By Geno McGahee
There’s something awesome about robots. I think most people have a fascination with them. In the 1980s, I always wanted one of those radio controlled robots that had a tray and could carry around cans of soda, but I never got it. I was poor. Sly Stallone loved robots at one time, but has since lost his love, stating that the robot will be cut out of ROCKY IV’s director’s cut of the film. We don’t have to worry about that with AUTOMATION, a new horror/sci-fi flick that is robot friendly and quite a bit of fun.
Directed by Garo Setian, AUTOMATION follows the story of a workplace robot named “Auto” and how he has become obsolete as a new wave of robots come in to take over the workforce of an automobile plant.
Jenny (Elissa Dowling) is an aspiring singer and works at the factory. She has a great working relationship with Auto and he is very helpful. He learns as he goes, much like Bicentennial Man, and Auto is just as likable as Robin Williams was in that role. Keep in mind though that I really like robots.
Auto learns from Susan (Sadie Katz) that there are changes coming down the line and he’s pretty excited to be upgraded, but she didn’t tell him the entire truth. Bill (Jeff Rector) isn’t entirely happy with the treatment of the workers that he has to let go, the severance packages and what will happen to them upon release. Susan is pretty cut throat and has no issue with the employees getting released.
Some of the dickheads that work there start messing with Auto and he starts having flashbacks. Devin (Graham Skipper) and Rick (Josh Fallon) are having a lot of fun at the poor robot’s expense, but he’s saved by Linda (Sarah French). Linda seems to look at Auto as a sex bot and I’ve closely followed the development of those. We are still a few years away, but I’ve got the order in.
Susan and Bill make the announcement that they are letting everyone go. Bill is very sad about it, but Susan is eager to bring in the robots. Adding insult to injury, the employees are told that they must train the robots or they can forfeit their severance packages. Devin gets so pissed off that he attacks Auto with a shovel. He has some flashbacks to some war background where he saw battle.
Jenny starts getting chummy with the creator of the robots, Alan (Parry Shen). During this time, Auto is starting to fall apart, but not really understanding what is going on with him. When Auto sees Alan with Jenny, he is not happy. Jenny convinces the bosses to not deactivate Auto and things are going well, but Devin shows up again to attack him. This time, Auto goes into savage mode and the killing commences.
Auto goes into military mode and Alan realizes that his creation has gone off the rails. Auto is a killing machine that is not willing to give up his job or his girl. This film really kicks it into high gear and there’s a big time fun factor. The sad thing is that Auto would have been happy if they kept him at part time I bet. He just didn’t want to be let go.
Auto is hilarious. After killing Linda, he asks Jenny to “keep it on the down low” and notes that he could be fired because the bosses might frown on him killing another employee. I laughed. It was a very funny scene.
Jenny is the only one that can stop Auto and does her best to make it happen, but it’s not easy. Auto is fully aware of his surroundings and is slowly losing his mind and totally reverting to his wartime tactics, leading to a final showdown with Jenny, Susan and the killer robot.
AUTOMATION is a very fun film and well worth a watch, especially if you love robots. It made me think of a lot of different films including CLASS OF 1999 and BIG HERO 6, but it has its own unique approach, using different elements from different films. I really liked the look of Auto and his personality. The cast was very good and everything just really clicked. I had a great time watching this one and highly recommend it!
