MovieChat Forums > Demon Seed (1977) Discussion > Could a remake be viable?

Could a remake be viable?


OK I'm sure this movie would've given some people the creeps in the 70's especially the scene with the "child" emerging from the incubator. Having a completely automated house is pretty much a done deal these days (if you have the money). I'm pretty sure Bill Gates has something like it.

Anyhoo, I wasn't too happy with the scratchy soundtrack of this movie, but that seems pretty typical of some 70's sci-fi movies. I think some of the later Planet of the Apes sequels had the same kind of harsh sound to them.

If a remake did happen, I would like to read some ideas on who you would cast and what you might tweak to make the movie more contemporary.

I would change the voice of Proteus IV to something less electronic, especially when the child is born...fancy keeping its own voice! The big steel geometic puzzle looking thing that was some kind of security device would have to be redesigned or replaced with a different system.

Over the closing credits I would have a photo montage of the child (maybe even scrapbook style as in "Lethal Weapon IV" credits...different music obviously!). It would display her accomplishments, paper clipping, etc from her childhood right up until her election as freakin' president!! OK, maybe too much. Maybe...

How brutal would the new Proteus be? Depends on what mood the film would go for. Assuming the movie doesn't end at the birth; would Proteus want to gain power to save the human race from raping Earth any further eg; Manipulates politics & ends deforestation, deep sea mining, etc, as hinted in the original film, or would the climb to power have a more sinister underlying motive.

Would the brainn power of Proteus be so immense that telekinesis & even telepathy develop? Maybe two films should be made with the same cast. The second film would shows Proetus's climb to power as a teenager & adult...hmmm its starting to sound like the Omen movies a bit,isn't it.

Please have fun with this, as its only a game. Agree to disagree.

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Sure, I speculate a DEMON SEED remake could be successful. The remake should follow the 1973 book as closely as possible however that might not be feasible. There was a lot of adult content in the 1973 paperback original of things Proteus did to Susan in order to make her more compliant and less risk of injury to her. I'll toss in a tidbit here. Proteus has its own medical technology that is centuries ahead of its human creators. Proteus uses it to not only regenerate Susan's health and body, it extends her youth and lifespan to where at age 60 she'll look like she's still in her late 30s. Proteus cures Susan of her bodily enzyme deficiency to digesting avocados. Proteus' human psychology is way ahead of contemporary human civlization. Determining Susan has a childhood trauma that emotionally and psychologically inhibits her libido, Proteus cures Susan of this, making Susan a wholly sexually healthy woman in mind and body. That's not to say Susan is ready to hand Proteus the Nobel Prize. She's well aware of being a captive and having her sexuality manipulated by Proteus whenever it needs to continue its fertilization experiments and whenever it needs to get into her head.

Instead of making Joshua the motorized wheelchair with mechanical arm, I would fabricate a terminator like android, since Proteus' technological knowledge and skills are far in advance of contemporary humans. Proteus is certainly capable of creating an android. As a matter of fact, Proteus could dispense with Joshua. After creating a human-like android, Proteus can operate through the android itself. I might titillate the audience more by extending the disrobing scene and the examination scene. Of course this would be a hard R-rated film, just on the borderline of X. I'm not intending to entertain the kiddies here. This is science fiction entertainment for adults. Perhaps Proteus can create an android and put polymer skin on it to resemble a male human. Yet Proteus will still create a Joshua, which resembles a steel terminator, to act as assistant and guard. The human-looking android Proteus lays unconscious Susan on the examining table and slowly disrobes her to full nudity. Who's going to complain about my ideas? We've seen gory graphic bodily mutilations and torture on Hostel and SAW, and those movies got an R rating. I'm only suggesting full explicit nudity in the Demon Seed remake.

As for the plot, I think I'd try your ideas. Rather than follow the ending of the 1973 book, I did like the more positive, upbeat ending of the movie Demon Seed and we should duplicate that.

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Im not exactly what I would change if this was remade, but I couldn't stop thinking how much julie christie looked like mischa barton in this film! I would have to cast her just because of the striking similarity. Other than that I think I would make proteus slightly less sinister and maybe more creepy as he invades the house. I think a longer scene of susan trying to escape amongst all the technology in the house would be cool. Proteus using something to block cell phone signals and wifi would be cool since were so dependent on them these days. The actress who plays sun on lost would make a good update of the linguistics expert just because she could really uderplay the almost creepiness she has.

I've on this weird 70s scifi/horror kick on netflix, so this was fun!

