Robot Buddy Becomes Killer in Stunning Short Film

[Da Joz]

Thats was really creepy.

 

[Daveeo]

That was awesome! Feelt abit sorry for blinky when the kid started taking out his anger on him.

 

[Infesord]

Yeah

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.

Yeah I didn't quite catch onto that theme, but I'm glad I see it now thanks to Baby Tea's analysis of it. I found the whole thing quite amazing and at the end.... I felt like I was in shock... truly terrified about the whole thing.

 

[KrazyKain]

I like that it didn't show too much and was as short as it was... any more and it may have gotten silly... the meatballs... jesus I'm certainly not having meatballs for a while....

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Why isn't he programmed with Asimov's laws?!?! oh of all the humanity why?! XD

note to self: install paradox-absorbing crumple zones on all robots so they don't crash and wake up misinterpreting commands.

Honestly that was my first thought, it's such a well know piece of science fiction at this point that I practically see it as a plot hole; No one would build a household robot with the ability to kill.

Also the kid cammanded him to kill people...where was the cammand to turn him into meat balls exactly? It really felt like something that was forced in there.

I enjoyed it, the direction was good and the robots really look like something that we'll possibley see in households 20 or so years down the line, but it had some problems.

 

[MrGalactus]

He's just pissed cuz he fuckin' sucks at frisbee.

 

[Veloxe]

"No problem, no problem, no problem" is now etched into my brain...

 

[Quaidis]

That was creepily awesome. Poor dog, didn't deserve that.

 

[kmarx772]

Am I the only one who wanted Blinky to kill that brat of a kid sooner?

 

[Shiftysnowdog]

Honestly that was my first thought, it's such a well know piece of science fiction at this point that I practically see it as a plot hole; No one would build a household robot with the ability to kill.

Also the kid cammanded him to kill people...where was the cammand to turn him into meat balls exactly? It really felt like something that was forced in there.

I enjoyed it, the direction was good and the robots really look like something that we'll possibley see in households 20 or so years down the line, but it had some problems.

Agreed, another plot hole that I tripped head over heals into was the fact that the robot moves slow as hell. How did he manage to catch and kill the dad, the mom and the dog before any of them could run away? How did the robot fashion the boy into little balls with his big ass hands? Not to mention the meat would have been rough as shit if it wasn't ground up/tenderized. Then the parents would have known for sure there was a problem.

Le Sigh*
Is this short good just because it has a decent looking rendered robot?
Honestly the most disturbing thing about this was "No problem". Other than that it was like watching a highway pileup consisting of Irobot, Where the wild things are, and The south park episode Chilli Con Carnival. Not a lick of creativity here folks.

 

[Tonimata]

...I feel terrible for laughing out loud with the meatballs and the spinning head. I mean, come on!

 

[Volucer]

I thought it was amazing quality and alot better than most films they make nowadays, but I did think the film should have ended with the front door closing and locking.

 

[Scott Guthrie]

That was brilliant, i felt really sorry for Blinkey

 

[snfonseka]

Nice one.

 

[Spark Ignition]

That's a really good movie, but I think the final shot ruined it a bit. Up until then it was genuinely heartbreaking. The last shot was just a bit too shlocky. Top notch technically though, it looked amazing for such a small project!

 

[DocBalance]

Very well done. I actually felt pretty sick at the end. Which I suppose was the intended response. Very clever story as well, and there's some good analysis of what happened going on here.

However, as someone who's read quite a few of the works of Isaac Asimov: If engineers program robots with the Three Laws of Robotics hard-wired into them, then none of this would happen. Seriously, in some of his essays Asimov examined how if robots are programmed correctly, things like this are impossible. Robots are tools, like anything else. I believe he said something along the lines of "You wouldn't read a story about hammers rising up and destroying humanity." I don't mean to rant, I just find it quite funny how Isaac Asimov deconstructed the very genre he created over fifty years ago, yet we're still terrified by the thought of robots turning on their masters.

Ah, but the thing is, those very laws would impair functionality, and that's something the human race will never do. "It can't kill? Well what if there is an intruder in the home? Does it just stand back and smile as they die?"

It doesn't matter if that's a one in a million scenario, because we always do this kind of thing. Why don't cars cap-out their speed limits at 65 MPH? You don't need to go anywhere above that 90% of the time. It's the whole "functionality" bit.

Honestly that was my first thought, it's such a well know piece of science fiction at this point that I practically see it as a plot hole; No one would build a household robot with the ability to kill.

Also the kid cammanded him to kill people...where was the cammand to turn him into meat balls exactly? It really felt like something that was forced in there.

I enjoyed it, the direction was good and the robots really look like something that we'll possibley see in households 20 or so years down the line, but it had some problems.

Agreed, another plot hole that I tripped head over heals into was the fact that the robot moves slow as hell. How did he manage to catch and kill the dad, the mom and the dog before any of them could run away? How did the robot fashion the boy into little balls with his big ass hands? Not to mention the meat would have been rough as shit if it wasn't ground up/tenderized. Then the parents would have known for sure there was a problem.

Le Sigh*
Is this short good just because it has a decent looking rendered robot?
Honestly the most disturbing thing about this was "No problem". Other than that it was like watching a highway pileup consisting of Irobot, Where the wild things are, and The south park episode Chilli Con Carnival. Not a lick of creativity here folks.

1. The Meatball command came from the mom, "If you make another mess like that I"ll have Blinky clean and cook YOU for supper"
2. He was normally "slow as hell", but if you watch the opening sequences, those are through his eyes. He is clearly capable of running fast enough to keep up with the kid outside. He just chooses not to move that quickly most of the time, just like most humans prefer walking.

Pulverizing the meat/fashioning into balls? He's programmed to cook and clean. I'm sure he's capable of far more than he appears.

 

[Bigsmith]

First I was like Aww, don't be so mean to the robot, it's not his fault that he's old and out of date.

But then I was like. D:

 

[Misho-]

I didn't like the fact that it seems more intelligent and a bit malicious in a "I'm still cute kind of way" after the reboot. And if you side with the kid, I think you are a bit off... I mean he was a douche and in one of his tantrums he actually told the robot to kill everyone... Nice touch tho that the robot kind of stuck to the order the kid told him to kill stuff...
Kind of good as a short film, wouldn't work as a feature film I believe.

 

[Ekonk]

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."

To everyone saying the meatballs scene was a bit retarded; this.

 

[gabe12301]

Thats was amazing.

I was actually expecting someone in a cardboard suit and ketchup for blood.