Robot Buddy Becomes Killer in Stunning Short Film

[Scarim Coral]

Geez just how much money do people earn in the future? Haveyou seen the price tag to Blinky?
Anyway it's really good and it's pretty much the kid fault for Blinky carnage. I guess he should of gotten counselling for christmas.

 

[Ruairi iliffe]

Ah my old Rival, Seriously this dude lived an hour down the road, same name apart from the 'b' plus he has his origins in 3D design too.... bah.

Anywho, very intresting short with some fantastic lighting to get the robots to blend well, but there were a few moments the movments where a bit too loose and didnt give a good impression of weight from the Blinky. Saying that i even without the Spoilers in the main text, would have expected the dark twist from Robinson like, kinda why i like his shorts such a grey matter.

Good overall, but still damn popular rival >.<

 

[The Zango]

As somebody above said, it went from cute, to sad, to OH MY JESUS!...

Ok, I might be paraphrasing...

 

[Baby Tea]

I saw this earlier today - well done, but the pay-off is weak. Where are the dead parents/dog/etc.? If I invest twelve minutes in a short film about a killer robot, I expect a little more horror and carnage. I mean, it's not like the fact he kills is a surprise to anyone watching the film - the shock needs to be in something else (although, I suppose the quality of the film could be counted as a shock).

*** All that is probably sounding too negative, though. I still liked it. ***

I think an increase in 'carnage' or 'gore' horror would have ruined the film.
The idea here, it seems, is that the robot is so clean, and helpful. The horror isn't in how it rips you apart brutally. It's how it does everything so mechanically. So matter of fact...and yet so innocently. I'm actually quite glad they didn't show anyone being killed by it, because quite frankly I'm surprised it could have caught anyone.

But, again, the horror isn't in it's abilities or the gore.
The horror here seems more based on the outcome of the dysfunctional family. I mean, a kid like that could have went and hurt his dog, or another animal, had the robot not been around. The starting of a serial killer. Instead, he took out his frustrations on the robot, causing it to malfunction, and another killer was made.

This is my interpretation, of course, but look at the film's focus: The mother and father presumably got married because they wanted to be together, but ended up fighting and breaking their marriage. The film opens up with the kid seeing something that he really wants, but you see the slow decay of those feelings, and the eventual out-right anger and hatred that boils out of the kid. It's a parallel to what he's seen his whole childhood. It's obvious the kid is damaged by his parents broken relationship, and in turn he damages his robot.

And what is the response? The kid actually shows more maturity then his parents, because he sees that it's time to let it go. That it's broken. But his parents are saying 'hes just making excuses because he wants a new one'. Can anyone else see the parallels to that and the parents marriage? They stay together despite it being obvious they the relationship is broken. And what is the result? Death. Had the robot not been there, it would have been a slow, internal death. A wasting of both husband and wife (And child) to their own dysfunction. But, with the robot, it turned into a literal, physical death.

Both are pretty horrible.

But maybe that's me. I'm probably over-analyzing it, but that's what I saw anyways.
It's a great short piece.
I think any longer and it would have worn thin, and if it was shorter it wouldn't have had the same impact.

 

[CheesyGrin1992]

I saw this earlier today - well done, but the pay-off is weak. Where are the dead parents/dog/etc.? If I invest twelve minutes in a short film about a killer robot, I expect a little more horror and carnage. I mean, it's not like the fact he kills is a surprise to anyone watching the film - the shock needs to be in something else (although, I suppose the quality of the film could be counted as a shock).

*** All that is probably sounding too negative, though. I still liked it. ***

I agree that the payoff was weak, but with their probably low budget, getting a bunch of gore would be expensive (not to mention messy as hell). Also, it could easily go from creepy to funny if we actually Blinky running around with that grin on his face slicing people up. I think the imagery would've been a little too incongruous to be taken seriously.

I agree, though I have to say I even found the little bit at the end with Blinky carving someone up was too much. The slow closing of the door, masking the smile of Blinky would have been a perfect ending to this short. I find the little bit that came afterwards unnecessary, and it weakened the effect of it a little This short works so well because of the lack of gore.

Also, the spinning head after the meatball reveal seemed silly. It would've been much more unnerving if it had just carried on staring at the camera. But that's just me really.

Other than that, great little short, if a little cliché and underdeveloped. Good find.

