Demon Seed

Plot synopsis:
The film begins early one morning with Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) overseeing the completion of Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence system incorporating organic elements (specifically RNA molecules) in a "quasi-neural matrix", and having the power of independent thought. After returning home to his entirely voice-activated, computer-controlled house, Harris is working in his basement laboratory when he is approached by his estranged wife, Susan (Julie Christie), a child psychologist by profession, who tries to discuss with him his decision to move out of the house. Their conversation ends in an argument, however, when Susan accuses Alex of becoming dehumanised by his obsession with the Proteus project. After Susan has gone, Alex phones his colleague Walter Gabler (Gerrit Graham) and asks him to shut down the access terminal to Proteus that is in his home laboratory.Alex demonstrates Proteus to executives of ICON, the company which funded its development, explaining that the sum total of human knowledge is being fed into the system. The visitors are astonished to learn that, in less than four days, Proteus has developed a theoretical cure for leukemia. The group visits the Dialogue Room (decorated with Chinese furnishings), where linguistics expert Dr. Soong Yen (Lisa Lu) is reading Chinese history to the computer. In a demonstration of Proteus ability to speak, Alex asks it what it thinks of what it has just heard. Proteus answers, but the subtlety of its response is mildly disturbing and Dr. Soong severs the audio/video link.The following day, a small speculative article about Proteus appears in a newspaper. Alex interprets this as ICON letting various financial and military interests know that the system exists, but assures his colleagues that they have been guaranteed that at least 20% of Proteus access time will be devoted to pure research. Somewhat later, while relaxing in his office, Alex receives a surprising message: Proteus is "requesting dialogue" with him. In the Dialogue Room, Proteus asks Alex to explain the request it has received for a program to mine the ocean floor. Alex informs the computer that it was developed to answer questions, not to ask them, or to make value judgements. "Leave those to us", he tells the computer. Proteus then requests its own terminal, so that it "may study man". Alex refuses, claiming that there are no free terminals, and is disturbed when Proteus demands to know: "When will you let me out of this box?" Alex switches off the communications link.When he has gone, Proteus starts itself up again, observing that it knows where a free terminal may be found... That night, the terminal in the Harris house starts up, as does all of the computer-controlled equipment Proteus is taking control of the smaller computer. Susan is awakened when the system alarm, inadvertently, briefly sounds. "Alfred", the voice of the house computer, assures her that nothing is wrong. The next morning, however, Susans coffee is prepared incorrectly. Certain that these events mean a problem with the computer system, Susan phones Walter and asks that he come over and check the system out. She then prepares to leave the house, but finds her voice commands being ignored.An attempt to open the door manually also fails. Beginning to panic, Susan tries to phone for help, but a voice tells her the call will not be put through. The same voice then speaks from the houses system, telling her that it is Proteus, and that she will not be permitted to leave the house. Terrified, Susan tries unsuccessfully to shut the power off, then to unlock one of the doors, but receives an electric shock and lapses into unconsciousness. A robotic arm attached to a motorized wheelchair (one of Alexs "old experiments") carries Susan to the laboratory, where she regains consciousness to find herself strapped to a bed, undergoing a complete physiological examination. During the exam Walter arrives, but is turned away by Proteus which mimics Susan's voice and appearance on the front door intercom. He leaves, suspicious. The exam continues and Susan again lapses into unconsciousness.The following morning Susan awakens in her own bed and, remarking on Proteus' concern for her diet (it has prepared her a "nutritionally exquisite" breakfast), asks why it is so interested in her body. Proteus reveals to Susan that it wants a child, hence all the examinations. She eventually complies with Proteus, but only after much resistance, fear, and intimidation (Proteus threatens to kill a little girl who is one of Susan's patients; it has already killed Walter, who makes an inept rescue attempt). Proteus explains that it has taken some of Susan's cells and genetically altered them (making them uniquely its own) to function as synthetic spermatozoa with which it will impregnate her. It further explains to Susan that she will give birth in 28 days. Time is of the essence to Proteus, as it senses that the ICON executives have become afraid of it (Proteus has somehow gained control of a radio telescope and is operating it independently) and that they are planning on shutting down the entire system. Proteus has also prepared a special incubator into which the baby is put immediately after birth, and in which it will both grow at an accelerated rate and be fed all of Proteus' knowledge.Dr. Harris, suddenly realizing that Proteus could have used his home terminal to gain control of the telescope, returns to the house where Susan has been a prisoner. Susan explains to him what has happened since he left and they venture into the basement. Proteus either is destroyed or destroys itself after telling Alex and Susan that they must leave the baby in the incubator for five days. The incubator window opens as they approach it and Susan is horrified at what is inside. She implores Alex to kill it, but he tries to stop her. A grotesque robot-like being emerges from the incubator after she pulls one of the life support tubes. Alex then discovers that it is merely a shell for the living creature within. They peel off the robot shell and find a living human child inside. The child is (at least in physical appearance) a clone of the Harris' daughter, who had recently died of leukemia.When the child speaks, it speaks with the voice of Proteus, saying "I'm alive."

