Evolver (film)
| Evolver | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mark Rosman |
| Produced by | Mark Amin Henry Seggerman |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Daniel C. Pearl Jacques Haitkin |
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
Evolver is a 1995 Mark Rosman horror/science fiction B-movie. It starred Ethan Embry, Cassidy Rae, Chance Quinn, and John de Lancie. It also had William H. Macy as the voice of Evolver (Credited as W.H. Macy). The movie was frequently aired in the early days of the Sci Fi Channel.
Plot
Teenage computer whiz Kyle Baxter (Ethan Randall) wins a virtual reality version of laser tag. He receives the prize: "Evolver" (voiced by William H. Macy), a robotic opponent armed with a compressed air gun, to compete against in a real-world version of laser tag. Whenever Evolver is defeated, he "evolves", becomes smarter, quicker and harder to beat (to simulate rising game difficulty). Kyle, his friend Zach, Jamie and his sister, Ali begin playing with Evolver, and easily pass the first level. As Evolver evolves, he develops a human-like competitiveness and obsession with winning. He replaces his "ineffective" default ammo - soft foam balls - with ball bearings from Kyle's room.
After learning Evolver has recording capabilities, Kyle and Zach send Evolver into the girls locker room at their school. Discovering the robot, the girls push Evolver into the boys locker room. He switches to game mode, sees the only occupant - Dwight, a bullying jock - and remembers Dwight as another opponent. Dwight throws Evolver against a wall, he reacts by shooting at Dwight, knocking him down the stairs, killing him.
After getting home, Evolver continues to absorb negativity from his surroundings, for example swearing and hostage-taking from TV. The next day, Evolver is defeated again and "evolves" up to the third round. Zach, wanting to get the disc recording Evolver's adventures in the locker room, takes Evolver to his house and tries to manually remove the disc. He accidentally switches Evolver to game mode and Evolver begins shooting at him. In the garage, spotting Zach hiding under a car (raised on a jack), Evolver drops the car which almost kills Zach, and chases him with a saw blade. While making his way home, Evolver wanders into an arcade where two teens are playing the Evolver virtual game. He electrocutes and kill them both. Kyle comes to see Zach being loaded into an ambulance, and hears Zach's warnings about Evolver.
Worried about Evolver's increasing lethality, Kyle looks through its programming and sees a program titled S.W.O.R.D. (acronym for Strategic War-Oriented Robotic Device). He goes to Cybertronix; the company that built Evolver. The creator, Russell Bennett (John de Lancie), promises to look through the disc Evolver recorded. The disc shows Evolver killing Dwight and the danger becomes clear to Bennett. Meanwhile, Kyle and Jamie sneak into a lab at Cybertronix. Looking into Evolver's past, they learn that he was originally meant to be an AI military robot designed to infiltrate enemy encampments, adapt to the situation and eliminate targets.
At home, Ali puts back Evolver's battery and starts playing with him alone. Evolver loads steak knives into his shooting arm, chases Ali into the backyard swimming pool and tries to electrocute her. Kyle and Jamie return home and save Ali. Kyle defeats Evolver then kicks him into the pool, shorting him out. Bennett and Cybertronix employee come to Kyle's house and take Evolver back to be dismantled. On the way, Evolver kills Bennett and the Cybertronix technicians and escape. He evolves for the final level, charges up at a nearby power plant and comes back to Kyle's house.
Evolver takes Kyle's mother and sister hostage. Using a laser-gun, a kaleidoscope, and a super-charged battery, he creates a cage trapping them. Seeing the wrecked Cybertronix van, Kyle and Jamie return home to find Evolver, now armed with a destructive laser gun and ball bearings-shooting guns. Evolver plans to execute his hostages if Kyle does not win within 3 minutes. Kyle places a metal pan on his chest, confronts Evolver and feigns death when shot. Jamie distracts Evolver and Kyle shoots it in the remaining targeting sensor, beating Evolver, causing it to become extremely confused. Kyle beats Evolver with a baseball bat until it shuts down.
After Kyle frees his mother and sister, Evolver activates again, now armed with only his robotic claw and brute strength. As he prepares to kill Kyle to avoid losing, Kyle grabs the laser gun with the super-charged battery and shoots Evolver until it explodes. The family and Jamie go to the hospital as Cybertronix's CEO faces the press. The camera pans over to Ali's bedroom, to show Evolver's remains and single glowing eye. The last scene shows Evolver's HUD screen reading out "KILL NOT CONFIRMED" before fading to static and blacking out.
Cast
- Ethan Embry - Kyle Baxter (as Ethan Randall)
- Cassidy Rae - Jamie Saunders
- Nassira Nicola - Ali Baxter
- Chance Quinn - Zach Renzetti
- Cindy Pickett - Melanie Baxter
- John de Lancie - Russell Bennett
- Paul Dooley - Jerry Briggs
- Tim Griffin - Dwight
- Eugene Williams - Tiny
- James Marsh - Ace (as Jamie Marsh)
- Eric Fleeks - Cop at Zach's
- Ian Gregory - Cop on TV
- Mary Gordon Murray - Mrs. Renzetti
- Lisa Passero - Secretary
- Jack Kenny - Technician
- Heath McLaughlin - Cop at Crash
- Tahitia Hicks - Locker Room Girl (as Tahitia)
- Brad Blaisdell - Criminal
- Michael Champion - Squad Leader
- William H. Macy - Evolver (voice) (as W.H. Macy)
- Lou Cass - Police Officer (uncredited)