Synopsis
A scientist creates Proteus, an organic supercomputer with artificial intelligence which becomes obsessed with human beings, and in particular the creator's wife.
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Cast
- Julie ChristieSusan Harris
- Fritz WeaverAlex Harris
- Gerrit GrahamWalter Gabler
- Berry KroegerPetrosian
- Lisa LuSoong Yen
- Larry J. BlakeCameron
- John O'LearyRoyce
- Alfred DennisMokri
- Davis RobertsWarner
- Patricia WilsonMrs. Talbert
Recommendations
- 80
Variety
Excellent performances and direction (Donald Cammell), from a most credible and literate screenplay [from a novel by Dean R. Koontz], make production an intriguing achievement in story-telling. - 80
Empire
Though the clumsy geometric tentacle that does most of the machine’s evil will cries out for morphing, this is remarkably prescient in its tackling of issues the cinema is only now catching up with, and Christie adds depth to the lady-in-peril heroine. Well worth reassessment. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Underrated science-fiction thriller about a superintelligent thinking machine, Proteus IV, designed by obsessive computer wizard Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver). - 70
The New Yorker
Christie’s passionate, vulnerable performance keeps pulling the entire movie into her point of view. - 63
Rolling Stone
How did Cammell convince a studio to back a movie in which Julie Christie is violated by what looks like a copper Rubik's snake? Better not to ask, or to dwell on the film's less savory aspects, and soak in its moments of visionary hysteria, including the pulsating geometry of images borrowed from experimental filmmaker Jordan Belson. - 50
Washington Post
Demon Seed might have been a genuinely witty and terrifying thriller if someone had taken advantage of the story's glaring sadomasochistic implications. Nevertheless, Cammell plays it dumb at a thematic level, ignoring the sci-fi sexual bondage satire staring him in the face. [08 Apr 1977, p.B11] - 40
The New York Times
Gadget-happy American moviemaking at its most ponderously silly. - 40
Time Out
A few of his labyrinthine concerns and much advanced animation work (plus optical assistance from once-celebrated avant-gardist Jordan Belson) spice the thin conceit, but it's a doomed project.