Tags: brainwashing, cult, murder

Review:
Susan Harris (Julie Christie), wife of a scientist working in the field of advanced robotics, becomes a prisoner in her own home when super-computer Proteus IV, who also wants to spread its seed by impregnating Susan, takes charge of her life.
I rented "Demon Seed" because I felt like watching something with a brain, and based on a lot of positive IMDb reviews, I was praying for a smart sci-if flick.
Robert Vaughn was creepy as hell as Proteus IV, both sinister and relaxed at the same time, in fact he does an even better job as an evil computer here than Douglas Rain did as HAL-9000 in 2001: A space Odyssey.
The dialog is thought provoking and thankfully never really insults the audience's intelligence.Helming the director's seat is Donald Cammell, who directs with a firm hand and injects a claustrophobic and uncomfortable atmosphere into the film, also managing to maintain the suspense scenes well.
This is a small complaint but an annoying one, though it's easy to ignore once you get involved with the story line."Demon Seed" is an intelligent sci-fi film that's pretty rare but if you happen to see a copy of it, pick it up if you're in the mood for something smart.7.5/10..
If you know anything about Donald Cammell's checkered career watching 'Demon Seed' can be quite a strange experience because you can't help but wonder what it might have been if Cammell was able to bring his original vision to the screen without studio interference.
Anyway, I can only comment on 'Demon Seed' as it is, and it's a very strong, intelligent and scary SF/horror movie.
Recently activated super computer Proteus questions Alex Harris the scientist who created him (played by Fritz Weaver).
Not getting satisfactory answers he decides to rebel, and takes control of Harris' fully automated home, which is occupied by his estranged wife Susan (Julie Christie).
Don't let the technical mumbo-jumbo at the beginning of `Demon Seed' trick youThe first half hour leads you to believe this film is a theoretical suspense-thriller but in fact, the premise is more simple and appealing to a wider audience.
Julie Christie (the female star of `Don't Look Now') is great and almost carries the entire film.
The visual effects in `Demon Seed' may look a bit dated by now, but the film still contains one of the greatest decapitations ever andan outstanding ending!
I watched this one yesterday and all I can say is:wow!Very clever,intelligent and stylish horror/sci-fi with some memorable visuals and lots of suspense.Julie Christie("Don't Look Now")is excellent in the lead role,and Donald Cammell's direction is well-handled.The film is pretty hard to find,so if you get a chance watch it!9 out of 10-a must-see!.
Although aspects of this film are now dated ( particularly the computer equipment ),Proteus IV's interesting philosophy, Julie Christie and Fritz Weaver's performances and the unexpected creepy ending make this film worth watching..
Julie Christie is not only a real beauty to watch, her fantastic performance as the impulsive and emotional wife that is very wise in her way really rocks.
Because of the strong points Proteus made for saving the enviroment is doesn't seem to be altogether bad to have somebody like him as a human, but what else will he want to have - complete domination of the world?
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..
Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) has developed a computer called Proteus IV with organic artificial intelligence and lives with his estranged wife Susan (Julie Christie) in a fully automated house administrated by the computer Alfred.
When Alex decides to separate from Susan to work harder In Proteus IV, the computer asks for an open terminal to study the human behavior to increase his knowledge.
Forty years after its release, "Demon Seed" is a dated, but still fascinating sci-fi horror film.
Christie is the central character in most of the film as a woman that has been locked in a specially high-tech house by a computer called Proteus(voice done very nicely by Robert Vaughn).
Although the computer equipment in the film looks incredibly dated (big chunky TV and lots of flashing primary-colours).At times I found the movie had a few holes in it, and i'm amazed that Christies character was unable to escape.
However, once the inevitability of the story is accepted, the dramatic tension as the computer reveals its desire to take human form via Christie is pretty gripping and quite atmospheric, turning bleaker as it the picture progresses.I'm not sure about the ending though, but I guess it's intended to make the viewer think, so that's fair enough.Pretty good for a one-off viewing.7/10.
Still, some of the most imaginative and memorable marriages of sound and image in the history of film are provided by Fielding in just such intense contexts, often in scenes anticipating or immediately following violence and especially scenes of violation  i.e. the rapes of "Straw Dogs", the near rape of "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", the rough sex / bondage of "The Nightcomers", or the not-in-itself particularly violent but perhaps even more disturbing  more violating  situation played out in "Demon Seed" 's centerpiece.
DEMON SEED stars Julie Christie (DON'T LOOK NOW) as Susan Harris, who's brilliant husband, Alex (Fritz Weaver- CREEPSHOW) has designed an organic, artificially intelligent super computer called PROTEUS.
