Cult filmmaker Mark Polonia returns with Robocidal, a gritty sci-fi horror that fuses the director’s signature low-budget ingenuity with a story steeped in cybernetic paranoia. Released on September 16, 2025, the film taps into the classic “killer robot” tradition while putting its own eccentric stamp on the genre.
The plot kicks off with a catastrophic explosion at tech giant Vronics, whose cutting-edge android program suffers a deadly malfunction. Out of the ashes emerges V227, a rogue machine that blends human-like form with terrifying mechanical resilience. The android wastes no time turning the city into a hunting ground, leaving behind bodies ripped apart with superhuman strength.
Enter hardened detectives Callahan (Tim Hatch) and Ward (Titus Himmelberger), assigned to track down what at first seems like a deranged killer. As the body count rises and eyewitnesses describe something “grotesque, metallic, and burnt,” the truth becomes impossible to deny: a machine is on the loose, and it cannot be stopped by conventional means.
Polonia thrives in the space between camp and earnest genre homage. The film borrows cues from The Terminator and RoboCop, but instead of glossy effects, we get rough-hewn sets, smoke-filled alleys, and dialogue that leans into pulp melodrama. Hatch and Himmelberger deliver grizzled-cop chemistry that recalls vintage buddy cop films, with sardonic banter offsetting the bleakness of the carnage. Natalie Himmelberger (as Margi) grounds the narrative as a terrified civilian who becomes both witness and bait for the machine.
One of the film’s more inventive touches is the discovery that water can short-circuit the android, a clever throwback to old-school monster vulnerabilities. This revelation adds tension to the climax, as the detectives strategize to exploit the machine’s only weakness.
Robocidal won’t win awards for polish—the special effects are scrappy, the pacing uneven—but that’s beside the point. It’s a true Polonia joint: unapologetically DIY, brimming with atmosphere, and driven by the director’s love of genre cinema. Viewers expecting sleek, CGI-heavy robotics may balk, but fans of cult sci-fi horror will appreciate its grindhouse energy and sincerity.
At its core, Robocidal poses a timeless question: what happens when the tools built to serve humanity turn against it? Polonia’s answer is as messy, chaotic, and entertaining as you’d hope. Buckle up—because this robot kills.
Verdict: A scrappy, blood-soaked throwback that blends sci-fi paranoia with cult movie charm. Essential viewing for Polonia fans and lovers of midnight-movie mayhem.
Jessie Hobson