Demon Seed
Fear For Her
Susan Harris is alone in the house when, suddenly, doors lock, windows slam shut and the phone stops working. Susan is trapped by an intruder - but this is no ordinary thug. Instead, the intruder is a computer named Proteus, an artificial brain that has learned to reason. And to terrorize. In "one of her finest, most vulnerable performances" (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic), Julie Christie plays Susan in this taut techno-thriller based on the Dean Koontz novel. Packed with suspense, surprise and special effects, Demon Seed follows Susan's desperate attempts to outmaneuver and outthink her captor. Then Susan learns what Proteus wants: its own child, conceived in her womb and destined for domination.
Member Reviews
Are these other reviewers on crack? - Ubik
This is a shallow and incoherent mess of a movie, with aspirations to be some kind of intelligent science-fiction film. But it lacks the insight, the thought, even the basic skill of writing a comprehensible script. And beyond all that, it's not even entertaining - it generates no suspense, no tension, no excitement - it's just boring and predictable. In fact, I don't even believe this movie truly wants to be anything more than a titillating thriller. It's just pretending that it wants to be something more. And it doesn't succeed at being that thriller either. It just ends up being a rather prolonged bit of nothing.
None of the characters are given the slightest motivation for anything they say or do. The main character is completely unplayable, and make no mistake, Julie Christie fails to play it. Her emotional reactions are all over the map, and never the slightest bit believable. The robot, for his part, is cruel or reasonable, smart or stupid, depending on the requirements of the scene, with no attention paid to consistency or meaning.
The plot even has some potential. We have a machine that wants to reproduce with a human being. That may have been fodder for some interesting thinking about artificial intelligence, or about the differences between man and machine. Or, it could at least have been an excuse for a really tense thriller. But nothing here makes any sense. Each scene does not connect logically to the next one. We care nothing for the character. The machine holding her hostage isn't even interesting - we don't fear him or hate him, or feel sympathy for him. We feel nothing.
Perhaps you have interest in seeing this because it's the movie in which Julie Christie infamously gets raped by a machine. Well, don't bother. The premise is whacked out, but the movie itself is pedestrian, forgettable nonsense.Sufficiently Creepy - Spumco
Really.
Even by today's standards this is weird, wild stuff and I spent most of the time cringing from Proteus's metal finger action. How Julie Christie endured that is beyond me--she is at her absolute prime here exhuding more natural beauty and ease than any other actress EVER. She runs this show without coming off as dated as the rest of the cast because her fear and scrappy, defiant spirit are palpable. Robert Vaughan is the other standout as the sufficiently creepy rapist-computer-organism-thingy Proteus. And I don't want to spoil things for those of you hoping to see this for the first time, but the last few minutes with Proteus's child bring ickiness to nauseating new levels.Interesting sci-fi thriller - Coconut_Willy
I had seen parts of this film once in a while on television but had not had the chance to see it in its entirety until now. For the time at which it was made, this is very surprising anticipation. Today, I must admit that it feels a bit dated. The general concept is very good and is developed in a rather unexpected way making this quite original. The limited cast is quite good doing a good acting job with a fair dialogue and bizarre situations. The sets and locations are good enough but the props are slightly on the unbelievable side by today's standards. The soundtrack is appropriate as well as the camera work. Nothing spectacular here but a fine anticipation story that makes the viewing experience quite enjoyable. The transfer to DVD is of good quality with no extras but the trailer.
Member Reviews
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Are these other reviewers on crack? - Ubik
This is a shallow and incoherent mess of a movie, with aspirations to be some kind of intelligent science-fiction film. But it lacks the insight, the thought, even the basic skill of writing a comprehensible script. And beyond all that, it's not even entertaining ...Sufficiently Creepy - Spumco
Really.
Even by today's standards this is weird, wild stuff and I spent most of the time cringing from Proteus's metal finger action. How Julie Christie endured that is beyond me--she is at her absolute prime here exhuding more natural beauty and ease ...Interesting sci-fi thriller - Coconut_Willy
I had seen parts of this film once in a while on television but had not had the chance to see it in its entirety until now. For the time at which it was made, this is very surprising anticipation. Today, I must admit that it feels a bit dated. The general ...