There’s no demon in the movie, but “TRS-80 Seed” just didn’t have the same ring. Pete concludes it’s a weird movie (and a possibly a prophetic one), but not necessarily a great watch ( concluding it’s like The Story of O meets Lawnmover Man). Julie “Don’t Look Now” Christie stars, Donald “Performance” Cammell directs.
![Demon Seed (1977) [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416vb9lYReL._SL500_.jpg)
Another good segment by Pete; although we differ on how we feel about the film (I hold it in higher regard than Pete does). Being a Cammell film makes it interesting in that alone; my opinion on its failure is that it attempts to be a serious take on what could easily be trashy & salacious material and didn’t satisfy audiences – at times it’s too silly to be taken seriously and it’s not nearly trashy/sexy enough for people to have flocked to it.
The original Koontz novel had the trashiness that the filmmakers largely removed/scaled back; the novel reads more like a sci-fi version of THE COLLECTOR – Proteus is totally a home invader/rapist, Susan being his victim mainly because he was able to infiltrate her home system . It’s way more problematic now, which is probably why Koontz rewrote it in the 90s – but didn’t do it any favors. The version to find is either the original paperback or the movie tie-in, both published in the 70s and probably pricey on the secondary market.
I think the movie is a good adaptation; it does elevate the book somewhat, especially with that cast. Some of that unevenness of the film may be due to some post-production changes – Proteus was originally personified by actor Rene Assa, but all of his footage was removed, replaced by animations by artist Jordan Belson and revoiced by Robert Vaughn (uncredited; by most accounts I’ve found, it appears to have been a last minute job and one he didn’t think much of – but he’s effective and memorable).
The environmental angle/husband & wife – dead child are elements brought by the filmmakers. All of the AI elements are Koontz, though polished and rethought by the filmmakers.
The impregnation scene could’ve been a lot crasser in execution…
THE SYNTHETIC MAN, for instance.
https://366weirdmovies.com/366-underground-the-synthetic-man-2013/