Automatic Rewind - Movie Reviews, Rewatches & Film Nostalgia

28: The Running Man

1 h 4 min · 18. nov. 2025
episode 28: The Running Man cover

Description

It’s 2019… the dystopian hellscape we were promised back in the 80s. Cuz & Gus dive head-first into The Running Man, the neon-drenched, chaos-filled Arnold Schwarzenegger classic that somehow predicted reality TV, media manipulation, and America’s obsession with violence—just with more spandex and chainsaws. The guys break down the film’s infamously messy production (director fired, rewrites, budget implosions), Richard Dawson’s legendary villain turn as Damon Killian, and why the movie’s accidental campiness made it a cult favorite instead of the dark thriller Stephen King actually wrote. We cover the Stalkers, the weird game-show logic, the absolute 80s insanity of Dynamo singing opera in a light-up suit, and Arnold delivering one-liners like he’s being paid per pun. From satire that aged a little too well, to a remake on the horizon, to what this movie got shockingly right about the future, Cuz & Gus dig into all the blood, bullets, buzzsaws, and baked-in Reagan-era paranoia that make The Running Man one of Arnold’s most watchable disasters. Lights. Camera. Subzero. Now… plane zero.

Comments

0

Be the first to comment

Sign up now and become a member of the Automatic Rewind - Movie Reviews, Rewatches & Film Nostalgia community!

Get Started

2 months for 19 kr.

Then 99 kr. / month · Cancel anytime.

  • Podcasts kun på Podimo
  • 20 lydbogstimer pr. måned
  • Gratis podcasts

All episodes

30 episodes

episode 28: The Running Man artwork

28: The Running Man

It’s 2019… the dystopian hellscape we were promised back in the 80s. Cuz & Gus dive head-first into The Running Man, the neon-drenched, chaos-filled Arnold Schwarzenegger classic that somehow predicted reality TV, media manipulation, and America’s obsession with violence—just with more spandex and chainsaws. The guys break down the film’s infamously messy production (director fired, rewrites, budget implosions), Richard Dawson’s legendary villain turn as Damon Killian, and why the movie’s accidental campiness made it a cult favorite instead of the dark thriller Stephen King actually wrote. We cover the Stalkers, the weird game-show logic, the absolute 80s insanity of Dynamo singing opera in a light-up suit, and Arnold delivering one-liners like he’s being paid per pun. From satire that aged a little too well, to a remake on the horizon, to what this movie got shockingly right about the future, Cuz & Gus dig into all the blood, bullets, buzzsaws, and baked-in Reagan-era paranoia that make The Running Man one of Arnold’s most watchable disasters. Lights. Camera. Subzero. Now… plane zero.

18. nov. 20251 h 4 min