Demon Seed

1977
R
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

10K

YOUR RATING

A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creators wife.

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Artificial Intelligence Horror Sci-Fi

A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.A scientist creates Proteus--an organic super computer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

10K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 nominations

Trivia
Dr. Harris' futuristic-looking car was actually a production car, unmodified at the time of filming - a Bricklin SV-1. The Bricklin was built in Canada but intended for the U.S. market, featuring high performance and a number of innovative safety features (in fact, the model number stood for "Safety Vehicle 1"). The SV-1 was the only production vehicle in automotive history to have powered gull-wing doors that opened and closed at the touch of a button (on other gull-wing cars, like the DeLorean it's often compared to, the doors must be opened and closed manually). Fewer than 3,000 were produced during its short run from 1974-1976, and it's estimated that fewer than 1,120 remain in existence.

Goofs
When Mrs. Harris is trying to get the little girl out of the car for her session, a sound man can be seen through the back window behind her.

Quotes
Marlene: I'm alive.

Connections
Featured in Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance (1998)

User reviews102

Review

Featured review

7/10

Flawed but interesting and prescient sci-fi/horror tale of modern technology

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. However, "Demon Seed" works both as an entertaining thriller, but more importantly works on an intellectual level, posing many prescient questions, which is why this film has endured. "Demon Seed" is one of only a handful of films directed by Donald Cammell (the others were the brilliant "Performance" that he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg, the suspenseful thriller "White of the Eye," and one other film that was re-cut by producers that he took his name off of, along with some U2 music videos). Definitely worth watching for fans of 1970s science fiction or fans of Julie Christie. Even if it's not her best performance, it's basically a one-woman- show.