Edit: On a side note, that kid is really quite spoilt if his parents will just buy him a robot for $9999.95.

 

[googleback]

was pretty good, the last shot seemed a little pointless but overall I think it was great.

 

[Monshroud]

I really liked Blinky. It has a nice polish to it. Although I would have prefered it being an extra minute or two longer to show how the Parents and Son relationship was. Sure they are buying him whatever he wants and try to make it look like nothing is wrong, but that doesn't actually show what there relationship is/was, it is only partially implied. That's my opinion though...

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

That was so good that the terrible child actor from Where the Wild Things Are couldn't even ruin it!

That got really creepy really fast.

Damn that kid is a horrible actor though...

 

[Catchy Slogan]

I was just waiting at the end of the credits after the crescendo to hear "My names Blinky. Would you like to be my friend?" I think that would have made it infinitely creepier.

And it was totally that kids fault. I was initially rooting for Blinky, up untill he started getting creepy.

EDIT: And the whole 'meatball' thing was especially bad, considering I've just eaten something thats left a funny after taste. :/

 

[LadyMint]

I saw this earlier today - well done, but the pay-off is weak. Where are the dead parents/dog/etc.? If I invest twelve minutes in a short film about a killer robot, I expect a little more horror and carnage. I mean, it's not like the fact he kills is a surprise to anyone watching the film - the shock needs to be in something else (although, I suppose the quality of the film could be counted as a shock).

*** All that is probably sounding too negative, though. I still liked it. ***

I think an increase in 'carnage' or 'gore' horror would have ruined the film.
The idea here, it seems, is that the robot is so clean, and helpful. The horror isn't in how it rips you apart brutally. It's how it does everything so mechanically. So matter of fact...and yet so innocently. I'm actually quite glad they didn't show anyone being killed by it, because quite frankly I'm surprised it could have caught anyone.

But, again, the horror isn't in it's abilities or the gore.
The horror here seems more based on the outcome of the dysfunctional family. I mean, a kid like that could have went and hurt his dog, or another animal, had the robot not been around. The starting of a serial killer. Instead, he took out his frustrations on the robot, causing it to malfunction, and another killer was made.

This is my interpretation, of course, but look at the film's focus: The mother and father presumably got married because they wanted to be together, but ended up fighting and breaking their marriage. The film opens up with the kid seeing something that he really wants, but you see the slow decay of those feelings, and the eventual out-right anger and hatred that boils out of the kid. It's a parallel to what he's seen his whole childhood. It's obvious the kid is damaged by his parents broken relationship, and in turn he damages his robot.

And what is the response? The kid actually shows more maturity then his parents, because he sees that it's time to let it go. That it's broken. But his parents are saying 'hes just making excuses because he wants a new one'. Can anyone else see the parallels to that and the parents marriage? They stay together despite it being obvious they the relationship is broken. And what is the result? Death. Had the robot not been there, it would have been a slow, internal death. A wasting of both husband and wife (And child) to their own dysfunction. But, with the robot, it turned into a literal, physical death.

Both are pretty horrible.

But maybe that's me. I'm probably over-analyzing it, but that's what I saw anyways.
It's a great short piece.
I think any longer and it would have worn thin, and if it was shorter it wouldn't have had the same impact.

That is definitely some deep analysis you got there, but I like it. I like it a lot.

And I agree that the gore aspect would've taken away from it. Honestly, when I saw the brief moment at the end where they showed the robot being splattered with blood, my mind started to slip into the realm of scoffing at cliches. But they ended it without showing the end result of its turkey-carving, and I liked that much better. Implied action in films can have a far more thought-provoking reaction than out-right showing every last detail of what goes on in an event.

I think this movie was excellent. With it being so short, the idea of the robot eventually going murderous wasn't a boring payoff that I had to wait a long time for. It also appears to have been a single, isolated incident. The main thing that struck me about the film was just how mechanical and innocent it went about completing its orders. Also how the boy began to emulate his parents' trend of verbal abuse towards each other. To me, part of why he wanted the robot was so he had something stable and unconditionally loving in his household. He didn't see it in the dog at first (early on in the film he got frustrated playing frisbee with the dog), but when the robot's unchanging "affection" started to bore him, he finally put the effort into getting it from the dog and that payed off.

