Robot Buddy Becomes Killer in Stunning Short Film

[Chrono212]

I feel sick...

OT: That is how you make a short film
But really, I feel sick...

 

[Enkidu88]

More proof that robotics research is hurtling us toward our doom...

 

[deckai]

Best parts are in the details, as you said, like how organic the robot's designs are.
The overall effect, eh, good effort.
The story felt pretty cheesy to me, especially since "ironic following of orders" is already a trope in robot fiction. And while "the meatballs" is pretty terrifying if you think about it, it felt kind of cliched, and intentionally over the top.

So: Too heavy-handed, would have liked to see a slower build. Good effort. Nice visual design.
Score: B-

Well it's a short-movie, so there isn't much time to begin with

I say, while the plot isn't really original (well, that's the problem with robot-themed movies, they all evolve around or conflict with the three Laws of Robotics), the execution was good. I enjoyed it as a short, but don't think it would work as a full feature movie. At least not as good as a short.

 

[Evil Alpaca]

I completely agree about that the the lack of gore in the film made it creepier. I thought it was an especially nice touch that Blinky was cleaning up the last stains as the police arrive.

However, the head spin at the end was over the top. It made the robot seem crazed rather than following a set of orders. Blinky wasn't just a broken robot on a killing spree; he was an outgrowth of the anger in the family. The kid's commands come from his frustration about his family and Blinky obeys every command he is given, even the ones given in a fit of rage. Notice that it is the kid's commands that crash Blinky, not a random event such as the robot shorting out in the rain or breaking from receiving a blow from the child.

 

[jpoon]

I would've beat the holy hell outta that kids ass well before that shit went down!

 

[StBishop]

I really enjoyed that. Well creepy. Would love to see a feature length film similar.

I think the creepiest thing for me is that Blinky's voice is exactly the same voice my DM uses for goblins and kobolds etc.

Really eerie how similar they are.

 

[Random berk]

They definitely could do more with this film if they made a full length movie of it, the kid was crap, but the robot was very well designed and very creepy in that it seemed so innocent, even as it informed the parents that it had just fed them their child. All Blinky models should have been sold with some kind of EMP gun, just in case this happened.

Fun fact, according to the credits, 'police officer #1' was played by the grandson of Michael Collins.

 

[CheesyGrin1992]

Snip

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.

I understand that the spinning head was intended to be a match on action, but it seemed a little strange and daft when there are better ways of doing it without killing the chilling mood of that particular scene. If it were me, I would use the fact that Blinky's eyes are also cameras to achieve the transition to the police while keeping the unnerving stare. For example, keep Blinky staring, zoom in on the eye gradually, then make it shutter/ take a picture. As Blinky's eye shutter closes, the shutter on the camera of a police officer could open. Match on action, keeps the mood better. I just think the spinning head is a little out of place and disrupts the nature of the scene, which is where I take issue with it. I'm probably just nitpicking a little though, since the rest of it was very well done.

I agree with the perception of the parents as the real villains of this piece though. I think it's very tastefully done in that respect. The majority of the film is more about the conflict between parents driving a child over the edge, using the robot as an object to project upon when the film starts hitting too close to home.

 

[Baby Tea]

Snip 1.0

Snip 2.0

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw that theme!
Great points on the parents wanting a baby, and the kid wanting a new robot, and the similarities betwixt the two.
It really is quite a scathing commentary when you really look at that theme closely.

That, I think, is what truly made it creepy for me.
Not what Blinky did. But what he was the product of. Or, rather, what he was the mirror of.
The perfect, cold, mechanical mirror of that family.

Again: great piece.

 

[similar.squirrel]

A lesson for the future: treat AI with dignity. Also, I'm chuffed that this was made by an Irish guy.

 

[Chris^^]

that had th epotential to be a hell of a lot more, I loved the touches with things like the news and the little 'locked' light on the screen door that suggested a much bigger world out there but in the end it went from being menacing to plain gratuitous and a little silly. So kinda annoyed at that but a brilliant little piece of filming nonetheless, the early stages were pretty profound as well, the utter obedience matched with the boys growing impatience created a superb atmosphere.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

Creepy (but not in such a way that it interested me), not a well written story.
Yet Beautifully executed. And (semi)-Plausible.

However, the Robot in the film is nowhere near as awesome as the one on the news link on the frontpage. Robo>all other Robots.

Also: animatrix?

 

[Alar]

That was quite scary, the worst of it all were the meatballs.

Yeah... the meatballs were... yeah...

"I recycled him." That's one way of putting it. I definitely don't think I'll be taking up that recycling trend any time soon.

This was fucked up. I wonder how long he's going to go on his killing spree until someone catches him.

EDIT: Also, seeing as how technology and software have been going, I'm actually genuinely worried that something like this could eventually happen. When it comes down to it, we're just crappy programmers when it comes to a lot of interactive experiences.

Let's just hope we have the debugger software up to scratch, and maybe some 'Three Laws' as back up.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

That was pretty terrifying, but very well done.

 

[Wolfwind]

That kid was ballsy.

I'll admit it. That made me laugh.

 

[teh_Canape]

to be honest

the robot reminds me of the golden Gimmick Gear from, well, Elemental Gimmick Gear

 

[Jark212]

That was both excellent and horrifying...

 

[TheMan2203]

bwuuuuh

 

[Darks63]

Very well done bravo.