Appearing at the height of the director's popularity, thanks to the inescapable, if short-lived, "surrealist action" phenomenon, Project: Shadowcaster (also know as Shadowcaster) is also the most stereotypically Eyres-ish of John Eyres's films, filled with state of the art special effects, surreal environments, complex characters, and oblique commentary on American life (we wouldn't expect any less!). As such, it will leave some viewers raving, others scratching their noodle in frustration. Staring the Martin Kove as Desilva a thawed out football player in an Orwellian American future should be enough to buy ten copies of this rare piece of art history. If Kove and Eyres isn't enough, keep in mind that Kove experimented with sensory deprivation meditations and self-controlled brainwashing techniques pioneered by the church of Scientology in addition to spending weeks along side Dan Marino to prepare for the role of Desilva. Shadowcaster takes "surreal action" to the next level and redefines the word "touchdown!"

This movie is so much fun. A straight-to-video action movie that borrows plot elements from other films but adds charms all its own. You can criticize the script for not being terribly original but it's filled with memorable lines delivered with gusto by a good cast. The plot is brilliant so prepare yourself. A group of terrorists, headed by a Lundgrenesque android named Romulus, take over a hospital. Among the hostages is the daughter of the President (played by 44 year-old Meg Foster). The FBI is helpless to do anything so they decide to unfreeze the architect of the building. You see, the architect committed a crime and in this world criminals are cryogenically frozen. Well, somehow they goof up and unfreeze the wrong guy. Instead of the architect they get former pro-football player Martin Kove! He plays along so he doesn't have to be frozen again. Basically, the rest of the film is Kove "yippee-ki-yay"-ing his way through the hospital to rescue the hostages and inevitably fight the android. Look, I think we all know this isn't The English Patient. It's not even Die Hard. But for fans of popcorn action movies, this is a real treat. It's a movie full of quotable dialogue, fun clichés, and mindless action. It's a damn good time if you can relax and enjoy movies that aren't meant to be art.

When Romulus the android (Zagarino) comes to life after a lot of clacking on computers, he and his henchmen decide to take an entire hospital hostage. Naturally, the President's daughter (Foster) is in the hospital. Apparently this is happening because the evil Kinderman, head of ATR (Advanced Technical Research) and the maker of Romulus, wants the President to step aside so he can create a new world order. Obviously the only solution to this problem is to defrost Martin Kove and send him in to save the day. In the future, jail is being frozen in ice. Henceforth it's "Die Hard in a hospital" as Kove uses his skills as a football player and "redneck killer" to take down the baddies.

Zagarino is meant to look like Dolph Lundgren as Drago (see the hair) and his robotic acting suits him perfectly. Speaking of funny hair, Kove, when he is defrosted, has a silly mountain man beard that doesn't match his hair. So, to put an end to Romulus, Kove heads up "Operation Bird-Dog", the most intimidating operation name ever. They needlessly give each other "handles" so, of course, the cries are "Fox to Chicken Hawk, Fox to Chicken Hawk". Couldn't they have thought of something else? What's the audience supposed to think? The debatably miscast Foster as the President's daughter portrays the character that is always whining and asking a lot of annoying questions. It's not her fault, we love Meg Foster. But in these types of movies, someone has to bear that load.

Romulus has some funny henchmen. One is a fat guy name Zanuchi. Another one resembles Dale "Apollo" Cook.

Joss Ackland tries to rise above the material as Kinderman. He has a great voice for what he was trying to do. When he is communicating with Romulus, he mentions that "Desilva" (the Martin Kove character) is "insignificant". Apparently, Kinderman programmed Romulus with a Pee-Wee's Playhouse-style "secret word" in his brain, because he reacts with a crazy robot noise and strange neck movement. This idea is never paid off. Apparently Romulus is one insecure 'bot.

"Project Shadowchaser" is a low-budget mish-mash of The Terminator (1984),Die Hard (1988),Star Wars (1977) and Hard Boiled (1992). It ends with a classic freeze-frame of Kove pouring beer on his own head and yelling "Touchdown!" Classic.

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