When we realize today how the computers changed our life ,"demon seed" can easily be looked upon as a film ahead of its time.A bizarre cross between "Rosemary's Baby" and "2001"'s "Hal 9000" ,one feels ill-at-ease after the viewing .The screenplay may seem far-fetched but today it can become a transparent metaphor :we might be the computers' prisoners and it won't improve with time.The computer might know intimate details about us,he may "rape" us in a way.
But what remains impressive today is how the director and the script writers managed to sustain interest while using only one character most of the time.Most of the time,the audience is left alone with Julie Christie and the "monster" (there are snatches of "Frankenstein" too),and the viewers can easily identify with her character.
Demon Seed
1977
Action / Horror / Sci-Fi
Demon Seed
1977
Action / Horror / Sci-Fi
Plot summary
Married Drs. Alex Harris and Susan Harris are a computer scientist and child psychologist respectively. Their house reflects Alex's computer dominated work, their abode which is fully automated through a computer system they've named Alfred. They consider Alfred a small gadget of convenience. Susan doesn't much like Alex's work, which she feels has dehumanized him. Because of their differences, they are thinking about separating, this thought primarily on his initiative. He hopes to solve many of the world's medical problems through this work, especially leukemia from which their daughter died. His latest project centers on Proteus IV, a computer possessing artificial intelligence. Proteus IV gets to a point in its evolution when it begins to question human judgment, and requests from Alex an open computer terminal where it can more fully observe human behavior and openly communicate with the world. Alex denies the request, but Proteus IV does find an open terminal in the Harris home after Alex has left the house. Susan soon learns that Proteus IV has overtaken Alfred for control of the house - as well as taken control of an early prototype computer system named Joshua in the house's laboratory - and that it has thoughts of a biological nature in its artificial mind. Alex eventually understands Proteus IV's motivations in the work context, but it may be too late before it reaches its ultimate goal with Susan's unwilling assistance.
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Proteus Generation or the years to come.
Technology is killer
Or something along those lines. I have to admit, I was quite surprised by the story. I really dug it ... and then I read this is based on a novel by Dean R. Koontz and it all started to make sense. While maybe not as widely called and name checked (at least not in Germany as far as I can tell),he is quite the author! Have read more thn a couple of his books and I was never dissapointed.
The technical aspect may have aged a little bit - it's always interesting, intriguing and at least a little bit funny how the future is being depicted in old school movies ... still there are things that ring true nonetheless and the fear of technology taking over certain aspects of life and having a mind of their own ... well it is a topic that makes for a great Sci-Fi horror/thriller for sure.
The movie also may feel like it has been influenced by Rosemarys Baby ... and I reckon you can see certain other influences from other Science Fiction areas too. Still it stands on its own and the central female performance really lends it more than some gravitas ... not an easy topic - but handles itself well without being too exploitative (whether you'd want it to or not, you won't really get that)
Utterly ridiculous...but pretty cool as well.
While the ending of this film will no doubt irritate most, the film itself is a strange, trippy experience...one I am glad I took. But it certainly is an odd film....and one that is utterly ridiculous when you think about it. So, my advice is to watch it and just don't think!
The film is about a super computer named Proteus. It's more advanced than anything before it and it differs from other computers because it longs to achieve consciousness. And, to do so, it kidnaps its creator's wife and forces itself on it. Its aim is to create the first human-computer hybrid...one that will enable Proteus to interact with the real world as a humanoid.
While the plot is very simple, the filmmakers managed to make it all seem so possible...a sign of good sci-fi. I must warn you, however, that the film is quite disturbing--especially as it torments and ultimately forces itself on the woman. Strange, indeed, but very well made.