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“I’m going to bypass your forebrain and speak directly to your amygdala” Bypass the which and go directly to the” whatdala?” Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr- as they assimilate the AI presaged in Demon Seed (1977).
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 162 – Demon Seed (1977)
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A scientist creates Proteus, an organic supercomputer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator’s wife.
IMDb
- Director: Donald Cammell
- Writers: Robert Jaffe & Roger O. Hirson (screenplay); Dean R. Koontz (novel Demon Seed, 1973)
- Selected cast:
- Julie Christie as Susan Harris
- Fritz Weaver as Alex Harris
- Gerrit Graham as Walter Gabler
- Berry Kroeger as Petrosian
- Lisa Lu as Soon Yen
- Larry J. Blake as Cameron
- John O’Leary as Royce
- Alfred Dennis as Mokri
- Davis Roberts as Warner
- Felix Silla as Baby
- Robert Vaughn as Proteus IV (voice, uncredited)
- Patricia Wilson as Mrs. Trabert
- E. Hampton Beagle as Night Operator
- Michael Glass as Technician #1
- Barbarao (credited as Barbara O. Jones) as Technician #2
- Dana Laurita as Amy
- Monica MacLean as Joan Kemp
- Peter Elbling (credited as Harold Oblong) as Scientist
- Georgie Paul as Housekeeper
- Michelle Stacy as Marlene
- Tiffany Potter as Baby
Demon Seed is Chad’s pick and for him, it’s a little hard to look at what are supposed to be advanced computers back in 1977. Even so, he really likes the performances from Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, and especially Julie Christie. And, oooh, that baby! Bill observes that for a low-budget movie with a dopey, ridiculous premise, the filmmakers get a lot of things right in this forward-looking take on artificial intelligence. Bill, too, lauds Gerrit Graham’s performance but compares the trippy visual effects to really bad screen savers. The “ridiculous premise” of Demon Seed puts Jeff off a little; he just can’t buy the articulating polyhedron-puzzle-thingee that is produced and manipulated by Proteus even though he agrees it is pretty cool. When Doc first viewed Demon Seed as a youngster, he was struck by how the computer took over the house and shocked the young girl. Conceptually, he enjoys the “ahead-of-it’s-time” feel of Demon Seed. In the end, what really saves this movie, in Doc’s view, is Julie Christie’s performance.
If you’re in the mood for a 1970s prediction of AI and a really creepy, brass-plated baby, don’t forget about Demon Seed. As of this writing, it is available to stream from multiple free-with-ads streaming services, including tubi and Wicked Horror TV. Demon Seed can also be streamed from many PPV sources and is available on physical media as a Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule, chosen by Doc, will be Horror Hospital (1973). Is it a good sign when a movie has multiple titles and release dates?
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