55
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanThough 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.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineUnderrated science-fiction thriller about a superintelligent thinking machine, Proteus IV, designed by obsessive computer wizard Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver).
- 70The New YorkerMichael SragowThe New YorkerMichael SragowChristie’s passionate, vulnerable performance keeps pulling the entire movie into her point of view.
- 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.
- 50Washington PostGary ArnoldWashington PostGary ArnoldDemon 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]
- 40The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyGadget-happy American moviemaking at its most ponderously silly.
- 40Time OutTime OutA 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.
- 40NewsweekNewsweekThere's no suspense in either Demon Seed or Audrey Rose because their protagonists haven't got the resourcefulness of an acorn squash. [18 Apr 1977, p.64]