That's just one thing I noticed, though. Color me impressed by the whole thing.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

the kid was annoying, so wasnt too fussed to see him get the meatball treatment
but anyway really awesome short, great effects aswell

 

[Catchy Slogan]

*snip*

I agree about the gore thing. I think leaving it up to the viewers own imagination is better than just showing us a mangled corpse. As a wise man once said, " The thing about unimaginable horrors, is that we can imagine them all too easily."

The film makers seem to have been able to grasp the whole psychological aspect of horror quite well in my opinion.

 

[ryai458]

That kid was ballsy.

 

[Dastardly]

Permalink

Logan, you missed a crucial plot point!

Spoiler

He didn't kill because he remembered Alex's instructions--he remembered the mother's instructions. "If you make another mess like this... I'll have Blinky clean and cook you for dinner!" And then, he throws the glass, makes a mess, and Blinky "does as he was told."

 

[Not-here-anymore]

That's not a more advanced robot! It's just one of Daft Punk going for a stroll!

And that became pretty damn creepy... It seemed after the reboot it remembered all of its commands, including the one about cleaning the kid and cooking him for dinner...

"Did I do good?"

 

[anonymity88]

Really liked it, but the meatbalsl scene should have been expanded imo.

 

[Dastardly]

This is my interpretation, of course, but look at the film's focus: The mother and father presumably got married because they wanted to be together, but ended up fighting and breaking their marriage. The film opens up with the kid seeing something that he really wants, but you see the slow decay of those feelings, and the eventual out-right anger and hatred that boils out of the kid. It's a parallel to what he's seen his whole childhood. It's obvious the kid is damaged by his parents broken relationship, and in turn he damages his robot.

The film is definitely more an indictment of absentee parenting. You're quite right that the parents, like many people, got married because (presumably) things were new and fun. Then reality catches up, and the newness wears off. Things fall apart.

And then they had a baby. Because who doesn't love babies? But, as babies do, they grow into children. (Also note how they have a dog, which was once a cute new little puppy) The cuteness (newness) is gone, and they fall into neglect. How often do you see the parents actually interact with the kid--except to scold him for making a mess, or just to buy him stuff?

But kids are always listening, always learning. He was learning to be angry, like his parents. And he was parenting Blink the same way. Through anger and neglect. Because he didn't want a robot, he wanted a new robot--something that no robot will stay forever. His parents wanted a baby, not a child. They wanted a honeymoon, not a marriage.

And just as Alex was angry at his parents, he was causing Blinky to be angry at his parent, Alex. How do we know he was angry? He chose to follow Alex's mother's instructions, putting aside the things that Alex told him to do. He rebelled against his parent.

Alex is as much a victim of the absentee parents as he was of Blinky. And then Blinky goes on to show us how twisted up someone can (though not always) get in the absence of involved parents and a stable home.

 

[Shemming]

And now im afraid of all things robotic...

 

[Dastardly]

I agree, though I have to say I even found the little bit at the end with Blinky carving someone up was too much. The slow closing of the door, masking the smile of Blinky would have been a perfect ending to this short. I find the little bit that came afterwards unnecessary, and it weakened the effect of it a little This short works so well because of the lack of gore.

Also, the spinning head after the meatball reveal seemed silly. It would've been much more unnerving if it had just carried on staring at the camera. But that's just me really.

Other than that, great little short, if a little cliché and underdeveloped. Good find.

Edit: On a side note, that kid is really quite spoilt if his parents will just buy him a robot for $9999.95.

On the final scene? Agreed. It was unnecessary. It was probably the animation folks that really wanted a chance to bloody up their prize asset... but every project has its little bits and bobs like that.

As far as the spinning head goes, it was meant to be a sort of "match cut" with the spinning police light. It sort of struck me as not actually happening, but more a way of showing visually, "and then things spiraled out of control." (They often do similar things in movie "dreams," where the last shot of the dream is one of the dream characters speaking in an odd voice about something happening outside the dream, right before the dreamer wakes.) I thought it was kind of neat, though I'll agree in the absence of other "artsy" shots, it does stand out just a bit.

And on the kid being spoiled? Oh yeah. Parenting by guilt. Parents don't spend time with kid, feel guilty, buy kid stuff. Repeat cycle until child is maladjusted, then get him out there making his own child to which he'll do the same. The parents are intended to be the real "bad guys" of this movie.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

More like the kids anger, Blinky was suppose to be the thing that would fix his family. When Blinky didn't do as advertised, he began taking his frustration out upon it.