in

Chaotic Clone Cops is Brimming with Heart

A gang a Clone Cops led by actor Phillip Cordell take aim. Photo Credit: Corey Allen | Image Courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media | Justin Cook PR

Arriving at the intersection of Robocop and Idiocracy, director Danny Dones takes a bold creative swing with his directorial debut, Clone Cops. Dones envisions a future where the evil conglomerate Nafaricorp hosts the biggest television show on the planet. Why? For the same reason any massive corporation owns anything: to sell products. Like Robocop’s Omni Consumer Products, Nafaricorp is in the security business. Instead of giant murderous mechs, the company showcases its patented replicants, which have replaced most human workers, including the police. The only role still requiring human involvement is the technician who creates the replicants, but living in an on-demand society filled with violent television shows has left the average IQ of the remaining workforce on the lower side.

A police helmet that looks like a face with sunglasses and a mustache has a pink liquid coming out of it in the poster for CLONE COPS
Image Courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media | Justin Cook PR

The television program Nefaricorp produces is atypical to the sci-fi-horror gems we’re used to seeing. No Running Man style competition. No Condemned battle royale. Not even an Idiocracy-inspired rehabilitation via tricked-out monster trucks. Instead, Dones incorporates the video game mentality of a Call of Duty horde mode, where a team of proposed villains are sitting ducks for wave after wave of Clone Cops. After winning a competition, Kinder (Schyler Tillett) wakes up in the warehouse with the gang, formulating a plan to take out their replicant oppressors.

The gang is a bit archetypical. Porter (Laura Holloway) plays commander to the group and mom to hacker Cipher (The Third Saturday in October’s Allison Shrum), Badass Fera (Ozark’s Quinnlan Ashe) provides the athleticism for up-close combat, and Brick (True Blood’s Ted Welch) is the loveable but dopey weapons specialist. Dones treats these characters well but never really provides any reason for their dissonance. Kinder is dropped in the middle of this story, waking up and getting pulled to his feet by Brick just like it’s out of a video game, and in that same measure, Dones treats the situation just as generically. The only reason any antagonism is needed is in the programming.

Clone Cops builds tension as the established gang becomes self-aware of their replicant status. They realize their memories are fabricated, and they’ve been forced to die repeatedly as entertainment fodder to showcase the futility of fighting against a heavily resourceful system. The message to viewers is, “Don’t fight back; you’ll lose.” An issued challenge to a resourceful gamer. Though it takes some time to reach this point, this is where Clone Cops finally settles into itself and explodes into a cavalcade of action, comedy, and video game-style fun.

Two men looking into the camera appear shocked in CLONE COPS.
Henry Haggard as “One Tank” Frank and Rashad Rayford as Freddie Jones in the Lab. Photo Credit: Corey Allen | Image Courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media | Justin Cook PR

When I read the Clone Cops solicitation for review, its initial impressions quickly brought me on board with the film’s conceptual silliness. I hadn’t heard about the movie before that, but the little details, like the Clone Cops’ helmet and some Borderlands concept infusion, piqued my curiosity. However, the trailer I watched left something to be desired. I knew Clone Cops was full of big ideas but on the low-budget side. The trailer does a terrible job of persuading viewers to give it a chance, offering a madcap array of jokes, bizarre contraptions, and SFX-diluted violence without a lot of context. While that works to tease the film without giving much away, I don’t think many know enough about Clone Cops for that approach to work.

That same feeling swelled up again as I started the film. The first twenty minutes are a bit unorthodox. The story propels us into a training video featuring comedian Steve Byrne, then bounces to build its side characters, “One Tank” Frank (Henry Haggard) and Freddy (Rashad Rayford), before finally setting up the main story. Honestly, I felt slightly lost. Only after Kinder is already with the group does the film inform the viewer about his role with them.

Clone Cops’ setup feels inspired by Cabin in the Woods unique storyline featuring Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins’ characters helping Brian White’s character on his first day as a security guard. Clone Cops’ Freddy is also on his first day and helps Frank create the replicants Kinder and company will face throughout the film. The film also cuts in faux commercials, either as a side ad on the Nefari Plus broadcast or as a direct scene within the film, which can be surprisingly jarring but also extremely hilarious (spinach-flavored gin, wtf?).

A group of Clone Cops inspect an Acid Grenade.
A group of Clone Cops played by Phillip Cordell inspect an Acid Grenade. Photo Credit: Corey Allen | Image Courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media | Justin Cook PR

While the first half of the film is a little difficult to follow, Clone Cops comes together wonderfully. The film has its issues. It’s certainly rough around the edges, the acting is occasionally uneven, some one-liners could be a bit punchier, and the computer-generated effects (or at least in this early cut I viewed) are a bit limited. Still, Clone Cops is full of heart, and by the end of the film, I had managed to see beyond many of its flaws. Clone Cops is a coolly ridiculous and spirited film providing relevant social commentary and subsequent optimism for these dystopian times.

Also, Kudos to Phillip Cordell, the replicated face of the Clone Cops, for having the charisma to be perceived as equally killable and charmingly amiable. The juxtaposition of certain clones being serious while others are goofy shows the range of the talented performer.

Here’s the verdict: Give Clone Cops a chance. The film is very unpolished but ends up being a blast of chaotic, feel-good fun. It has laughs, brains, and heart—all the hallmarks of why we go to the movies in the first place.

Clone Cops releases in limited theaters, and PVOD on Friday, January 31.

Clone Cops | New Official Movie Trailer | Sci-Fi Action Comedy 2025

🔥 WATCH NOW: The Official Trailer for Clone Cops – A Sci-Fi Action Comedy 🔥 Prepare to dive into an alternate future where nothing is as it seems! Presenting the explosive trailer for Clone Cops, the latest cinematic sensation from the mind of writer and director Danny Dones.

Written by Sean Parker

Living just outside of Boston, Sean has always been facinated by what horror can tell us about contemporary society. He started writing music reviews for a local newspaper in his twenties and found a love for the art of thematic and symbolic analysis. Sean joined 25YL in 2020, and is currently the site's Creative Director. He produced and edited his former site's weekly podcast and has interviewed many guests. He has recently started his foray into feature film production as well, his credits include Alice Maio Mackay's Bad Girl Boogey, Michelle Iannantuono's Livescreamers, and Ricky Glore's upcoming Troma picture, Sweet Meats.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A woman stands covered in blood from her head to her naval in COMPANION

Companion Surprises With Tech-Based Stepford Narrative

A stone spiral leads to a person in the center standing over a large hole in the ground in BOKSHI

IFFR 2025: Bokshi Gets Epically Witchy