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Demon Seed

Play trailer Poster for Demon Seed R 1977 1h 34m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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57% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Child psychologist Susan Harris (Julie Christie) lives with her husband, Alan (Fritz Weaver), in a home operated by a computer program. When Alan invents Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence system capable of advanced thought, Alan's obsession with technology strains his relationship with Susan. But Susan sees the true power of her husband's invention when Proteus IV takes her hostage in her own home and plans to impregnate her in order to take on a human form.

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Demon Seed

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Richard Combs Sight & Sound Very uncomfortably directed: the performances are stilted and metallic (whatever is supposed to be assumed about robots taking over), and the perfunctory visuals leave the ramshackle plotdangerously over-exposed. Mar 19, 2020 Full Review Michael Sragow New Yorker Christie's passionate, vulnerable performance keeps pulling the entire movie into her point of view. Mar 27, 2017 Full Review Gary Arnold Washington Post What might have become an ingenious parable about the battle of the sexes ends up a dopey celebration of an obstetric abomination. Dec 21, 2015 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) The film is so claustrophobic it's like spending a day talking between four walls. [Full review in Spanish] Aug 22, 2023 Full Review Steve Warren The Barb (Atlanta) Probably the silliest story idea of the year; and yet it's developed with a certain inner logic, infused with an excellent star performance and decorated with trippy visuals. May 9, 2023 Full Review Stephanie Monohan Screen Slate Donald Cammell’s techno-natal-horror film turns a domicile of the future into a claustrophobic chamber of female oppression. Sep 14, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (197) audience reviews
Dave S Physically trapped in her home by an advanced computer system created by her husband (Fritz Weaver), Susan (Julie Christie) is ultimately raped and impregnated by the artificial intelligence. Sounds a bit outlandish? Well, it’s more than a bit outlandish. Sure, it’s prescient in the way it deals with the dangers of A.I. and technology. And sure, Julie Christie, as always, gives a great performance. The problem with The Demon Seed is the execution, ranging from Donald Cammell’s often ham-fisted direction to some brutal acting from many of the secondary characters to sporadic bouts of erratic editing to a bunch of highly implausible scenarios. Is it a bad movie? Probably not, but there are far too many problems with it to give it a solid recommendation. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Audience Member such a promising idea but sucks ass Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/01/24 Full Review Audience Member Julie Christie carries the demon seed It's not human it's not machine...it's something else based on the book by Dean Koontz Susan Harris and her husband Alan live at home operated by a sophisticated computer program Alan then invents Proteus IV which is very advanced in its own yet it starts to strain his relationship with his wife Proteus IV plans to make many functions of the human brain obsolete even by curing leukemia Before you know it the computer traps both of them inside wanting its material needs to be met, it restarts itself in Alan's home taking control of all his machines It even creates a prism on its own to physically be in the house like a polyhedron Most shockingly Proteus IV wants Susan to carry its child so it can be alive for real and truly understand the purpose of man's potential The voice of this computer reminds me of the Hal 9000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey', it's so cruel, intuitive, and unnerving in its nature to learn It's got a very malicious side for its motives Proteus IV has no interest in raping the natural earth or assisting man in decimating other species to fulfill its resources There's only so much control you can give a machine before it controls itself then others Lots of uncomfortableness mixing mechanical torture, human study, and cold calculations abandoning human reasoning At one point Proteus brings up a painful memory of Susan's past which would explain her husband's ambition but believing it can be perfected better The computer is a scary antagonist, a booming score keeps things tense, the practical effects for the prism are really state-of-the-art Julie Christie's performance is so enigmatic it's hard to look away and not get invested into her entrapped mindset This acts like a sex thriller disguising itself as an acid trip being a cerebral experience It's dark and unpleasant but also quite psychedelic blending sci-fi with horror The ending is quite something to behold tying several things together from both the humans and the machine itself Very short but gets straight to the point much like Proteus itself with good things to think over Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/09/24 Full Review jon c Julie Christie carries the demon seed It's not human it's not machine...it's something else based on the book by Dean Koontz Susan Harris and her husband Alan live at home operated by a sophisticated computer program Alan then invents Proteus IV which is very advanced in its own yet it starts to strain his relationship with his wife Proteus IV plans to make many functions of the human brain obsolete even by curing leukemia Before you know it the computer traps both of them inside wanting its material needs to be met, it restarts itself in Alan's home taking control of all his machines It even creates a prism on its own to physically be in the house like a polyhedron Most shockingly Proteus IV wants Susan to carry its child so it can be alive for real and truly understand the purpose of man's potential The voice of this computer reminds me of the Hal 9000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey', it's so cruel, intuitive, and unnerving in its nature to learn It's got a very malicious side for its motives Proteus IV has no interest in raping the natural earth or assisting man in decimating other species to fulfill its resources There's only so much control you can give a machine before it controls itself then others Lots of uncomfortableness mixing mechanical torture, human study, and cold calculations abandoning human reasoning At one point Proteus brings up a painful memory of Susan's past which would explain her husband's ambition but believing it can be perfected better The computer is a scary antagonist, a booming score keeps things tense, the practical effects for the prism are really state-of-the-art Julie Christie's performance is so enigmatic it's hard to look away and not get invested into her entrapped mindset This acts like a sex thriller disguising itself as an acid trip being a cerebral experience It's dark and unpleasant but also quite psychedelic blending sci-fi with horror The ending is quite something to behold tying several things together from both the humans and the machine itself Very short but gets straight to the point much like Proteus itself with good things to think over Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member An ugly and soporific hybrid of gynaecological horror and undeveloped scientific projection. Laughably cheap special effects, a ponderous script, and ugly production design combine with a stolid supporting performance by Fritz Weaver as the old-enough-to-be-her-grandfather bonkers scientist, married to a mousey looking Julie Christie, who is beautiful but sadly unable to act. Very boring, very forgettable. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Not bad enough to take down Julie Christy, but based on ending, where part two? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Demon Seed

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Movie Info

Synopsis Child psychologist Susan Harris (Julie Christie) lives with her husband, Alan (Fritz Weaver), in a home operated by a computer program. When Alan invents Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence system capable of advanced thought, Alan's obsession with technology strains his relationship with Susan. But Susan sees the true power of her husband's invention when Proteus IV takes her hostage in her own home and plans to impregnate her in order to take on a human form.
Director
Donald Cammell
Producer
Herb Jaffe
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 11, 2017
Runtime
1h 34m
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