In an isolated space station millions of miles from Earth in the year 2036, Max 404 – an almost-human robot – learns that he is to be shut down by mad scientist Dr Daniel (Klaus Kinski) who is about to finish his new robot, Cassandra – a beautiful blonde (Kendra Kirchner) that will replace Max.
Then a space ship runs into trouble and sends out an SOS call. Max guides it to a safe berth at the space station and then discovers that one of its three passengers is a real, live female (Brie Howard) called Maggie. They are attracted to one another and, in a weirdly inventive scene, they make love in the same room with the inactivated Cassandra.
The castaways – Maggie, Keller (Norbert Weisser) and Mendes (Crofton Hardester) – turn out to be escaped prisoners with a plan to return to Earth – and Max wants to go with them.
He is essentially an android teenager and is fascinated by Earth pop culture from the 1960s and 1970s.
Dr Daniel becomes obsessed with the need to complete his experiments, and there are the usual scenes of people sneaking around corners and attacking each other.
A charming, likeable, low-budget sci-fi B-movie that features Don Opper as the shy and sensitive robot who wants to go to Earth to be his “own person”.
Debuting director Aaron Lipstadt does the utmost with a limited budget and the film seems slated for cult status.
Dr Daniel
Klaus Kinski Max 404
Don Opper Cassandra
Kendra Kirchner Maggie (Margaret Kallisti)
Brie Howard Gunther Keller
Norbert Weisser Orlando Mendes
Crofton Hardester
The castaways – Maggie, Keller (Norbert Weisser) and Mendes (Crofton Hardester) – turn out to be escaped prisoners with a plan to return to Earth – and Max wants to go with them.
