User reviews

When I saw the vote record for this title on this site, I was dumbfounded. 32 (the largest number) out of 198 people gave it only a 1!

I remember this film from when it first aired. It was one of the ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK projects. These were short (2 hours with commercials) films produced with TV series level budgets. This film was based on Theodore Sturgeon's short story about a machine that becomes "possessed" by an electromagnetic alien life-form and turns on its operators.

Because of the budget restraints, these films had to rely more on story than showmanship.

Young Orson Wells would have been right at home working on a project like this. Filmed entirely on location. This film was a thriller where an ordinary object we can take for granted becomes an object of fear – a twist Edgar Allen Poe often used in his works. The film is heavily altered from TS's original because of the low budget. The background story of his version of the fall of Atlantis was unnecessary to the plot, so a different and simpler opening sequence was filmed: a meteor crashing into the Earth 100,000 years ago. John Carpenter would use a similar conceptual opening again years later in his remake of THE THING. This film is a story – not a masterpiece – just a story. And I felt it was a good one.

For that matter, so did most of my friends at the time felt the same way -- it was a popular movie.

How I wish wish wish this was released on DVD!

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.

"Killdozer" is a very entertaining TV movie from 1974, telling the story of a construction crew on a remote island (that looks a lot like southern California). The men must fight for their lives against a huge bulldozer controlled by a murderous alien force. The silly premise is made watchable by a good cast, lots and lots of action, an intelligent screenplay, and fine (if TV-style) direction.

A D9 bulldozer strikes a strange-looking rock, whereupon a mysterious alien force (shown as a blue light) is transferred to the 'dozer. The big machine soon has a mind of its own, destroying the construction workers' camp and proceeding on an orgy of killing and destruction. Good acting work by Clint Walker, Carl Betz, and Neville Brand help uplift the proceedings. Watch for a very young (and skinny) Robert Urich, who only survives the first few minutes of the movie before being scorched by alien radiation. The other workers are methodically wiped out until only two are left.

The Killdozer does its homicidal work with much enthusiasm, revving its engine, emitting black diesel fumes, waving its huge blade, frantically moving its control levers, and flashing its lights. The climactic "Killdozer death scene" is pretty good, as Walker lures the violent 'dozer to its death—or at least the death of the alien force.

In summary, I think this film is very good but I have a few other items to discuss. I saw this movie 31 years ago, and I'm still wondering how a 50-ton machine with a roaring diesel engine which belches huge clouds of black smoke could possibly sneak up on and surprise anyone. But the Killdozer manages to do just that, much to the detriment of the workers. Another issue is the one lesson I learned from this movie: If a maniacal bulldozer controlled by an alien force is lurking about—don't get drunk.

I bought the comic book adaptation of this (some Marvel adaptation) for 10 cents years ago... after seeing the film, I'd say that that was worth a whole 25 cents.

I actually enjoyed the movie; it's another in the long line of preposterous "horror" flicks from the 70's wherein something that will NEVER be terrifying attempts to terrify people... and people actually get scared! I imagine movie execs ran out of disaster flick ideas, ran out of horror ideas, so decided to combine the two... lest they have to pay decent sums to script writers for better plots.

Combine with Atomic Train for a great double-bill about scary transportation devices that spans the decades...

A small construction crew on a small Pacific Island results to be horrorized when a spirit-like being takes over a big bulldozer going bersek , and continuing a murderous rampage , causing wreak havoc. Six construction workers are building an airstrip when find a strange non-material lifeform which has lived in the ruins of an ancient temple for millenia . The entity is of course ominous and commandeers the earthmoving equipment to the general detriment of all concerned. And it's up to worker Clint Walker to to stop the demonic , driveless bulldozer. Everyone knows a Machine Cannot Kill. Except the Machine. Six men ... playing a deadly game of cat and mouse ... With a machine that wants to kill them.

