Automatons

2006

1h 23m

Horror

List

63%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

50%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

A film about the horror of war and robots.

Read More

Read Less

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

I yearn to encounter livelier less-than-zero-budget attempts at post-apocalyptic science fiction than this one.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 18, 2007

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

McKenney worked in underground theater and comics before turning to filmmaking with movies such as Canniballistic. Judging by Automatons, he's worth keeping an eye on.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 13, 2006

Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

With its retro look, cautionary theme and not-so-special effects, Automatons is a shameless ode to 1960s sci-fi and classic television shows.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 12, 2006

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 3/5

May 22, 2007

Full Review

Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide

The acting is flat, and the scientist's ideological speeches too bluntly designed to mirror post-9/11 rhetoric. But there's a dreamy fascination to the iconic images of machines fighting a perpetual war for the human creators they'll inevitably outlast.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 12, 2006

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

this movie is the worst movie I have ever seen it's painfully boring and makes my eyes hurt with the tedium of this PILE OF CRAP!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this now in my top 3 weird bizzarre yet wonderful right behind liquid sky & eraserhead. its a little slow at first but hang in there its worth it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Automatons takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a long human survivor lives her life in a bunker, working on her small army of robots while listening/watching the tapes left by her creator (the great Angus Scrimm, in a cool role) where he dictates the events of the robotic apocalypse. Meanwhile, an enemy bunker continually tries to corrupt her systems and turn her robots against her. As the film goes on, the lone girl works to try and fix the robots in hopes of taking down the other bunker soon, which unfolds in a eventful (and surprisingly gory) climax that was a 180 degree turn from how the rest of the movie was playing out. Keep in mind, movie watchers, Automatons is painfully different from other films. It's a EXTREMELY low budget, independent film that tries to interpret those old classic Killer Robot films of the 50's and 60's, while adding a nice mixture of modernized filmmaking using progressive story-telling and inventive action. Most will not see this and will be ignorantly repelled by the film, which is a shame because it's so damn interesting. I would definitely recommend this film to fans of such interesting elements, as well as fans of writer/director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter, founder of Glass Eye Pix, which put this movie out) who has a very brief role in the film. Great film from writer/director James Felix McKenney, whose only continued to churn out good films like the upcoming Satan Hates You and his already highly anticipated next film, Hypothermia). For what it's worth, a cool and interesting movie, but only to the more seasoned viewer who "gets" this sort of thing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The lone survivor of a devastated nation lives alone in a bunker, her only companions being the voice recordings of a long-dead scientist (Angus Scrimm) and the robots she sends out to do battle with the enemy on the unliveable, poisoned surface. In scratchy black and white with lots of theremin noises in the background and deliberately cheesy, clunky robots, it's a recreation of a 1950s sci-fi movie or serial; it evinces a real love for the style, but sadly but there's just not enough story to maintain interest even during its short run time.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An astounding effort given the budget and means to make the film, and hands-down the best throw-back pictures I have ever seen. This really feels like this was made in the 50s and has all of the resonance that the low-budget sci-fi films had back then. The audio is a bit off-putting at first since it is so obviously over-dubbed, but this doesn't much take away from the filmmaking and budget-squeezing genius that went into this work. Even the cryptic messages from Angus Scrimm's character serve to make the character all that much more of a true sci-fi work, making us look more at how we treat humanity and the threats we are posed with. Throwing in the extra gore and horror elements were definitely welcomed since this is the kind of audience for these types of pictures that is probably around for this type of film nowadays and just made for that much more over-the-top entertainment.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Probably the worst movie I've seen in my entire life.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

James Felix McKenney

Director

Christine Spencer

The Girl

Angus Scrimm

The Scientist

Brenda Cooney

The Enemy Leader

Jennifer Boutell

Enemy Commander

Noah DeFilippis

Soldier Robot

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

RTIndie: Suit-Seeking Bob Dylan Isn’t the Only One Against "Factory Girl"

Critical Consensus: "Charlotte’s Web" Is Good, Indeed; Smith Is Strong, "Pursuit" Less So; "Eragon" Gets Burned

View more photos

Synopsis

A film about the horror of war and robots.

Director: James Felix McKenney
Producer: Larry Fessenden
Screenwriter: James Felix McKenney
Production Co: Glass Eye
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Jan 29, 2008
Runtime: 1h 23m