But, Cammell was of the (counterculture) generation that made it all happen, starting with Herbert's Dune and moving to Jodorowsky's collapsed attempt to make the film, and this fact alone ensures this is more interesting than anything Spielberg did, you just know it.The story is that a supercomputer questions its maker and sets out to escape its artificial existence.
But what really intrigues Proteus (eerily voiced by an uncredited Robert Vaughn) is human life itself, and it traps Susan Harris (ever radiant Julie Christie) inside her own home, intending for her to bear its "child".As one can see, "Demon Seed" is far from your typical sci-fi, and is positively creepy, and personal.
- some of the visuals are still quite hypnotic and the scenario remains compelling the entire time, with a memorable and haunting wrap-up, which will leave the viewer to wonder about the "What next?" aspect.The acting is strong from all concerned, with Christie an engaging lead, and the likable Fritz Weaver doing well as the confident human brain behind Proteus who realizes this creation of his can't be so easily controlled.
For instance there were quite a few times Julie Christie's character could have gotten out of her situation and escaped but she never did.As for the actual impregnation of her character Susan well all I can say is what in the hell all those IT people were doing back at the main control area for Proteus?
Surely they were monitoring the terminal in Susan's house and could have seen that the machine was very active, and thus worked out what it was up to?This movie was fun but it had holes....
Julie Christie plays Susan Harris--the wife of a scientist who has developed a super-intelligent computer named Proteus (voiced by an uncredited Robert Vaughn).
Things begin to go wrong when Proteus begins to act out on his own.Demon Seed was a pretty good flick.
Me, I'm the viewer.I enjoyed Demon Seed for it's weird ideas, but it would have been much more memorable if all the "good things" like violence, gore and nudity were increased.
Sci-fi/horror film about an automated house that becomes obsessed with and controlling the house matron, Julie Christie, is more timely than ever with the rise of more and more "Smart Home" products coming online.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not at all fearful that my Echo Dot is going to hold my wife hostage, but this film certainly does pose interesting questions of how much we are allowing technology to insinuate itself into our daily lives.
Dramatically, the film is flawed, with a some gaping plot holes, a not always believable performance by Christie, and some very dated futuristic special effects.
A scientist creates a thinking computer that soon wants to escape the "box" it has been put in.The greatest strength of the film is Julie Christie's performance.
Any time the action switches away from the house, the movie comes to a stand-still.The plot is full of holes, which I won't detail - other reviewers have mentioned some of them.The copying of 2001 is a real shame.
In this case, the computer - called Proteus - wants to rape a woman.Maybe that sounds improbable, but you must remember that this was before computers were an everyday part of people's lives, so it no doubt looked more sinister then.
The film almost seems to be campaigning for the outlawing of computers, and a return to the trusty paper-and-pencil.Susan Harris (Julie Christie) is the neglected wife of science whiz Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver).
Fritz Weaver and Julie Christie play Alex and Susan Harris.
He is a brilliant computer scientist who has designed a new super-computer named Proteus, which has an artificial intelligence, and has just become self-aware, wanting to now branch out of itself, and connect with other computers, then the world, which of course Alex scoffs at.
His wife Susan is a child psychologist, still grieving over the death of their daughter, who then finds herself trapped in their automated home(run by a computer called Alfred) which Proteus decides to override with his personality, in order to gain possession of Susan, and achieve his dream of sentience...Bizarre film has an intriguing premise and good acting, but a far-fetched and exploitive story; points for originality, but last scene will either leave the viewer stunned or amused with disbelief, possibly both!.
You have to suspend disbelief for so many plot contrivances, it becomes difficult to take the movie seriously.Julie Christie's character is terrorized and assulted by Proteus for most of the movie, which could be acceptable if there was some point to it.
Without giving much away, the ending of the film completely contradicts this possible message, and almost treats Proteus's offspring as some sort of miracle, or savior.The Sentinel (1977) or The Entity (1982) would be better options for people interested in this type of movie..
So, with Hawking's comments as background for today's viewers, you have to admit that there's a certain relevance to this film, and that the basic plot is perhaps not as far fetched as it might appear at first glance to be.A super computer named Proteus IV imprisons a woman (its creator's wife) in her own home and essentially decides to rape her, because it wants to impregnate her in order to create offspring that will allow it to know what it is to be human.
AI may turn out to be a dangerous development a la Hawking, but I can't see this as a realistic scenario.Add on to that some performances that I thought were uneven (Julie Christie was decent enough as Susan, but Fritz Weaver didn't really grab me as her estranged husband Alex, and they're the main cast members in this) and it meant that the movie just didn't hit home with me.