A pretty solid , intriguing and suspenseful 70's vehicular horror film based on the novella by Theodore Sturgeon. Passable thriller originally made for TV with plenty of thrills, chills, breathtaking attacks, suspense, and anything else. There are not motivations, no explanations, except perhaps for a hint of allegory in the screenline and a tense visual suggestion about the ancient fight between the vulnerable, prancing knight and the lumbering , nasty dragon. The cult "Killdozer" is a supernatural tale of a creepy , malevolant bulldozer that apparently might be driven by the devil himself , adding the nice choreography of the weird machine while attacking the unfortunate workers . The entertaining story is visibly inspired in "Duel (1971) " and is inconclusive, and the spectator never knows for sure whether the bulldozer is driven by a demoniac being or a space force from a meteorite. The admittedly ridiculous fantastic premise stretches credibility to a near breaking point, but thankfully the script's patent absurdness is successfully surmounted by Jerry London's direction professional . The wreak havoc caused by the bulldozer is never graphic and that is a good point since the plot is supported by the nice acting from Clint Walker , Neville Brand , James Wainwright , Carl Betz and brief appearance of a newcomer Robert Urich to be continued by a notorious television career despite his early death .

The picture belongs to subgenre about mysterious automobiles with own life whose main representation turns out to be ¨Duel¨(1971) , following ¨Killdozer¨(1974) , ¨The Car¨ (1977) by Elliott Silverstein , ¨Christine¨ (1983) by John Carpenter and ¨Maximum overdrive¨ (1966) by Stephen King . In spite of receiving largely negative reviews from both critics and audience members , these movies have acquired a cult following over the years and nowadays considered to be cult classics.

The motion picture was professsionally directed by Jerry London giving a smooth, plain, unfussy filmmaking, furthermore, thirty and some years later this movie has not aged. London is a director and producer, known for directing some prestigious miniseries , such as : Chiefs (1983), Shogun (1980) , The Scarlet and the Black (1983) and Ellis Island(1984) .And making a lot of episodes of popular series , such as : The Guardian , The Rockford Files , City of Angels, Hawai 5-0 , Hotel , The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak , Switch , Forrester , Baretta , Marcus Welby , Lucas tanner , The Partridge Family , The Show of Doris Day, Hogan's heroes, among others . And this Killdozer (1974) rating 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable.

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 remember watching this flick when I was around the age of 12 and I thought it was wicked. Then to my surprise it was on again only recently and I still think it's a good film. Clint Walker is cool in this and I also thought he was good in the original 'Dirty Dozen'. In fact, they are all quite well known actors who star in this movie about a bulldozer that gets infected with hostile alien life and goes on a murderous rampage.

It's a watchable film, but also understandable that some people just won't like it. Like my sister for example, who watched it and then a few days later commented to one of her friends that she had watched this terrible film called 'Tractor Killer'. Rather amusing.

Rating 7/10.

Killdozer (1974) 2 of 5 Dir: Jerry London Stars: Clint Walker, Carl Betz, Neville Brand

A group of construction workers are building an airstrip on a remote island. While clearing earth they discover a meteor that when disturbed omits a bright blue light and then possesses the massive bulldozer they use into 'Killdozer'. No where to run or hide the workers get picked off one by one until they formulate their final stand.

'Killdozer' is an entertaining made-for-TV movie. Not too well done and a bit simple but once you get over its age you'll find yourself having a decent time.

My favourite film by a mile as a small child. I remember watching this with my sister when I was about 6 and she was 2 and it scared the pants off us!!.

Its a great tale of a group of construction workers on a remote island who accidentally drive a bulldozer into a very strange rock - having very strange effects, giving the bulldozer a killer streak!! - Sound naff?, well maybe - enjoyable and still a little scary? - you bet!! I haven't seen the film for about 10 years and I don't think its on video but I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes such better known films as "Duel" and "The Car"

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'.

But now it's not so hot. Like a lot of bad movies, "Killdozer" starts kind of fun. But pretty soon it drifts off into kind of dumb. It does have a solid cast. Across the board they were all solid. It's been 44 years I saw it last. The movie must have changed.

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.

An evil spirit takes control of a bulldozer and uses it to terrorize the workers on a small island.

