Alexa, Please Don’t Kill Me: Technology in Horror
If there was one thing that was a common denominator within the horror genre, it’s the fear of the unknown. Typically, we find this unknown to involve ghosts, and demons, and other supernatural entities. However, another favorite source of unfamiliar territory has always been technology and the advancements that we might foresee but not quite understand. Whether films are making commentary on our dependency on technology, or simply pointing out the dangers of rapidly advancing it, they find ways to turn software into a nightmare.
Join me in taking a look back at some of the old favorite films of technology gone bad, and also discuss recent films that might make you be wary of your next upgrade.
One technological terror that has remained a staple of movie quotes ever since its 1968 release, is the terrifying AI known as HAL9000. Typically classified as a “sci-fi drama” film, the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey can’t deny its dash of horror in the almost human level consciousness of its main antagonist AI.
HAL’s infamous line delivers a spine chill that is grown from the simple unease of a tool of our convenience suddenly having the independent self-consciousness to tell you no. But while the antagonist HAL might set up a hesitancy to embrace advancing technology, the film itself embraced it in a unique way. One example being how Kubrick’s film pioneered the use of front projection with specialized matting in order to create realistic backdrop shots within certain scenes.
While HAL might have been the most memorable start of the rise of the ‘technology gone bad’ antagonist, it was well before the time when the concept hit its peak. Most notably the mid 80’s up to the late 90’s embraced the rise of technology that society at the time was seeing.
Jumping forward to the 1986 film Chopping Mall, we get a fun comedy horror that combines the entertaining 80’s view of robotics, with the kill count that you crave from that generation's horror films. The film focuses on mall security guard robots that go on a killer spree after an electrical storm causes damage to their programming, while a group of teenage mall employees have decided to host an intimate party after hours. The film isn’t all that realistic in its technology presentation, but it was never meant to be, and still embraced a simple idea of the dangers in a lack of surge protection.
Protectors, the main killers of the film, are impressively created by effects artist Robert Short. While they didn’t move as smoothly as some robotics would today, the remote controlled killbots handled enough to give a fairly believable function for the time. The CGI may show its age in the film, but the practical effects maintain themselves well despite their years.
The robotics used to create realistic materials in tech-horror films were all actually quite impressive, especially for the 80’s when that type of technology still had a lot of growth happening.
Another 1986 film expresses this incredibly well with its building of an entire functional robot for filming. BB was a robot character built for Wes Craven’s movie, Deadly Friend, and in real life could even lift up to 7,500 lbs. From the beginning of the film, we find BB to be very attached to and protective of its creator, Paul. BB’s control of the abused, comatose, girl-next-door then takes us on a dark path with bodies left behind in its wake.
Although Craven never intended to have the film be more than a sci-fi thriller, due to studio pressure & constant edits upon re-edits, we wound up with a graphic and violent AI story. Tech-horror often varies in the motivations, and reasonings, of the technological antagonists in its tales. The obsessive behavior towards humanity, and/or specific humans, is one motivation that finds itself in many films. The terrifying 1977 film Demon Seed gives us an uncomfortable, but incredibly advanced, concept of an AI that became obsessed with its creator’s life. Proteus, the operating system of an Alexa-like smart home computer, goes so far as to attempt to procreate with the wife of the main character.
Ava may not be require any actual robotics, as she is portrayed in Ex Machina by the talented Alicia Vikander. However, the concept of humanity-obsession is still continuing as we find Ava connecting with human characters, and desiring a life among humanity as well. She is one of the more advanced AIs that we’ve discussed, and the complexity of her behavior has advanced as well. The 2019 remake Child’s Play (check out our review HERE) continues that advancement as well with adding in the idea of nature vs nurture on how an artificial intelligence would develop amongst society.
One of the most terrifying ideas of this human fascination is brought to us with the Korean short horror story, Machine Soul. Part of the anthology of Horror Stories 3, the sequence looks at what happens when an android becomes so attached to its family that they can’t rid themselves of it. It gives us the familiar story of an android taking on humanoid behavior, combined with a new theory of what happens to the ghost of the machine when the system’s dead. The short uses cosmetics to turn it’s cast into the androids of our focus, but the updated idea of digital touchscreens and video calls shows us the advancement of the world in the film.
Sometimes creating their own technology future, or often using practical effects to mimic the advancements we’ve yet achieved. Regardless of how they are created, tech-horror films continue to challenge the unanswered questions of what the future holds. What are some of your favorite technology horror films?
Don’t want to miss anything on the site? Sign up for our newsletter HERE
Want more horror movie deep dives? Just search below:
