In 1992, very few people considered virtual reality, the internet, or “cyberspace.” Computers weren’t exactly new then, but it was the early days of ubiquitousness. Most homes didn’t have a computer, let alone a device or multiple devices per person. Virtual reality was a distant concept. It had already been born, but it would be years before the masses would fall in love with them. It would be years more still before anyone would recognize their threat. Virtual reality could turn a tool into a weapon in the wrong hands.
Nowadays, even the least versed in technology understand virtual reality, even if they aren’t swiping lightsabers to the beat on the regular. The Lawnmower Man (1992) wasn’t always about what director Brett Leonard’s film was about, though. Stephen King fans want to whack this mole whenever the movie comes up.
The prolific master Stephen King wrote an entirely different story. You’ll get a better gist from Michael De Luca’s The Lawnmower Man: A Suburban Nightmare (1987) from Dollar Baby short films than from the 1992 technophobic nightmare. The 1987 short film can be found on YouTube for now, but it has a habit of being taken down for copyright reasons.
Let’s disregard any sequels, but maybe wonder on your own time how a sequel was ever greenlit. As a stand-alone film, The Lawnmower Man touches on themes that should not have resonated at the time. If the film was made now, it might actually do what it tried to do under a different name. The Max Headroom-level effects didn’t help, and the story is too clunky, but the leap it takes doesn’t seem realistic from the mindset of a 1992 person.
Today, a film could easily convince you that a landscaper could become omnipotent through brain tweaks that utilize virtual reality. We’ve all seen The Matrix (1999). “I know Kung Fu” is a meme we all understand because the concept of instantly downloading information is not foreign to us. Those seven years made all the difference.
We don’t learn when equations and schematics animatedly flash before our eyes. Unconscious learning is a debatable topic that usually falls on the side of pseudo-science. We don’t have to imagine very hard to think of a world where we can download a textbook, and all the knowledge that comes with it is not too far off.
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In this not-too-distant world, we hope this kind of learning will be a great equalizer. A brain app that does this for us will inevitably have in-app purchases, though. Oh, you subscribed to our Smithing Course? You get Iron for free, but Bronze and Steel will cost an extra $500 each. Can we wield that hammer with our minds, though? Yes! The Telekinetic upgrade is a lifetime subscription you need to opt-in for. First, you must sign this waiver saying we are not liable if you accidentally drop your anvil on your spouse’s head. I’m in!
It’s still a leap from convenient knowledge downloads to psionic powers. In the virtual world, it makes sense, but that’s where science fiction turns to fantasy. Unless you subscribe to the contemporary notion that we live in a simulation, in that way, Jobe Smith makes perfect sense. He’s a Cinderella story gone too far. Power corrupts, but conveniently, the anti-hero explains to the protagonist that it’s beyond his ability to comprehend the necessity of seemingly evolving into a villain.
The Lawnmower Man (movie) tried to be Carrie or Firestarter in God Mode. The side plot dealing with investors and corporate immorality is common in films like Alien (1979) and RoboCop (1987). It wasn’t as well done here. Giving multiple faces to those villains rarely works, especially when the minion role doesn’t know if he’s a thug or a yes-man weasel. Isn’t “the bald guy” usually tough? How does a featherweight, keyboard-pushing Pierce Brosnan with zero on-set fight coaching punch the bald guy’s lights out? It wasn’t virtual reality. It was just weak filmmaking.
Try again, New Line Cinema or Warner Brothers. Now’s the time to rewrite the script, hire a hot director, and cast a box office drawing lead. Then, you can tell the story with a new title. Everyone these days enjoys sci-fi horror. You could give birth to a Freddy of the Interwebs franchise. And this time, when the phones ring at the end, the internet will actually exist. “I’m your cyber killer now, Nancy!” Social media and the internet have been the setting for countless horror films, but there’s always room for one more.
