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They turned a terrorist into a Terminator and called it foreign policy. Peak '80s B-movie madness.
TMDB
37
IMDb
39
Google
77

Programmed to Kill (1987)

schlocky sci-fiCIA paranoiarobo-revenge

Overview

ActionHorrorScience Fiction

A middle eastern female terrorist is captured by the CIA in Greece, after an attack on a marketplace. Transported back to the USA, the terrorist undergoes an operation where she is transformed into a cybernetic killing machine. Now the CIA have a secret weapon to send back to the Middle East, but how long can they control her?

Flag of USUS
Content warning
dystopiacyborg

Standout Aspects

Practical Effects

Gloriously cheap cyborg costume that looks like spray-painted motorcycle gear.

Score

Throbbing synth soundtrack doing heavy lifting the script can't manage.

Acting

Sandahl Bergman commits to dead-eyed robot stare with genuine conviction.

Best for:Friends: Bad movie night with people who appreciate practical effects and worse politics.·Background: Perfect for folding laundry while half-watching cyborg carnage.·Rewatch: Only if you're tracking Sandahl Bergman's post-Conan career decline.
Heads up:Disturbing: Casual Islamophobia presented as plot mechanics; hasn't aged well.·Violence: Frequent low-budget gunfights and cyborg-on-human combat.
A

Director

Allan Holzman

ReleasedApr 5, 1987
Runtime1h 31m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feellight
Trans World Entertainment
Retaliator Productions

Top Cast

Robert Ginty

Robert Ginty

Eric Mathews

Sandahl Bergman

Sandahl Bergman

Samira

James Booth

James Booth

Brock

Alex Courtney

Alex Courtney

Blake

Paul Walker

Paul Walker

Jason

Peter Bromilow

Peter Bromilow

Donovan

George Fisher

George Fisher

Mike

Jim Turner

Jim Turner

Chris

Chaim Banai

Chaim Banai

Racehorse

Charles Howerton

Charles Howerton

Benedict

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Allan Holzman also edited Battle Beyond the Stars for Roger Corman, and this bears the same 'fast and cheap' fingerprints. It was reportedly shot in ten days.

Cultural

This is essentially a gender-swapped, politically tone-deaf Terminator rip-off released two years after Cameron's film, capitalizing on both cyborg fever and Reagan-era Middle East anxiety.

YouTube

The Retaliator — Movie Trailer — Programmed to Kill (1987)

The Retaliator — Movie Trailer — Programmed to Kill (1987)

Gallery

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