Runaway

Runaway is set in a near-future America where robots handle household chores and industrial work, and a special police unit is tasked with neutralizing machines whose control systems fail. Sergeant Jack Ramsay, a veteran officer of that unit, investigates a robot malfunction that has left people dead, and he comes to believe the machine was deliberately reprogrammed. His inquiry centers on Dr. Charles Luther, a scientist suspected of turning ordinary robots into lethal weapons, and Ramsay's ten-year-old son becomes a target as the case closes in.

Michael Crichton directed and wrote the screenplay, working from his own interest in technology gone wrong, a theme he had already explored in Westworld. Runaway was the fifth of the six features he directed, arriving between Looker and Physical Evidence. The film stars Tom Selleck as Ramsay, Cynthia Rhodes as his partner Karen Thompson, and Gene Simmons as Luther, with Kirstie Alley, Stan Shaw and G.W. Bailey in supporting roles. Michael I. Rachmil produced for TriStar Pictures.

Made for about 8 million dollars, the film returned roughly 7 million at the worldwide box office, falling short of its budget. On IMDb it holds a 5.9 rating from around 16,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.6 from a few hundred votes, indicating modest and largely similar audience reactions across both.