DAILY CALL SHEET: FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Death Machine (1994) You know what's scarier than hiring Brad Dourif? Firing Brad Dourif. And that's just in real life. Now imagine you're his boss in a movie where he's a sociopathic weapons designer and hacker supreme who can send his murder machines to disembowel you in less than a minute, something he's already done to the person who previously held your position. Then, when you actually do work up the nerve to let him go, he develops a crush on you, and promises not to eviscerate you if you'll promise to schedule sex time with him. That's what happens to poor Hayden Cale in this near-future flick when she's put in charge of dealing with the public relations mess caused by one of Dourif's cybernetic solders malfunctioning. Soon, she's on the run for her life while being pursued by Dourif's invincible killer robot. And then the eco-terrorists show up. Definitely hampered by its relatively small budget, but with character names like John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, and Scott Ridley (huh?), you know right where the filmmakers' hearts are. They do their best with what they have to honor their influences.

Part of the Church's social doctrine is the principle of the dignity of work. Basically, this is the idea that workers are persons with inherent dignity and their employers have moral obligations to treat them accordingly, not just as disposable tools for profit. Under this theory, employers must pay a just wage, provide decent and safe working conditions, not hinder the right of workers to organize or defend their interests, and avoid placing unjust burdens on their employees. For their part, the workers are required to  carry out their assigned tasks, respect the employer and their property, contribute to a positive work environment, work with regard to others, and avoid violence or disorder when pursuing grievances. Obvious to say, Brad Dourif's character in Death Machine oversteps in regards to that last point. A bit.

Now Showing at a Blog Near You: Faith-filled and gritty? This week for Aleteia I take a look at the new film Moses the Black.