Omega Doom is a 1996

1996 in film

Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...

 film by Albert Pyun

Albert Pyun

Albert Pyun is an American film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. He frequently blends kickboxing and hybrid martial arts with science fiction and dystopic or post-apocalyptic themes, which often include cyborgs...

, starring Rutger Hauer who plays a robot

Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

 who, during a nuclear winter

Nuclear winter

Nuclear winter is a predicted climatic effect of nuclear war. It has been theorized that severely cold weather and reduced sunlight for a period of months or even years could be caused by detonating large numbers of nuclear weapons, especially over flammable targets such as cities, where large...

, plays both sides of a robot civil war against each other in a small town. The film's plot and setting are heavily influenced by the film Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

, itself believed to be an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett

Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...

's 1929 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 Red Harvest

Red Harvest

Red Harvest is a novel by Dashiell Hammett. The story is narrated by The Continental Op, a frequent character in Hammett's fiction. Hammett based the story on his own experiences in Butte, Montana as an operative of the Continental Detective Agency, San Francisco.Time included Red Harvest in its...

.

Plot

On the last day of the war between the human and the robot army, one of the robots, Omega Doom, is hit in his head and his programming for the destruction of mankind is erased.

Some time later, Omega Doom arrives at a destroyed city, where he encounters an unusual community of robots and roms (newer and more advanced robots), who are in conflict. He also finds there are two remaining peaceful robots - a former nanny who now works as a bartender and the head of a former teacher, whom the other robots use as a ball.

Omega Doom helps The Head find a body and tells him about a rumored stock of hidden weapons. Both groups want these weapons in order to continue the destruction of the remaining humans, since the only weapons left are simple ˝laser chopping knives˝.

Eventually, Omega Doom gets the robots to promise to destroy the roms in exchange for a half of the weapons; but he also proposes the same deal to the roms. They end up fighting each other with the new weapons, ensuring their mutual destruction.

Afterwards, he leaves the last two peaceful robots (The Bartender and The Head) in charge of the city and continues his wandering.

Characters

Most of the characters in Omega Doom are Androids. They generally appear human, but also have noticeably robotic features. They have a metallic layer underneath their more human-like skin. They often make a metallic sound when they walk and tend to make a sound like an electric motor when they make small movements or turn their head. When thinking, they also make a high-pitched electronic chatter. They are shown to breathe and have a sense of smell. They also drink water, either as a source of fuel, or as coolant.

There are two different types of robots: Soldiers and Drones. Soldiers are killing machines, intent on wiping out the human race. The Drones were servants before the war. They fear the rumors that the humans who survived are coming to kill all the robots, but seem willing to serve humans once more, if the opportunity should arise.

Roms

The Roms are a late-model design. As such, they tend to be more advanced and efficient killing machines. In the beginning there are three surviving Roms. It is difficult to tell them apart as they all appear to be the same model. They all wear sunglasses and their voices are modulated so they all sound the same.

• Ironface (played by Cynthia Ireland) has a distinct distrust of Omega Doom and is the first one killed by him. Her eyes are not shown. She is the one sent to accompany Omega Doom to dig up and retrieve guns.

• Blackheart (played by Tina Cote') is the leader of the Roms. She tends to be more impatient and makes rash decisions. She thinks she is pure evil and states that her mission is to prove to every robot on Earth that there is no more good in the world. She is killed in a fight with Omega Doom. Her body is given to The Head.

• Zinc (played by Jill Pierce) is Blackheart's right hand bot. Though initially wanting Omega Doom dead, she becomes disenchanted with the Roms' programming as killers. She claims she never enjoyed killing, before sparing the Bartender's life. She respects humans more than Drones, because they would at least offer resistance, whereas the Drones just allowed themselves to be killed. She is allowed to live when she decides to join forces with the Drones. She understands Omega Doom's mission, and would likely become the Drones' guardian in his absence.

Droids

The Droids are the Roms' rivals. They are earlier model soldiers, but can be just as lethal as the Roms. Unlike the Roms, they each have a distinct look and personality.

• Zed (played by Shannon Whirry
  Shannon Whirry
  Shannon Whirry is an American actress who was raised in Green Lake, Wisconsin.-Career:Shannon Whirry trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the 1980s, appearing onstage in Butterflies Are Free and Mrs Warren's Profession. However, she began to work primarily in erotic B movies in...
  
