The Lawnmower Man
The Lawnmower Man is a 1992 science fiction horror film directed by Brett Leonard, who wrote it with producer Gimel Everett. Jeff Fahey plays Jobe Smith, a simple-minded gardener, and Pierce Brosnan plays Dr. Lawrence Angelo, a scientist who uses drugs and virtual reality to raise Jobe's intelligence until his new mental powers turn violent. New Line Cinema released the film in North America on 6 March 1992.[1]
Virtual reality drives the plot. The production used working hardware of the period, including data gloves and "eye-phones" from VPL Research, and the film contains about 23 minutes of computer-generated animation by Angel Studios and Xaos, Inc. that shows the inside of the virtual worlds.[1][2] The title comes from a Stephen King short story. King sued because the film was marketed as "Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man", and federal courts barred that possessory credit.[3]
Plot
Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Angelo works for Virtual Space Industries (VSI), where he uses drugs and virtual reality in experiments meant to increase the intelligence of chimpanzees. After a trained chimpanzee escapes and is killed, Angelo continues the research at home with a human subject: Jobe Smith, a gardener's assistant with a childlike mind. Angelo moves Jobe from video games to virtual reality games and injects him with neurotropic drugs. Jobe's intelligence and confidence grow quickly. Without Angelo's knowledge, his superior substitutes the project's original drug, which contains chemicals meant to stimulate aggression for military training.[1]
Jobe develops telepathic and telekinetic powers. During a virtual reality session he rapes Marnie Burke, and he later takes revenge on people who had mistreated him, including a priest and Angelo's neighbor Harold Parkette, whom he kills with a lawnmower.[3] He then tries to transfer his consciousness into the VSI mainframe and from there into every computer in the world. Angelo sets explosives at the VSI building, but Jobe escapes into another computer system before they go off, and the film ends with telephones ringing around the world at once.[1]
Production
Development
Allied Vision, a British production company, had acquired the film rights to King's short story but could not expand it into a feature. According to Screen International, reported in the AFI Catalog, Allied merged elements of the story with a virtual reality screenplay it owned, Cyber God, written by Leonard and Everett.[1] Leonard disputed this account in 2016, telling UploadVR that the film "was always called The Lawnmower Man" and that the Cyber God story was "a misnomer", although he allowed that Cyber God may have been considered as an alternate title.[4] The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recorded that Allied commissioned a screenplay titled "The Lawnmower Man" in May 1990, that the script was finished by August 1990, and that pre-production began in January 1991.[3]
Leonard told Inverse in 2022 that the idea came to him after Jaron Lanier put a virtual reality headset on him, "which I believe was in '89."[5] In the 2016 UploadVR interview, Leonard said the story combined a simple lawnmower man with a virtual reality researcher inspired by Lanier's work, and named Frankenstein and Flowers for Algernon as influences.[4]
Principal photography began on 28 May 1991 in Los Angeles. Daily Variety reported a budget of $10 million in June 1991,[1] although Leonard described it to Inverse as "a $5 million movie".[5] Russell Carpenter was the cinematographer and Alex McDowell the production designer.[1]
Virtual reality hardware
In the same UploadVR interview, the interviewer noted that the film used actual virtual reality hardware from VPL Research and that none of its technology was made up, "apart from perhaps the haptic suits and rigs". Leonard replied that those rigs and suits "are being copied today" and credited production designer McDowell, on his first film, with designs that had "stood the test of time".[4] The credits list Reel EFX, Inc. for the film's gyrospheres and cybersuits.[1] The film's credits list VPL Research and several other technology companies as production support:[1]
| Company | Credited contribution |
|---|---|
| VPL Research | Data-gloves and eye-phones |
| Telepresence Research | 3-D stereoscopic viewer |
| Tini Alloy Company | Tactile gloves |
| Flogiston Corporation | Relaxation chair |
| Cemax Medical Imaging | 3-D images |
| Reality Imaging | 3-D images |
| Virtuality | VR demonstration |
VPL's head-mounted display was sold as the VPL EyePhone and its glove as the DataGlove. The end credits also give special thanks to Jaron Lanier and to the magazine Mondo 2000.[1]
Computer-generated sequences
The virtual reality sequences were produced by two small computer graphics companies, Angel Studios and Xaos, Inc., which the credits list for the "virtual reality simulation" sequences and digital live-action work. Leonard and Everett are credited with conceiving and supervising the special visual effects.[1] Leonard told Inverse that the team was "trying to do 23 minutes of digital visual effects in a $5 million movie", and said that Terminator 2, released the same year, had seven minutes of digital effects on a budget of $120 million.[5]
