Murderbot (2023)

So…this is either Killerbots or Murderbot and the original name is better, because it’s close to Killbots, which is of course Chopping Mall, which was made by the same director, Jim Wynorski. This doesn’t feel like the sequel/reboot — he’s supposedly working on that with Dustin Ferguson now — but instead is 46 minutes of female Terminator in the desert wiping out teens, including one who has a trumpet that can play the only sound that slows down that walking machine of menace (Melissa Brasselle).

This has everything you expect from a Wynorski movie: a nubile cast, including Becky LeBeau (in the hot tub with Rodney in Back to School), Dare Taylor, Groundling Emma Keifer, August Kyss, Lisa London (yes, Rocky from Savage Beach!), Sarah Noelle and Lauren Parkinson (Avengers Grimm: Time Wars); scientist women in glass and lab coats that belong in a VCA movie; ridiculous effects and a killer that everyone wants to have sex with.

Written with Kent Roudebush, this moves quickly and looks good. Shot at the Diamond V Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita instead of the Ohio base of so many recent Full Moon movies, this knows what it is and gets in and out without much fuss.

Also: This is a Christmas movie.

You can watch this on Tubi.