Unseen Terror 2018: Day 10

The space shuttle Churchill is investigating a mysterious ship found within the coma of Halley's Comet. Once inside, the crew discover not just hundreds of dead bat-like creatures, but three naked humanoid bodies, who seem to be in suspended animation. They gather the specimens and plan to head back to earth, but contact is lost during their return journey. As a rescue mission is launched, the Churchill returns to our planet, but while the ship is severely damaged, the three pods containing the bodies are in perfect condition. They are taken to a research center in London, and after an autopsy is attempted on the lone female of the trio, she awakens and completely drains the life from her would-be coroner. Escaping the facility, she sets out in search of goodness knows what, while those left in shock find that her victims may not necessarily stay dead after she has absorbed their essence.



Well, seeing as how I'm only one hour removed from turning thirty-three, I figured that if I was going to close out the final hours of being thirty-two, it should be with a bigger picture from the year that I was born. Plus, according to the wonderful cesspool known as the internet, the number one movie in the world during the day of my birth was Commando, which is the furthest thing from a horror movie and something that is disqualified from my marathon. Perhaps that will be saved for another day.


Prior to his passing, Tobe Hooper had been quite vocal about his love and passion that was put into Lifeforce, which at the time took quite a beating from critics and some fans. Too weird to be properly marketed, yet nowhere near as gratuitous as the slasher pictures that dominated the box office, it's considered to be a bit of an anomaly amongst fans of horror/science fiction hybrids. After finishing it up, I think that while it's very easy to understand why people have been very critical of the final product, it's also makes for one heck of a fun ride if you know what you're in store for. Doing some research for this review, I discovered that Lifeforce was one of three motion pictures that Tobe Hooper was attached to direct after signing a three picture deal with Cannon Films. Even more surprising was the revelation that Dan O'Bannon, who wrote the screenplay for Alien and The Return of the Living Dead, was one of two individuals who put pen to paper for this project and in charge of reworking/retooling the science fiction novel The Space Vampires (I'll never badmouth romance authors for their titles again) for the big screen. The results are a very kooky, often-times dumb, but altogether entertaining flick.


Most of what drives Lifeforce is the idea of style over substance, because when you chip away the very appealing images and set pieces, the story is padded out by a bit too much exposition. There are a lot of moments that could have the audience asking why they chose to explain things that previously occurred in great retail rather than, I don't know, show it, but those moments are occasionally followed up by something strange that takes you by complete surprise (ex: a man running into a prison cell and exploding into sand). While we're on the subject of that, the first half of Lifeforce sports some of the more fascinating visuals that I've seen during this year's Unseen Terror. It's quite apparent that this is where most of O'Bannon's best ideas were set in motion, because they feature events that I'm certain are most of what the fanbase gushes over. People turn into dried-up husks, light shines down from the heavens, giant bat creatures pop up, and actress Mathilda May does her best Rogue from X-Men impression to name a few. They recall pictures of yesteryear like the aforementioned Alien, but with enough of their own identity to avoid being accused of plagiarism.


Cast-wise everyone is perfectly fine, though Peter Firth (Spooks) does slip into overacting mode once in a blue moon. French actress Mathilda May manages to say so much without speaking for a large chunk of her role, and her body language and cold, yet oddly welcoming demeanor feels like what the filmmakers behind Terminator 3 wish they could have accomplished with their antagonist. It's somewhat like a precursor to what actresses such as Olwen Catherine Kelly were able to do in flicks like the excellent The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Steve Railsback is one of the lone American performers found in Lifeforce, but has easily the most compelling and important arc. His confusion, fear, and subtle interest with all of the events that surround him help elevate this movie more than most would expect him to. But oof, as long as we all live, nobody should ever ask the man to take part in any flicks that feature "hypnotizing" again. As the cherry on top, Sir Patrick Stewart (yes, the very same) has a bit part as the manager of a psychiatric hospital, and I always welcome the chance to see him let his guard down and have some fun in a "B" movie.


Lifeforce is far from a perfect flick and is certifiably insane, but it's very watchable. Sporting a very unique take on vampirism (name another "bloodsuckers in outer space" flick from the 80s please), some rad visuals, and a storyline that just gets progressively stranger as time goes by, it's the perfect film to put on in the background at your next Halloween party or whenever you just want another crazed SciFi/Horror flick for your own monthly marathon. As of this writing, it's available for free on both STARZ's On-Demand service and Amazon Prime. If you're feeling a bit more dangerous however, there's a rather cheap Blu-ray out from Scream! Factory, and it features two different cuts of the picture, as well as a plethora of extras.



Gotta wonder if it contains Mathilda May's phone number though......hey, I might as well TRY....




Tomorrow, it's my god damn birthday, and I'll review whatever the hell I want to. I think I'm feeling something Henenlotter...