According to VFX Voice, Angel Studios, based near San Diego, handled most of the 3D character animation, including the digital version of Jobe and the "cybersex" sequence, while Xaos in San Francisco handled more of the 2D work, particle systems and procedural effects. Michael Limber, an animation director at Angel Studios, said the company had only "about six or seven people" at the time, so the film "basically took over everything that we were doing." To build the digital Jobe, Angel drew a grid on the actor's face in eyeliner, photographed it from the front and side, and turned 30 to 40 captured expressions into morph targets. The keyframe animation was done in Wavefront software.[2] Xaos art director Mark Malmberg said the company had written its own software for image and object formats, which let it do "very organic work".[2] A fire effect in the film was created by Homer and Associates, whose staff are credited for motion capture.[1]
The ACM SIGGRAPH history archive lists Angel Studios' animation from the film under SIGGRAPH 1992 and says Angel simulated a variety of virtual reality environments for the film, including "an aggression-training battle-field, a high-speed obstacle course, and the ultimate interactive computer experience, CyberSex", produced on Silicon Graphics workstations with Wavefront and proprietary software.[6]
Depiction of virtual reality
The film opens with a title card that begins: "By the turn of the millennium a technology known as VIRTUAL REALITY will be in widespread use." The text goes on to say that its creators foresee "millions of positive uses" while others fear it as a new form of mind control.[1] In the Second Circuit's summary, Angelo "develops a technology, based on computer simulation, known as 'Virtual Reality,'" which lets a chimpanzee enter a three-dimensional computer environment; he hopes to adapt it for people to accelerate and improve human intelligence.[3]
Within the story, virtual reality is used for military aggression training, for games, and finally as the route by which Jobe transfers his consciousness into a computer network, after which his body dies.[1][6] The animators aimed for a dreamlike look rather than realism. VFX Voice quotes the team as saying it was "always intentional to make it seem like just a far-out psychedelic dream", which also helped hide technical limitations, and Limber described the cybersex backgrounds as "as psychedelic and as full of crazy fractals as we could do."[2]
Leonard has called the film a cautionary tale. In the UploadVR interview he claimed it was "the first film to ever use the term Virtual Reality", and named Tron and Brainstorm as earlier films that inspired him,[4] and in 2022 he told Inverse that he was concerned about corporate plans for the metaverse, adding: "It changes brain chemistry."[5]
Release and reception
New Line Cinema opened the film in test markets (Jacksonville, Florida; Providence, Rhode Island; and Fresno, California) on 14 February 1992, then released it nationally on 6 March 1992 on 1,276 screens. It ran 108 minutes and was rated R.[1]
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Opening weekend (United States and Canada) | $7,751,971[7] |
| Domestic gross (United States and Canada) | $32,100,816[7] |
| Reported budget | $10 million (Daily Variety, June 1991)[1][7] |
As of September 2026, on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 35% approval rating from 43 reviews. The site's critics consensus says it "suffers from a predictable, melodramatic script, and its once-groundbreaking visual effects look dated today."[8]
Stephen King lawsuit
King wrote the short story "The Lawnmower Man" in 1970, and it was published in 1975. It runs about ten printed pages and is about a homeowner killed by a lawnmower driven by the psychokinetic powers of a man who serves the god Pan. King assigned the film rights in 1978; they later passed to Allied Vision. King was not involved in the screenplay or the production.[3] After seeing the film at a screening on 3 March 1992, King wrote to his agent that it was "really an extraordinary piece of work, at least visually", but his lawyer had been objecting to the possessory credit in letters to Allied since October 1991.[3]
King sued Allied Vision and New Line on 28 May 1992 under the Lanham Act and New York law. On 2 July 1992 Judge Motley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction barring any use of King's name with the film.[3] Daily Variety reported that it was the first time since 1922 that a writer had successfully sued to have his name removed from a film.[1] On 1 October 1992 the Second Circuit affirmed the ban on the possessory credit ("Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man") but reversed the part that barred a "based upon" credit.[3]
The parties settled on 17 May 1993 with a consent decree that barred New Line from using King's name in connection with the film and required corrective steps for videocassettes already on the market.[9] Variety reported the settlement at $2.5 million.[1] In March 1994 the district court held New Line in contempt for failing to comply, gave it 30 days to cure the violations, with a fine of $10,000 a day if it then had not substantially complied, and awarded King attorneys' fees and the profits New Line earned from the film during the period of noncompliance. In September 1995 the Second Circuit affirmed part of the 1994 contempt finding but vacated other parts, along with a second contempt order issued in February 1995.[9]