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I've been reading all the posts and it appears to me that we're all too embarassed to admit that we'd like to see a remake that more closely follows the book, which would make it near pornographic, a guilty pleasure to which I plead guilty. We want a remake to be pornographic without being pornographic, a challenge. Read the 1973 original paperback from Dean Kootnz and you'll know what I mean. CGI could make it more feasible and cheaper. From watching the 1977 movie, a remake would not be that expensive. Most of the action takes place in a house, eliminating multiple, expensive scenery, outdoor shots and sets. Instead of the funky, low-tech, one-armed Joshua, who looks as if a teenage science nerd fabricated it for science class, you could go with a more sophisticated android. In fact, Proteus could fabricate such an android and work directly through it. One poster recommended actress Mischa Barton for the role of Mrs. Harris. I think that's a good idea as long as Mischa can clean up her act and keep her head screwed on straight.
Personally, I want to keep the more positive upbeat ending as opposed to the terrifying confrontation at the movie's end. Proteus creates a biological body resembling Mrs. Harris' dead daughter for himself. But instead of taking over the world, Proteus falls victim to his own cleverness, turning instead into a spoiled teenage girl spending all her time texting on a cell phone. We have to call her, Protea, or Prea.

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With the very word 'computer' used in a film makes it a product of its time. It looks completely dated with its retro-futuristic machinery. It looked impressive back then, yet appears completely dated now. A remake would update the technology, yet it would still have to be well-made. Substance over style is the key to a good movie.

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A remake will never be as much fun as the original, because that's what DS is for me: fun.

I just saw "Moon" in which Kevin Spacey plays a HAL-like computer (see the film, it's quite good). It was made on a small (5m) budget and the effects look pretty good, so it doesn't have to be expensive.

There may be a problem in the fact that Proteus is the main character. Would modern day audiences want to sit through a potboiler about a woman and a horny computer? Maybe in American Pie-style, but seriously? I don't know. Unless Jessica Alba plays the female lead. Or was it Angela Lansbury? I'm not sure...

I hereby volunteer to voice Proteus 2.0 and I've already found a director on this very same board, who promised me he can keep it within an R-rating. So we're already halfway there.

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the reason why people (me being one of them) imop want movies made years ago remade is because there a dozens and dozens of movies out there that are great stories but with the tech that was available when the movie was made in some cases killed the movie in others it would have been better if you could have dont this........ fill in the blank.


It also works the other way around: some "effects" from the seventies can never be archieved today, like moving a story in a "slow" or unusual tempo, having an unhappy or open ending, ambiguous characters or too much creative control for the director.
Film comes from a time and place. You can't expect it to become better by simply applying modern technique. Most of the time, more is lost than gained. A possible exception might be "The Crazies", but the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" was not even close to the original - and it had more realistic zombies, better special effects, colour, sound and catering.

By the way: you remind me of someone I know. This person does not watch black and white movies out of principle, because they are boring. ("Why?!" - "Dude, it's black and white! It's boring! Don't you know we have colour now?") He's into movies like "Cloverfield", "2012", "The Date After Tomorrow" etc. Good special effects equal a good movie. He's always complaining about things looking fake and how it could have been done much better today.
I myself can't sit through a film like "Iron Man" without developing a massive headache. Being bombarded with sounds and images at the speed of light (especially the last half hour or so) is not really my cup of tea. No wonder tv channels like E! show an epileptic warning before every show.

To end on a positive and hopeful note: this very same person shares my love for "Childres of Men". It's literally the only place in movie land where we can meet...

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huffthetalbot - I feel for you with your friend. I wish I could count the number of people I know who dismiss B/W films out of hand as ancient and automatically boring. They won't even entertain the thought that there might be something good about such films. They'll gladly watch ANYTHING new - read: Within the last 6 months - even if it's 3 hours of someone getting their toenails trimmed. Quality does not enter into the consideration. The ONLY thing that matters is that it is NEW. They would rather see new idiocy than even slightly old briliance. This is the sad triumph of the ever growing peasant class.

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When I was in college in the 80s, I worked at a video store. The manager (a woman about my mother's age) and I were the big movie fanatics at the place, and we were always trying to introduce the "good stuff" to the other employees. I just about lost it one day when one of my co-workers, who was about my age, said she had to turn off "Taxi Driver" after only a few minutes because - I'm not making this up - she couldn't get past the fact that everyone's clothes were out of style.

"My brain rebelled, and insisted on applying logic where it was not welcome."