Unseen Terror 2018: Day 4

A space shuttle called "Nautilus" is heading back to earth, but unexpectedly, it passes through a cloud of alien spores. The lone occupant, a simple man named Steve, is mutated by this exposure and turns into a giant, bloodthirsty creature. Nautilus crashes into a Florida swamp, and it doesn't take long for this new beast to begin wreaking havoc on the populace. It feeds on people as if they were snacks, spreads new, infectious spores of its own, and eventually catches the attention of a small band of town folk. Will they be able to band together and bring down this behemoth, or has its evil spread too far too quickly ?

I mean, how else am I going to start a review of any picture with the likes of Fred Olen Ray AND Jim Wyorski attached to it? For those unfamiliar with that gruesome twosome: if you're of my age, and have ever looked at most crappy straight-to-video "B" movies or late night Skinamax parodies from the early 1990s up until about the mid-2000s, there's a strong chance that they're involved somehow (though at least Wynorski has Chopping Mall to his name). It's arguable about whether they're the proper successors to guys like Ed Wood or not because unlike that infamous director, it wouldn't surprise me if they were conscious about their projects being quite lousy. As someone who was not fully aware of their involvement with Dark Universe, a blind buy from this past weekend's Monster Mania Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland, I feel that properly reviewing something of this quality is like attempting to discuss flicks like Pocket Ninjas and Samurai Cop to the general public: it's beyond fucking hard.


First off, props to the VHSPS people for providing a very authentic replication of this movie's initial release. There's coming attractions for other obscure flicks that start right after I pressed "play" on this bootleg's main menu (one of which included Joe Piscopo, of whom I still harbor a grudge against because of Dead Heat). It's still absolutely a rip from a video tape, but there's TLC put into this. It sports a nice cover and wraparound that makes you truly feel like you've been teleported back to the glorious days of when video store chains could be found within reasonable driving distance. And with that, the authentic praise officially ends. Because oh boy, we've got a rough one here folks.


Dark Universe was reportedly shot for $40,000 over the span of ten days, and that sounds fairly accurate. The cast consists of Joe Estevez, who is his family's equivalent of a Zero Bar, and nobody else worth a damn. The former must have been rented out for a singular day, as he only appears in the opening scene and several television interviews that are scattered throughout its running time. Maybe they forgot that they had him at their disposal? As for the rest of them.....well, I'd say that they're not exactly capable of hanging with the best of the best, but when you consider what they have to work with, it's unfair to get mad at them. Perhaps the only standout comes from the resident "science guy" in the group, but it's hard to take him seriously when he's dressed like a dollar store Boy Scout troupe leader. Also, there's a ton of unnecessary breast exposure, but that's Jim "Bare Wench Project" Wynorski for ya.


Obviously, the technical aspects of Dark Universe are about what you'd expect from Ray and Wynorski (aka they're quite terrible). I'm guessing that part of the budget must have gone into making the monster, which was emitting some seriously bad VR Troopers vibes. It sports the ability to suck people dry ala the villain Cell from the Dragon Ball franchise, and uses a darting tongue not unlike that of a Xenomorph. When parts of it break off, they change into spores (which for all intents and purposes look like giant boogers) and can possess human hosts. Because of course it can. There's also a moment around the fifty-one minute mark where I audibly yelled "HOLY SHIT, A RABID ARMADILLO ON A STICK." I should have properly prepared myself for something like this, and I curse the fact that I couldn't drink while watching it. Bit of advice kids: don't work in retail. It'll kill any regular routine that you may wish to have.


Dark Universe is what would happen if you threw Predator, Alien, and The Fly into a blender, then threw that device into a dumpster fire. Hell when writing this review, I had to make sure that this wasn't already on Redlettermedia's "Best of the Worst" video series. In no world will this ever be called even a halfway decent picture, but it IS perfect "get drunk with your friends and laugh at it" material. Maybe I should have saved this one for the weekend. As of this time, there is no respectable way to purchase this turd (there's a DVD on Amazon that has Ray's face plastered on the bottom left of the cover), but if you're interested in seeking it out in any way, shape, or form, perhaps a visit to your local horror convention is the best method of obtaining it.



Also, why is it called Dark Universe when the film takes place in fucking Florida of all places?



Ugh, this film man. This film.



Tomorrow, we're gonna get back to viewing more "credible" material and welcome our old friend Clive Barker back to the blog!

Unseen Terror 2018: Day 3

The Japanese have launched a probe dubbed "Helios 7" into space, in the hopes that it will study the planet Jupiter and return to earth after three and a half years with a collection of data. Unknown to everyone, the device is overtaken by an alien entity, and Helios 7 is later seen careening towards the South Pacific. It crashes into the water, and the "passenger" exits after choosing to inhabit the body of a cuttlefish. In the meantime, photographer Taro Kudo has gathered an entourage to head to the mysterious Selgio Island, which is rumored to contain giant creatures previously unseen by the human eye. While there, they meet some island natives and discover that they worship something referred to as "Gezora," which is revealed to look very similar to a certain type of mollusk found under the sea...



