Automatons (film)

Last updated
Automatons
Automatons FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by James Felix McKenney
Written byJames Felix McKenney
Produced byJames Felix McKenney
Lisa Wisely
Starring Christine Spencer
Angus Scrimm
Brenda Cooney
CinematographyDavid W. Hale
Edited byJames Felix McKenney
Music by Noah DeFilippis
The Noisettes
Release date
  • December 13, 2006 (2006-12-13)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Automatons is a 2006 black-and-white horror film directed by James Felix McKenney, and starring Christine Spencer, Angus Scrimm, and Brenda Cooney. [1] John Levene, Don Wood and Executive Producer Larry Fessenden have supporting roles. The plot is about a war against robots. The movie was made under the working title Death to the Automatons.

Contents

Plot

Somewhere in the distant future, The Girl is living alone in a bunker. She continues to fight with the generations-long war with the assistance of a group of antiquated robot helpers and soldiers.

Her only connection to her people is a collection of recorded journal entries made by the scientist who cared for her as a baby. His is the only friendly human face she’s ever seen. These entries gradually disclose the fall of mankind: escalating war that destroyed Earth's atmosphere, human reproductive abilities, and all hope for future. The Girl is revealed to be a clone, created as a last attempt to restore the humanity's dwindling numbers.

The regular radio transmissions from her enemy's leader are always filled with threats and taunts. The girl responds with attacks of her own, carried out by her mechanical soldiers on the contaminated surface where no human can survive.

After a transmission is used to intercept control of the robots, the girl decides to launch a full-scale assault on the enemy base, and does so, succeeding by hiding inside one of the machines (using it as an exoskeleton). Upon defeating the enemy remnants, she is told by dying enemy leader that they are the last people on the planet, rumors of prosperous nations being just myths.

The girl is put before a choice to either spare the enemy leader, or kill her. Believing that she lies, the girl executes the last of her foes. This activates the large EMP generator, however, which the enemy never used before (as using it would doom themselves too). All machines and bunker life support cease to function, leaving the girl alone, trapped within the enemy base, with no way out. The film ends with her calmly staring in the illuminator.

Cast

Critical opinion

George Ward wrote:"This all-too-convincing horror takes to its utmost conclusions the potentialities of nightmare launched in Karl Capek's R.U.R. eighty years ago". [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Wishmaster</i> (film) 1997 film

Wishmaster is a 1997 American dark fantasy horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman. The film was executive produced by Wes Craven, and is the only film of the Wishmaster series with his name attached. Its plot concerns a djinn, a wish-granting, evil genie who is released from a jewel and seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow djinn to inhabit and enslave the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final girl</span> Trope in slasher horror films

The final girl is a trope in horror films. It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been observed in many films, including Psycho, Voices of Desire, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, Alien, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. The term was coined by Carol J. Clover in her article "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" (1987). Clover suggested that in these films, the viewer began by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experienced a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film.

<i>Phantasm</i> (film) American horror film

Phantasm is a 1979 American science fantasy horror film that was directed, written, photographed, and edited by Don Coscarelli. The first film in the Phantasm franchise, it introduces the Tall Man, a supernatural and malevolent undertaker who turns the dead of Earth into dwarf zombies to be sent to his planet and used as slaves. He is opposed by a young boy, Mike, who tries to convince his older brother Jody and family friend Reggie of the threat.

<i>Phantasm II</i> 1988 film by Don Coscarelli

Phantasm II is a 1988 American science fantasy action-horror film and the sequel to Phantasm (1979). It was written and directed by Don Coscarelli and stars Angus Scrimm, James LeGros and Reggie Bannister. The first film's protagonist, Mike, recently released from a mental institution, recruits Reggie and some new friends in an effort to defeat the villain Tall Man.

<i>Key the Metal Idol</i> 1994 original video animation anime series directed by Hiroaki Sato

Key the Metal Idol is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series that was released from December 1994 to June 1997. The series consists of fifteen episodes divided into four parts. First Program consists of episodes 1 through 7. Second Program is 8 through 13. Third Program and Final Program are feature length respectively. Key is a serious and somewhat dark drama with elements of mecha and science fiction.

<i>Fight! Iczer One</i> Japanese manga series and its adaptations

Iczer One, known in Japan as Fight! Iczer-1, is a 1983 sci-fi horror and yuri manga published in the hentai magazine Lemon People. It was created by Aran Rei. In 1985 the story was adapted into a three part Original Video Animation directed by Toshihiro Hirano. The story is of an alien invasion of Earth, which is opposed by Iczer-One and her schoolgirl companion Nagisa. Together they can pilot the Iczer-Robo, a giant humanoid robot. The story features strong body horror.

