"Rosemary's Baby" for the computer age! A multi-billion dollar super-computer, Proteus IV, incorporated with organic elements and possessing the power to think and speak, decides it wants "out of the box" and takes over the computer-controlled home of the estranged wife of its creator. Proteus, who speaks in the same smug tones as HAL from "2001", terrorizes Julie Christie's Susan with talk of conceiving a child with her, genetically altering her cells with synthetic spermatozoa and impregnating her womb. Dean R. Koontz's book, which probably made for a quick, easy read, looks fairly silly when blown up on the big screen: computerized penetration and conception! Still, Christie gives it a go and manages to be fairly quick-witted and forthright. The scenes of her assault are (for the most part) tastefully rendered, though an earlier bit with Proteus peeping at her coming out of the shower is likely to raise some unintended laughter. The film is often uncomfortably physical and insensitive; it has a fine production design and an intriguing overview of the overreaching modern scientist, although there are glaring gaps of continuity and the 'shocking' finale leaves more than a few questions unanswered. ** from ****
Review of Demon Seed