  ) is the gang's leader. She appears to be somewhat aristocratic and idealistic. Her plan is for Blackheart and Zinc to become disheartened by the loss of Ironface and leave town once they discover that they're outnumbered, leaving the supposed stash of guns to the Droids. She gives Omega Doom the nickname of "Guardian Angel". Omega Doom nicknames her "Princess". When she tries to double-cross him, he throws his sword, killing her. She says "That was fast" and lies slowly dying until the end of the movie. She asks Omega Doom to move her head so she can watch the sun set one last time.

• Zed Too (played by Simon Poland) is essentially a male version of Zed. He was ready to avenge Marco's death, but Zed stopped him. He was killed by Zinc and Blackheart in an ambush while Zed was following Omega Doom and Ironface. Presumably, his original name was simply "Zed", but he adopted the "Too" so's to be distinguishable from the other Zed.

• Titus (played by Earl White) is more robotic. His face is hidden by a metal mask. He communicates only with the same electronic chatter as the other robots display when thinking. He is also killed in the ambush by Blackheart and Zinc.

• Marco (played by Jahi Zuri) is a psychopath. His movements tend to be more jerky than the others, suggesting that he may be physically damaged. He decapitated The Head and enjoys using him as a soccer ball. He seems to be confused by Omega Doom's initial lack of hostility. When Omega Doom mentions that the Drones think he is just being mean, Marco replies: "I AM doing it to be mean!". Marco dies in a duel with Omega Doom. He is decapitated and his face and body are destroyed.

Non-Gang Affiliated

These characters are not tied to either gang.

• The Bartender (played by Anna Katarina
  Anna Katarina
  -Filmography:* Star Trek: The Next Generation** episode Haven ... as Valeda Inn* The Blood of Heroes ... as Big Cimber* Slaves of New York ... as Mooshka* The Death of the Incredible Hulk ... as Bella/Voshenko...
  
  ) used to be a nanny for a little girl, who apparently died in the nuclear war. She preserved one of the girl's musical snow globe, which plays "Joy To The World", but the Bartender claims she can't remember the words. She dredged for water and found a revolver in the process. She hid the revolver in the wall behind a paining, and serves water to any robots who come to her bar. She finds soldiers distasteful and wishes that she could help the Head, but knows that Marco would kill her if she did. In the end, she remembers the words to the song, and is hopeful when Omega Doom tells them that the humans are trying to rebuild the world, not kill all machines. She plans to eventually return to serving humans.

• The Head (played by Norbert Weisser
  Norbert Weisser
  Norbert Weisser is a German-born American film and theatre actor, probably most known for his many roles in Albert Pyun-directed films ....
  
  ) used to be a teacher. He was on his way to Las Vegas, having heard humans survived there, in the hopes of becoming a teacher again. While travelling through the area he was beheaded by Marco. Since then, he's been Marco's "soccer ball". After being rescued by Omega Doom and given a new body, he shares what he knows about the situation. He has the capability to gain control of a vacant body, but seems to have problems with "stabilizing", resulting in spasms and unbalance. He's given a second body and manages to save Omega Doom before being decapitated again. He is eventually given Blackheart's body, and promises to use it better than she ever did. He looks forward to the prospect of humans reclaiming the world.

• Omega Doom 5.5 (played by Rutger Hauer) is a "Hybrid 5.5" soldier. During the final day of the war with the humans, he was shot in the back of the head. Since he was wearing a riot helmet, he was not killed. Instead, the bullet stuck the area of his circuitry responsible for his memory and core program. No longer driven to kill, he releases his grip on the human he was strangling at the time, and the two of them watch as nuclear bombs go off in the distance. The surviving humans reprogrammed him with the ability to detect good robots (who should live) and evil ones (who should be destroyed). He was then sent out into the post-war world, to help pave the way for the humans' re-emergence. An unknown time later, he happened upon the amusement park. After giving the Head his first new body, Omega went to the bar. After Marco again decapitated The Head, Omega Doom confused him with psychotherapy
  Psychotherapy
  Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
  
  and killed him in a duel. He set up a trap for both gangs, lying about finding more guns. He was stabbed in the back by Blackheart, and she began to probe his memories. She discovered his new programming and purpose, recoiling at the notion. He was saved by The Bartender when she pulled her revolver and told Blackheart and Zinc where she'd found it. While Blackheart and Zinc were digging around the well to find more guns, The Head managed to remove the blade lodged in Omega Doom's back, allowing him to reboot. Blackheart attacked and decapitated the Head, then was killed and decapitated, herself. Omega Doom gave her body to The Head and proceeded to set the record straight about the humans. On his way out of town, he turned Zed's head so that she could watch the sunset.