I'm usually the one praising 70s-era made-for-TV horror movies, but not this one. I'm going to use a word to describe Killdozer that I normally don't use - this is one stupid movie. My problem is that I don't see any horror in a bulldozer. First, these aren't the most nimble, stealthy vehicles. You should be able to hear or see one coming from across the tiny island. Yet time-after-time, the bulldozer is able to sneak up on our oblivious heroes. Second, sure a bulldozer is reasonably fast in comparison to a man (about 10 mph - I looked it up), but not fast enough a man couldn't outmaneuver one. In several instances, the characters in Killdozer stand and wait to be slaughtered.

Not only is Killdozer stupid, but listening to these full-grown, intelligent men recite the dialogue their given . . . well I'm not sure it's stupid, but they sure sound dumb.

2/10

This film essentially begins with a meteorite drifting through space until it crashes on a deserted island off the coast of Africa. Not too long afterward a small team of construction engineers are sent to this island to clear space for an airstrip and set up a camp for a drilling company due to arrive several weeks later. As it so happens, while working to clear away debrie they come across a strange metallic rock which is unlike anything they have ever seen before. But when they attempt to remove it the meteorite emits a strange kind of radiation into the bulldozer which not only takes possession over it but soon begins to seek out and kill all of those on the island. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I didn't expect much from this film prior to viewing it and as a result I wasn't too disappointed as it lacked the necessary suspense or horror which would have greatly enhanced it. Of course, being a made-for-television movie might have had some bearing on this as well. In any case, while it wasn't necessarily a bad movie by any means, it could have been better and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

With a premise like this, it should have been funny, but alas, from minute one, as the awful font appeared, I found myself thinking that it was pretty lame.

A Styrofoam meteorite plops down on a postage-stamp-sized island off the coast of Africa (not "a small Pacific Island during WWII", as Bill Leue wrote in his bewildering plot summary) where a construction crew, hacking out a base-camp for an oil company (not "building an airstrip" either, Bill) unearth said meteorite in the sand (There is also no "ancient non-material lifeform which has lived in the ruins of an ancient temple for millenia" either, Bill. What the hell movie did you watch? And what the hell is a non-material lifeform?) which proceeds to glow blue, and kill a guy, somehow. The blue glowing light thingie possesses the bulldozer, and it very, very slowly takes out another man on the crew, so dimwitted that he just simply sits in his jeep for nearly 20 seconds while Killdozer slowly meanders its way toward him, and *SPLAT*. It proceeds to stalk the remaining crew members, taking them out, very slowly, one by one. Killdozer even runs over their radio, eliminating any chance of contacting anyone with it. Who could they call, and what could they tell them? That they're being stalked by a bulldozer come to life?

Clint Walker overacting outrageously, impersonating Clint Eastwood throughout the entire film is neither funny nor does he make a convincing hero. The "villian", Killdozer, was silly and, even if Killdozer had managed to kill the entire crew, so what? It would still be stuck, left to rust on that tiny little postage-stamp-sized island off the coast of Africa.

Disappointingly dull and ultimately pointless.

An eerie blue-tinged meteor crashes down to Earth, landing on an island 200 miles off the coast of Africa. There it becomes embedded in the rock. When a small construction crew tries to move it, this allows a mysterious cosmic entity to take possession of the "D9er" bulldozer, and use it to terrorize and murder the confused workers, one at a time. Our heroes have to do some serious thinking as to how to defeat their enemy, since they reason that you can't "kill a machine".

