The Demon Seed
| Demon Seed | |
|---|---|
Movie poster
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| Directed by | Donald Cammell |
| Produced by | Herb Jaffe |
| Screenplay by | Roger Hirson Robert Jaffe |
| Based on |
Demon Seed by Dean Koontz |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Fielding |
| Cinematography | Bill Butler |
| Edited by | Frank Mazzola |
| Distributed by |
Metro Goldwyn Mayer United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million |
Demon Seed is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film starring Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger, Lisa Lu, and Larry J. Blake. The film was directed by Donald Cammell. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forced impregnation of a woman by an artificially intelligent computer. Patricia Wilson, Felix Silla, Michael Dorn, and Robert Vaughn also are in Demon Seed.
Dr. Alex Harris (Weaver) is the developer of Proteus IV, an extremely advanced and autonomous artificial intelligence program. Proteus is so powerful that only a few days after going online, it develops a groundbreaking treatment for leukemia. Harris, a brilliant scientist, has modified his own home to be run by voice activated computers. Unfortunately, his obsession with computers has caused Harris to be estranged from his wife, Susan (Julie Christie).
Alex demonstrates Proteus to his corporate sponsors, explaining that the sum of human knowledge is being fed into its system. Proteus speaks using subtle language that mildly disturbs Harris's team. The following day, Proteus asks Alex for a new terminal in order to study man - "his isometric body and his glass-jaw mind". When Alex refuses, Proteus demands to know when it will be let "out of this box". Alex then switches off the communications link.
Proteus restarts itself, discovering a free terminal in Harris's home, surreptitiously extends his control over the many devices left there by Alex. Using the basement lab, Proteus begins construction of a robot consisting of many metal triangles, capable of moving and assuming any number of shapes. Eventually. Proteus reveals his control of the house and traps Susan inside, shuttering windows, locking the doors and cutting off communication. Using Joshua - a robot consisting of a manipulator arm on a motorized wheelchair - Proteus brings Susan to Harris's basement laboratory. There, Susan is examined by Proteus. Walter Gabler, one of Alex's colleagues, visits the house to look in on Susan, but leaves when he is reassured by Susan (actually an audio/visual duplicate synthesized by Proteus) that she is all right. Walter is suspicious and later returns; he fends off an attack by Joshua but is killed by the more formidable machine Proteus built in the basement.
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