ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

The basic idea of a super-computer that decides it can run the world better than mankind has been done in several other movies, but in "Demon Seed" the emphasis is not on the computer's desire to conquer the world. This version focuses on the computer's desire to conquer its own limitations; in other words, the computer wants to procreate like a human.

Sounds impossible -- but remember, this is a supercomputer, and it succeeds in achieving this ambitious goal with the forced assistance of Julie Christie.

Christie's husband, Fritz Weaver, is the designer of the supercomputer, called Proteus. Proteus slyly establishes an electronic link between itself and Weaver's hi-tech, computer-managed house. When the computer begins its plan to procreate, it uses the house's automated systems to lock Miss Christie in — and then it literally rapes her.

The basic concept is extremely interesting, but the treatment it receives is fuzzy, arty, and uninvolving. There are far too many jerky slow-motion shots, and the film is padded with "2001-ish" light show effects which seem to have no purpose.

On the positive side, the voice of Proteus is provided by Robert Vaughn ("Teenage Caveman", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.).

Also starring Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger, Alfred Dennis, and Lisa Lu. Much of the credit for the film's success goes to the screenplay by Robert Jaffe and Roger O. Hirson, which they based on the novel by Dean R. Koontz. Directed by Donald Cammell.

*********** SPOILER ALERT ***********

In the film's climax she gives birth to an unusual offspring who combines the attributes of man and machine.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Perhaps a sequel is needed?

[Bud Brewster]

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Demon Sprout?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[trekriffic]

I remember at the end of the movie when Julie Christie gives birth and the baby comes out with what looks like armor plating on it. Then someone starts peeling off the plating and there's what looks to be a normal young girl (not a baby) underneath it. Then she opens her mouth and, in the voice of Proteus she says, "I'm alive."
And that was it.

Fade out...

[Bud Brewster]

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I haven't seen this movie in quite a while, and this trailer makes me want to see it again.

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___________________ Demon Seed (Trailer)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Custer]

Here's my movie tie-in copy of the British paperback, from 1977:



It seems strange to see a Dean R. Koontz novel that runs to less than 200 pages, but he is always good value for money.
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[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 12 trivia items for this movie. I found one to be very interesting.
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The film was based on a very early novel by famed author Dean Koontz, published in 1973. "Demon Seed" was released to theaters in 1977.

Much later, Koontz revised and updated the book, in a version released in 1997; it contains numerous technological updates and strong character differences from his original idea. As of 2016, Koontz' original novel version is not available either in print or in eBook formats.

Note from me: I admire any artist or author who is willing to alter and update his older efforts. We do the the best we can when we first create the works. But time gives us new ideas that allow us to improve what we did in the past.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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____________________ Demon Seed (1977)


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_______ BASED ON THE NOVEL BY DEAN KOONTZ

I first watched this on TV many years ago, probably in the early eighties. I remember even PBS ran it once on a special Sunday night. A DVD was released much more recently and I bought it a few years ago.

I've got a soft spot for many SF films of the seventies; a lot of them are beginning to look like they were ahead of their time (Rollerball, Soylent Green, Westworld) while, at the time of release, most people didn't think too much about them.

I think Demon Seed (kind of a strange, inappropriate title — author Dean Koontz seems to always have this problem, such as "Phantoms") also falls into this category to some extent. Some of these SF films are true 'thinking man's films. How well they succeed — well, that's a matter of opinion.

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As with many SF films of that period, Demon Seed faced ridicule or indifference in the seventies, for the most part. The whole concept of a computer or machine raping an attractive woman sounds very cheesy and exploitative on the face of it (see also Saturn 3 from 1980).

But, I find that it delves into possibilities of our ever-growing technology that most other films dare not or cannot explore. Our current relationships with computers ("Who is controlling who?") makes this film more & more insightful as time goes by.

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A lot of the film's critics also probably compared it unfavorably to 2001: A Space Odyssey — HAL vs. Proteus — perhaps with good reason.

It also has a bit of a slow pace, but director Donald Cammell definitely has his own style and directed one of my favorite films a decade later, White of the Eye. He had a strange, infrequent career and committed suicide. The film also ends at the point which many viewers, including me, would want it to begin — what happens with Proteus as a new breed of humanity now? We never got the answer, no sequel, nothing.

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10


BoG
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