<i>Phantasm IV: Oblivion</i> 1998 American film

Phantasm IV: Oblivion is a 1998 American science fantasy horror film. The film was written, produced and directed by Don Coscarelli and starring A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm. It is the third sequel in the Phantasm series and is followed by Phantasm: Ravager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Horror Film Festival</span>

The New York City Horror Film Festival is an international film festival based in New York City that screens films from the horror genre. It was founded by Michael J. Hein in 2001. It takes place each year in New York City for a week in November.

<i>The Nightmare Room</i> American horror anthology television series (2001–2002)

The Nightmare Room is an American children's anthology horror series that aired on Kids' WB. The series was based on the short-lived children's book series that went by the same title created by Goosebumps author, R. L. Stine. The Nightmare Room originally aired from August 31, 2001, to March 16, 2002, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incident On and Off a Mountain Road</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Masters of Horror

"Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" is the premiere episode of the first season of Masters of Horror, directed by Don Coscarelli. It originally aired in North America on October 28, 2005. The screenplay is based on a short story by American author Joe R. Lansdale. It was first published as a comic book series, Masters of Horror #1–2, 4 issues.

<i>Satanic</i> (2006 film) 2006 American film

Satanic is a 2006 American horror film directed by Dan Golden and starring Annie Sorell, Jeffrey Combs, Angus Scrimm and James Russo.

<i>Mindwarp</i> (film) 1992 American film

Mindwarp is a 1992 post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film, starring Bruce Campbell, Angus Scrimm, Marta Martin, Elizabeth Kent, and Wendy Sandow. The film is notable as one of three produced by Fangoria's short-lived Fangoria Films label.

<i>The Lost Empire</i> (1984 film) 1984 American film

The Lost Empire is a 1984 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jim Wynorski. It was the first feature Wynorski directed.

<i>Transylvania Twist</i> 1989 American film

Transylvania Twist is a 1989 comedy film that parodies horror films. Originally released by Concord Production Inc., this film is distributed on home video by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the film Angus Scrimm reprises his role of the "Tall Man" from the Phantasm films, as a parody. The humor of the film is most often said to be in the style of Airplane!, and Mel Brooks comedies. It occasionally breaks the fourth wall rule with characters looking at the camera, and one even saying "I'm in the wrong movie". The film's main theme has been released on a variety of albums, and the entire soundtrack was released on CD and as a direct download in the year 2010, twenty-one years after the movies initial release.

<i>The Severed Arm</i> 1973 American film

The Severed Arm is a 1973 horror film co-written and directed by Thomas S. Alderman. The film is noteworthy for containing the first on-screen role of Angus Scrimm. The film also stars Paul Carr and John Crawford.

<i>I Sell the Dead</i> 2008 American film

I Sell the Dead is a 2008 horror comedy, the feature film debut from Irish director Glenn McQuaid. It is a period film about grave robbing, starring Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden and Angus Scrimm.

"Child of the Moon" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 29th episode overall, which aired on November 11, 2012.

Tall Man (<i>Phantasm</i>) Fictional character

The Tall Man is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Phantasm series of horror films. The Tall Man first appeared in the first Phantasm in 1979, and his most recent appearance in the film Phantasm: Ravager in 2016. In all of his film appearances, the Tall Man has been portrayed by Angus Scrimm, while he is voiced by Jeff Bergman in Mike Tyson Mysteries.

<i>Phantasm: Ravager</i> 2016 American film

Phantasm: Ravager is a 2016 American science fantasy action horror film, and the fifth and final installment in the Phantasm series. It marks the only film in the series not directed by Don Coscarelli, although he acts as producer and co-writer. It is directed by David Hartman and stars A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Angus Scrimm in his final appearance as the Tall Man.

Phantasm is an American horror film series that consists of five films, novels, comic books, and merchandise. It is mainly about the Tall Man, a supernatural and malevolent undertaker and the main antagonist who turns the dead into dwarf zombies to do his bidding and take over the world. He is opposed by a young boy, Mike, who tries to convince his older brother Jody and family friend Reggie of the threat. The first film was released in 1979, received generally positive reviews and has garnered a cult following.

References

  1. Catsoulis, Jeannette (13 December 2006). "Defending the Human Race with Old Spare Parts". The New York Times.
  2. George C. Ward, "The Chronicles of Robot Nightmares", London 2009, p.87-91