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pacificboy, you made my day. :)

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When I was in college in the 80s, I worked at a video store. The manager (a woman about my mother's age) and I were the big movie fanatics at the place, and we were always trying to introduce the "good stuff" to the other employees. I just about lost it one day when one of my co-workers, who was about my age, said she had to turn off "Taxi Driver" after only a few minutes because - I'm not making this up - she couldn't get past the fact that everyone's clothes were out of style.

=============================================================================

Sometimes, I watch Taxi Driver just to see old cabs...

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By your idiotic reasoning, every film ever made should be remade every 5 to 10 years. Are you really that shallow???? The special effects in "Demon Seed" are mostly practical, are executed beautifully, and could hardly be bettered with a mass of CGI. The script, performances, and direction are also beautifully accomplished. If nothing can be bettered.....why does it need to be remade?????

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I don't think you read my post right, or maybe you did and you've come to the automatic conclusion that I'm pro-CGI and think that all old films need to be remade. Not true! I don't think they should have remade Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hitcher, Halloween, Black Christmas, Psycho and so many other classics. As far as Sci/Fi goes, 2001-A Space Odyssey could never be replicated, nor could Alien or Star Wars (1977). However, I loved the updates they did to the original Star Trek series and The Motion Picture. CGI could potentially ruin a film and make it look like a cartoon (ie. The Star Wars prequels). If you read my post carefully I did say 'substance over style' and 'you can't buy a good script'. I'm a huge film buff, so I don't take movies lightly. My own personal opinion on Demon Seed was that the effects were 'retro-futuristic' and had a '70's feel' to them. Todays younger audiences might not be able to get past the style to truly enjoy the film.

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My own personal opinion on Demon Seed was that the effects were 'retro-futuristic' and had a '70's feel' to them. Todays younger audiences might not be able to get past the style to truly enjoy the film.


All movies are "dated". The fallacy of reasoning is that old movies are dated, and contemporary ones aren't. It just isn't so. Movies of 1995, 2000, 2010 are just as dated as everything else, most most viewers don't have the perspective to see this yet.

The remake craze furthers the converting of movies from an art form, into a commodity to be bought and sold. The more artistry and detail put into a work, the more it suffers by this process. I look for style and craft, rather than a checklist of fads I need to pay lip service to too feel contemporary. If people have any sort of cultural vocabulary to appreciate art, they can see the effort that went into a work from another era and judge it accordingly. Otherwise the interest is not there, and all that can happen is to bastardize something for people who are already inclined to miss the point.


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Listen, I agree with you. I can certainly see past all the "dated" effects, styles and even picture quality to notice the true art put into a film. I'm just saying that younger audiences often base the quality of a film on its "realistic" effects. for instance, I think the original "Dawn of the Dead" is an epic piece of film-making classic, Miles ahead of the remake. Yet, most younger viewers I've shown the original to are quick to point out the "fake blood", "bad zombie make-up" and "corney music". They can't get past all that. A remake often puts a contemporary feel on an established formula. Not saying that it's a better film, just an alternative, fresh perspective on things.

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[deleted]

During a venture to the theater a few months ago, I saw a trailer for this movie with Joaquin Phoenix called "Her" and all I could think about after that trailer finished is that with a few rewrites here and there, it can be made into a gender swapped remake of this off-beat late 70s sci-fi freakout and it would be downright glorious.

Think about it. The protagonist is some loser playboy who only gets sexual satisfaction from real dolls and whatnot and gets a female Proteus installed into his uber lush home. At first it's all cool but then She-Proteus starts to lust over our hero and wants to make manbot babies with him, which even for a man who's willing to screw life size replica sex toys of pornographic actresses is too friggin' creepy.

Of course, we get She-Proteus creating a cyborg body that's 50% Hector of Saturn 3 fame and 50% Mass Effect 3 EDI/Eva Core, the hero gets molested, ends up impregnating She-Proteus and if you're familiar with the original (which if you're posting in this forum, you obviously should), you know the drill.

Considering how much of a surprise monster hit Gravity ended up being, I think this would be the perfect follow-up project for Alfonso CuarĂ³n or something and I think the world is ready for this ultra-creepy concept to rear it's head in today's incredibly introverted, internet based environment.


I warned you not to go out tonight

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[deleted]

I have no idea what you're talking about...oh wait. Since you're out of your natural habitat, your ability to process comprehensible posts has been rendered null.


I warned you not to go out tonight

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[deleted]

You just straight up missed the point of my first post. The concept is supposed to show the negatives of an addiction to inanimate objects, not promote the use of them.


I warned you not to go out tonight

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[deleted]