seeing this as a kid nearly 40 years ago. Other boys and I were captivated by it, we discussed it at school for a week! Recently I saw it on YouTube and I felt compelled to comment. The story centers around six construction workers on some digging project on "an island 200 miles off the coast of Africa". They hit a strange meteorite which is possessed by an electromagnetic alien lifeform (?) which transfers its energy lifeforce to the D9 bulldozer which struck it. Now possessed, the D9 emits a faint hum as it storms around the island killing off the men one by one.

The story is a decent one for the sci-fi/horror genre. There are a few silly moments, like when one man sits stoically in the jeep as the D9 trundles toward him to flatten him. Why not jump out and run away? Sure he was drunk but even inebriated I think he could have outrun a bulldozer whose top speed is 4 miles an hour.

The special effects are minimal so instead the movie focuses on its story, something which I wish more movies did so these days, rather than relaying on special effects exclusively. it's worth watching if you stumble across it.

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.

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 -- "Too heavy to hang..won't fit in a gas chamber." (!!!) When it came up for rerun the entire 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.

Here's another title that's on the MIA list. "Killdozer" is an interesting little tale based a short story of late sci-fi writer Theodore Sturgeon. Very unusual that the setting of the story where this bulldozer runs amok is an island somewhere in South Africa. Too bad the movie doesn't go into detail about the strange force that possesses the machine and starts it on a murderous rampage. But watch for a very young Robert Urich - way before his stint on 'S.W.A.T.', 'Vegas' and 'Spenser; for Hire'. My mother and I enjoyed this movie along with others such as 'Duel'. There's a sub-plot to Clint Walker's character: trying to overcome his battle with the bottle which led to a certain fall from grace in the company he works for. One gets the impression that he was sent on this construction job as a sort of punishment. Much as I'd like to think all the vintage ABC programming is seared into my memory, it has been so long since I've seen this movie, I could be mistaken about one or two points.

Additional note: Clint Walker fans should also see another ABC movie title the actor did called 'Scream of The Wolf'.

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.