This minor cult classic, a TV movie from the mid-70s, benefits from an amusing story that calls to mind other "killer vehicle" yarns like "The Car", "Christine", and "Maximum Overdrive". Since it obviously didn't have a huge budget, it wisely concentrates on story over spectacle. That said, 'Killdozer' actually benefits from a minimum of cheese and serviceable special effects, as the filmmakers do a decent job of convincing us that this mammoth machine is operating on its own. (And that's after its fuel line has been cut.) The movie has good atmosphere, and the relatively trim running time of a vintage TV movie. So director Jerry London ('Shogun') and company obligingly cut to the chase efficiently, giving us a couple of fine action scenes, some appreciable humor (they never take this thing too, too seriously), and capable performances by an array of tough-guy character actors in these blue-collar hero / victim roles: Clint Walker ("The Dirty Dozen"), Neville Brand ('The Untouchables'), Carl Betz ('The Donna Reed Show'), James Wainwright ("Joe Kidd"), James A. Watson Jr. ("Airplane II: The Sequel"), and a baby-faced Robert Urich, post-"Magnum Force" and pre-'Vega$'. Wainwright, as the increasingly unstable Dutch, delivers the standout characterization.

'Killdozer' is a good deal of fun, no matter if it likely wouldn't really scare anyone. It's a nice little diversion, co-scripted by noted sci-fi writer Theodore Sturgeon from his own short story. Some of the best shots involve the Killdozer (truly just as much of a character in this thing as the human actors) just "watching" the men.

Seven out of 10.

There are plenty of hidden treasures to discover among the wide selection of 70's made-for-TV horror/thriller movies. Most of these are virtually unknown and even more impossible to track down, but when you do find one you're usually in for a big and undemanding little treat. "Killdozer" is the one that always stood high on my wish list for obvious reasons: a movie about a murderous vehicle is always guaranteed fun (remember "Duel" and "The Car"?). The production values here are very modest and the few special effects used look particularly cheesy and dated by now, but there's still a fair portion of suspense to enjoy as well as the macho performances of Clint Walker and Robert Urich. "Killdozer" opens with the cheesy image of flashy blue meteorite peacefully floating through space and making its way to earth. A couple millions of years later, the place where it crashed – a remote island little off the African coast – is a construction site where six workers are assigned to build an airstrip. When one of them hits the meteorite with a heavy bulldozer, a blinding blue light transfers into the large machine and it becomes possessed with an evil force. It goes haywire and promptly becomes an uncontrollable killing device, functioning by itself and aiming for the construction workers. "Killdozer" has a simple but highly effective premise and director Jerry London processed it into an explosive and powerfully short (barely 75 minutes) little movie. Obviously not the type of film you watch for its intellectual content and poetically written dialogs, but the sight of a 15 ton bulldozer running amok definitely gets your blood pumping.

Neville Brand, the old Indian, Clint Walker the beefcake, James Wainwright who is always interesting but not usually off key, and Carl Betz who looks rough on here are the 4 reasons why i own this. All 4 of which were always easy on my eyes. No women in it love that. I'm a woman and a faithful woman hater at that so that was a blessing. Not sure exactly how you get killed by a dozer. Okay, its not like you can't hear it coming okay they don't all of a sudden rig themselves for silent running. Its slower than a snail. This was a nice D8 least i got to see one, as it was described in Grizzly as a d8 cat with teeth.

This film falls roughly into the 'revolt of the machine' genre. I was reminded of the movies, 'the Car' and 'Christine', both stories about 20th-century technology that takes on a life of its own. In the case of 'Killdozer', this is some kind of alien intelligence which when it gets into a large construction bulldozer begins to kill the members of the construction crew one by one. The movie was somewhat interesting due to the awesome power of the bulldozer being showcased. Having been around such machines for years, the thought of one with a attitude and what it could do is a scary thought. I'd like to see the film again.

Although I rated it rather low, I still actually liked the movie. A runaway Cat possessed by a rock from the sky. Nice plot line, eh? I was a heavy equipment mechanic for many years and know pretty much everything about bulldozers and how they operate. A diesel engine requires fuel and compression to run. While this dozer is running around killing people I always wondered why nobody just shot the fuel injection pump. It would literally stop in it's "tracks". "Shoot the injectors. It's helpless with out them!" (a take-off of a line by Professor Medford in the movie "THEM!") Maybe being possessed by the evil spirit of a rock from space, it didn't require fuel. I don't know. Still a good movie if you have nothing better to do...like stick your face in a fan. If I was channel-surfing and came across it, I would watch it again, though That's how sick I am..