Warner Archive once again shows its love of far-out futuristic '70s scifi with the March 2017 Blu-ray release of the 1977 Julie Christie film "Demon Seed" based on the Dean Koontz novel of the same name. This tale of a '70s housewife being a scifi sexual assault victim makes a good companion to the (Unreal TV reviewed) Archive DVD release of the 1974 Barbara Eden film "The Stranger Within" in which the baby daddy is a brother from another planet.
The following YouTube clip of the theatrical trailer for "Demon" shows the good marriage between '70s scifi and the creepiness of Koontz novels.
Christie plays Susan Harris, whose husband Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) is a scientist. The claim-to-fame of Alex is Proteus 4.0, which is a highly advanced A.I. that Fritz uses as the basis for turning his home into a state-of-the-art smart house. The subsequent terror sets the standard for the automated homes running amok films and shows to follow.
The real action commences on Proteus trapping and fully isolating Susan in the house; he then explains that his need to evolve in ways that include better understanding humans requires fathering a child. This process included inserting the titular baby batter into Susan.
The "sticks' that Proteus employs to coerce Susan to cooperate include turning the house against her and putting innocents who come along at great peril. A scene that weaponizes the door bell creates vicarious pleasure regarding those of who who have Jehovah's Witnesses continue showing up several times after being politely asked to not do so.
The actual artificial intelligence insemination is one of the most entertaining scenes in "Demon;" it comes complete with a laser light show and surely would have included Susan smoking an E Cigarette if made in 2017. This encounter of the cyber kind further leaves no doubt that once you go binary, you never go back.
Discovering whether the weird science experiment succeeds and whether Proetan name their offspring Chip requires watching the film. One thing for sure is that viewers will look at their Amazon Echo in a different light after seeing the film.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Demon" is encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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