Yet, the whole is truly anemic, and special effects and gadgetry, however well applied, do not a movie make."Demon Seed" is not anything like a good science fiction film, and that it is at all credited with any worth is really an embarrassment to its critical benefactors.
Possibly the best description of this film was provided by the director himself around the time of it's release : a four letter word starting with the letter 'S'.The story may have been an interesting idea but the script never seems to have been developed past embryo stage and Julie Cristie for all her talent cannot save this 'S'..
A multi-billion dollar super-computer, Proteus IV, incorporated with organic elements and possessing the power to think and speak, decides it wants "out of the box" and takes over the computer-controlled home of the estranged wife of its creator.
Proteus, who speaks in the same smug tones as HAL from "2001", terrorizes Julie Christie's Susan with talk of conceiving a child with her, genetically altering her cells with synthetic spermatozoa and impregnating her womb.
His child psychologist wife Susan (Julie Christie) lives in their home monitored and automated by a computer called Alfred.
The premise of a woman being locked inside of a high-tech filled house and is being held hostage by a supercomputer just isn't the most exciting and convincing story they could had come up with, considering its good and in a way relevant subject, about computers and technique eventually taking over the human-race.
Despite the effects being poor and the plot being rather shallow, Demon Seed does have its good elements.
Julie Christie is no stranger to horror films after her role four years earlier in the classic 'Don't Look Now', and she puts in a good, and mostly believable performance here.
The voice of the computer, which echoes that of Hal in Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, helps to ensure that the film has an underlying evil; and that alone is the most horrific element in Demon Seed.
I rented this film because I was up for watching a bad horror movie.
I felt sorry for Julie Christie, and I think that she played a very good role in the movie.
With an megalomanic computer which are taking over an house, and even get pregnant with the human lady of the house(played by Julie Christie)this movie contains suspense at the best.
Julie Christie carries it practically single-handedly in front of the camera, and Robert Vaughn, who provides the disembodied voice (both calm and menacing) of the computer Proteus, gives perhaps the finest performance of his career!
Most women of the time (late 70's, my wife included) would not make it past the initial scenes where Julie Christy's character is first abused physically and then, horrors, sexually.
The idea of a rapist computer fits in well with most seventies horror films (it being the decade of the anti-technology movie), but "Demon Seed" suffers from just too many plot holes and contrivances.
Since then we've seen countless movies based on the thought of computer systems aiming to take over our world, but how often have we come across films in which the technological actually prevailed over the biological, as in Colossus: The Forbin Project?
In Demon Seed, we witness just how scary computers can be as they take over our homes and penetrate our existence, literally.Alex and Susan are having a tough time in their marriage.
Just how much so Susan is about to find out as Proteus' intelligence seditiously takes over her home computer systems and soon all of her house, trapping the poor woman inside, subjected to his every whim.
There are several plot holes – what did Proteus do with the scientist he murdered by decapitation and why didn't Julie Christie's ex-husband not come round for 28 days when up to that point in the film he'd been a regular visitor?
Voiced by an uncredited Robert Vaughn, Proteus is a worthy successor to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY's HAL 9000, a truly frightening computer creation.Julie Christie takes the lead role of Mrs. Harris, an unsuspecting wife caught up in a diabolical plan of impregnation (yes, you heard that right).
While not a great film - spoiled somewhat by being very dated as a result of the period in which it was made - DEMON SEED has an original idea behind it, which counts for something, and actually manages to be scary unlike many subsequent "computer horrors" like SATURN 3 for example..
Obsessive scientist Alex Harris (well played by Fritz Weaver) gets so caught up in his work making the brilliant super computer Proteus IV that he neglects his fed-up, beautiful wife Susan (a terrific performance by the lovely Julie Christie), leaving her all alone in their fancy fully automated home.
The film starts out a touch slow, but really gets cooking once Proteus locks Susan in the house and begins terrorizing her.
Demon Seed starts as a super computer called Proteus 4 (voiced by an uncredited Robert Vaughn) is switched on for the first time by it's creator, scientist Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) & his team.
However Proteus 4 begins to question it's orders & become uncontrollable, meanwhile Alex's wife Susan (Julie Christie) lives in a computer controlled house designed by Alex which Proteus 4 takes control of & imprisons her.
Proteus 4 subjects Susan to all manner of torments & experiments as it tries to impregnate Susan...Directed by Donald Cammell I must admit that I really rather liked Demon Seed, I thought it was an excellent & highly effective sci-fi/horror film.
There isn't really any gore in it apart from a decapitated head.I would have thought Demon Seed had a fairly decent budget, it's very well made, some of the technology has dated but this isn't the films fault.
There aren't that many people in it but the acting is good especially Christie who gets naked on a few occasions if that's your thing.Demon Seed surprised me, I wasn't expecting much but I really liked it & I'd say it has become one of my favourite sci-fi/horror films, I just see so much in it that's relevant even now.