Wuchak Released to TV in 1974 and directed by Jerry London based on Theodore Sturgeon's novella, "Killdozer" stars Clint Walker as the foreman of a small construction team 200 miles off the coast of Africa. Things go awry when a malevolent alien lifeforce is released from a meteorite that crashed on the planet hundreds or thousands of years ago. The thing possesses the bulldozer that tried to move the rock and proceeds to pick the men off one by one. Who will survive, if any? I realize that this was an ABC Movie of the Week so you have to have mercy, but many of those flicks were quite good and sometimes great, like "Tribes" (1970), "Duel" (1971), "The Night Stalker" (1972), "Kung Fu" (1972), "Go Ask Alice" (1973), "Pray for the Wildcats" (1974), "Winter Kill" (1974) and "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), amongst others. "Killdozer" is cut from the same production cloth, but it's done-in by the limitations of its plot. My title blurb IS the movie and, as such, it's filled with dull 'filler' scenes and dialogue. Walker always makes for a great protagonist and the other 3-4 main guys are decent, but they're limited by the thin story and general lack of pizazz. As far as the former goes, there's probably about 45 minutes of material here, which would've worked for an hour show (with commercials), but 74 minutes is just too long. Concerning the "lack of pizazz," the story needed SOMETHING to perk it out of its doldrums, like perhaps a fetching female co-worker and the corresponding rivalry over her affections or fighting to save the proverbial 'damsel in distress' or vice versa. I don't know; I'm just making suggestions. When you have a confined location and only a few characters you have to get creative with the dramatics or events in order to maintain the viewer's interest (2007's "Wind Chill" is a good example). As it is, the movie's just a handful of guys stranded on an island with a slow mechanical, hulking adversary.ADDITIONAL CAST: Carl Betz, Neville Brand, James Wainwright, James A. Watson Jr. and Robert Urich. The movie was shot on a filming ranch in Valencia, California, as well as the nearby coast. GRADE: C-

AaronCapenBanner Clint Walker plays a construction crew foreman in Africa who accidentally unearths a meteor fragment, that somehow contains/is an alien creature, who "possesses" their bulldozer, and sets out to kill them one by one...Main problem with this TV film is that it is too thin, with a short running time that barely covers story-telling basics to involve the viewer in the strange goings-on, especially when none of the characters(except perhaps Robert Urich) is in any way interesting or distinguished; they're mostly Killdozer fodder, and just what the alien is remains frustratingly vague, leading to the ho-hum ending that fails to satisfy. Theodore Sturgeon's original story deserves to be given another effort, though this film does have a cult following!

daviddaveinternational 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..

Woodyanders A meteorite crashes onto the surface of a remote Pacific Island. A malevolent alien force in the meteorite causes an enormous Caterpillar D9 bulldozer to come to murderous life and terrorize a small handful of construction workers. Director Jerry London, working from a compact script co-written by noted science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, relates the compelling story at a steady pace and maintains a grimly sober tone from start to finish. Moreover, the able cast all contribute solid performances: Clint Walker as stern, rugged foreman Lloyd Kelly, Carl Betz as stolid, cynical loner Dennis Holzig, James Wainwright as hale'n'hearty lug Jules "Dutch" Krasner, Neville Brand as grizzled veteran mechanic Chub Foster, James A. Watson, Jr. as the laid-back Al Beltran, and a very young and boyish pre-"Vega$" Robert Ulrich as eager young turk Mark McCarthy. While the premise sounds admittedly silly, it's thankfully handled with admirable conviction and seriousness by the director and cast; the increasingly grim, tense and nightmarish atmosphere in particular prevents the whole thing from ever degenerating into laughable camp. The bulldozer makes for a genuinely fearsome and intimidating juggernaut. A pitched fight between the bulldozer and a huge shovel rates as a definite thrilling highlight. Terry K. Meade's polished cinematography and Gil Melle's nicely wonky'n'spooky score are both up to par. An enjoyable "Duel" variant.