Home media
Shout! Factory, under its Scream Factory line, released a two-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray on 20 June 2017 with new 4K scans of the interpositive. It contains the 108-minute theatrical cut and a 141-minute director's cut, which adds 33 minutes, mostly of conversations between Jobe and other townspeople.[10][11]
Legacy
VFX Voice wrote in 2017 that for 25 years the film's visual effects and animation had "often accompanied editorial articles, TV news reports and trend pieces on the future of Virtual Reality."[2] Leonard told UploadVR that because the film "did amazingly well" as "the number one independent film of 1992", it "affected a lot of movies of the 90's", naming Disclosure (1994) as the most noticeable example and criticizing that film's depiction of virtual reality.[4] Other accounts are more measured: VFX Voice called it "only a moderate success at the time",[2] while Mal Vincent of The Virginian-Pilot, reviewing the sequel in 1996, called the original "the surprise sci-fi hit of 1992".[12]
Angel Studios moved on to video games. Take-Two Interactive bought the company on 20 November 2002 and renamed it Rockstar San Diego.[13]
Sequel
New Line released a sequel, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, on 12 January 1996. It grossed $2,409,225 in the United States and Canada.[14] Farhad Mann wrote and directed it. Matt Frewer took over the role of Jobe, and Austin O'Brien was also in the cast.[15][12] In the sequel Jobe, who had apparently died at the end of the first film, is revived by a businessman who wants his help to take over the world's banking systems through a virtual reality network.[15] Reviewing it for the Deseret News, Chris Hicks wrote that it put "razzle-dazzle special effects" ahead of storytelling.[15]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 "The Lawnmower Man (1992)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59296. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ian Failes (2017-06-12). "The Lawnmower Man at 25: The Groundbreaking VR Film". VFX Voice. Visual Effects Society. https://vfxvoice.com/the-lawnmower-man-at-25-the-groundbreaking-vr-film/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "King v. Innovation Books, 976 F.2d 824 (2d Cir. 1992)". Caselaw Access Project. Harvard Law School Library. 1992-10-01. https://static.case.law/f2d/976/cases/0824-01.json. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Nearly 25 Years After 'The Lawnmower Man', Director Brett Leonard Sees VR Bringing Us Closer Together". UploadVR. 2016-08-12. https://www.uploadvr.com/lawnmower-man-brett-leonard/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ralph Jones (2022-03-04). "The oral history of 'The Lawnmower Man,' the sci-fi movie that predicted VR". Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/the-lawnmower-man-oral-history. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 ""The Lawnmower Man" by Angel Studios". ACM SIGGRAPH History Archives. ACM SIGGRAPH. https://history.siggraph.org/animation-video-pod/the-lawnmower-man-by-angel-studios/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "The Lawnmower Man (1992)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0104692/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "The Lawnmower Man". Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lawnmower_man. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "King v. Allied Vision, Ltd., 65 F.3d 1051 (2d Cir. 1995)". Caselaw Access Project. Harvard Law School Library. 1995-09-15. https://static.case.law/f3d/65/cases/1051-01.json. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Derek Anderson (2017-05-09). "The Lawnmower Man Collector's Edition Blu-ray Special Features Announced". Daily Dead. https://dailydead.com/the-lawnmower-man-collectors-edition-blu-ray-special-features-announced/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ M. Enois Duarte (2017-06-14). "The Lawnmower Man: Collector's Edition - Blu-Ray". High-Def Digest. https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3822/lawnmowerman.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mal Vincent (1996-01-17). ""Lawnmower Man 2" Has Flash but Just Doesn't Cut It". The Virginian-Pilot. https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1996/vp960117/01170035.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Angel Studios, Inc.; Studio to be Renamed Rockstar San Diego Effective Immediately". Take-Two Interactive Investor Relations. Take-Two Interactive. 2002-11-20. https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/bc2dffd7-11d5-455c-a8cb-4599acd0e1ec. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1995)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0116839/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chris Hicks (1996-01-16). "Film review: Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace". Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/1996/1/16/20087957/film-review-lawnmower-man-2-beyond-cyberspace/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.