Since its inception in 2011, I've tried to include at least one Kaiju-related project for Unseen Terror. The results have been rather mixed (to say the least), but I've been lucky enough to be exposed to solid flicks like the Japanese cut of Rodan and 2016's stunningly great Shin Godzilla. That doesn't mean that a fanatic such as myself has seen every "guy in a suit" movie released to date though, and given how wide Toho's catalog is, there's bound to be a few flicks that slipped through my hands when given an opportunity to watch them for this marathon. In 2018, one such movie is 1970's Space Amoeba (a.k.a. Yog-Monster From Space), which was the first foray into that decade from noteworthy distributors Toho Co. It's amassed a small following, but is mostly forgotten by casual fans of this genre. After sitting through its running time of eighty-four minutes, perhaps there's a valid reason for that.


One very important thing to remember about Space Amoeba is that it marked the first Toho Kaiju Eiga project without the involvement of Eiji Tsuburaya. For those of you who are not aware of that name, he is most well known as the special effects director for the Godzilla franchise, and even helped co-create the "Big G." He is also the mastermind behind the equally influential Ultraman series, and is viewed as a rather prolific and important person in the realm of Japanese cinema. Due to his sudden death, I'm certain that the crew and figureheads were still reeling from this loss, and his absence can be felt throughout. Nothing feels quite as impactful without his supervision from behind the scenes, and the usual staples found in previous entries of the studio's filmography seem underwhelming this time around. The special effects, though somewhat competent, feel slightly average rather than vibrant. On the flip side, Space Amoeba manages to sport three different monsters that are actually all fairly neat, if not unspectacular in terms of designs. The giant cuttlefish Gezora looks great when he isn't actually attempting to "walk," and his brief appearances underwater aren't too shabby either. The giant matamata turtle Kamoebas is perfectly serviceable too, and kind of cute in an ugly sort of way. Giant crab Ganime is perhaps the biggest disappointment, as its screen time is mostly limited to the final seven minutes or so, and it fails to deal any real damage to our heroes or the island natives. Only two out of these three beasts would see returns to this world over the next several decades, though one is via stock footage and the other as a corpse post-Godzilla attack.


Plot-wise Space Amoeba is a bit jumbled, though certainly unique. There were moments where I had to pause the picture just to try and put all of the pieces together without saying "Why are these people here exactly?" The plain jane characters don't necessarily help to keep your attention either, and the usually great director Ishiro Honda can't get series veterans like Akira Kubo (Destroy All Monsters, Throne of Blood) and Kenji Sahara (Mothra vs. Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas) to turn in performances that even by "giant monster movie" standards are still fairly weak. Worse yet, the score provided by the tremendously talented Akira Ifukube is nothing to write home about compared to what he's capable of turning in (Space Amoeba's most memorable composition is just a reworked piece from King Kong vs. Godzilla). Still, as mixed up as the storyline can be, there are some rather neat aspects in Space Amoeba that you weren't really getting around the time of its release. As what I can assume is a throwback to their earliest efforts, there is no heroic, gargantuan protagonist, nor is there even military that can come for backup. It boils down to the tried and true formula of man vs beast. The concept of an organism that infects a host, causing it to grow thirty stories high, is akin to something seen in television shows like Power Rangers, and the fact that this group of humans are far from stupid is a rarity. Well, minus one specific sequence. Earlier in the picture, someone says "Well, I don't believe monsters exist until I see one." Given the future appearances of the aforementioned creatures in Godzilla sequels, then one must assume that this is all set within the same universe. There are kaiju attacks occurring nearly every year around the world, and especially in Japan. They make the news. Your taxes help pay for it. THEY. ARE. REAL. Therefore,

Space Amoeba isn't the worst Toho-produced kaiju flick that you'll see, but I could only see diehards feeling the need to own this one. Other than sporting some halfway decent designs and humans who aren't complete incompetent cannon fodder, nothing is altogether very memorable, and by the time that things finally start to get fun, most of your interest has already waned. Still, I didn't completely dislike the picture, and it could make for a fun marathon watch with some like-minded friends. This second-to-last flick directed by Ishiro Honda is free to stream for Amazon Prime members, and Tokyo Shock released a DVD quite a few years ago that is close to going out of print. So, if you have a strong desire to watch city folk fight against a giant crab that also briefly fights against a giant long-necked turtle, you might want to make that purchase as soon as you can.



If you can't act in time, then maybe you should just turn on a BBC doc-

….Crap, I already made that joke.




Anyway, come back tomorrow for day 4, where in space, nobody can hear you rip off other franchises...

Unseen Terror 2018: Day 1

I won't lie to the few of you who do read this. I had lost a lot of energy and interest for maintaining this blog, as I felt it was (and still is) easier to post and keep track of my reviews through other social media outlets such as Letterboxd (find me on there as Woodshatter1985) and even Instagram. The process of writing full-length thoughts that occasionally devolved into ramblings and excuses to pad out the breakdown of movies seemed less problematic through those sites. My love for cinema will likely never die, but this blog very well could.


And yet....

....you can bet your ass that while a majority of my "big" movie reviews will still end up on Letterboxd, this yearly marathon, wherein I watch at least thirty-one different horror-related motion pictures for the first time, ain't going anywhere. This began in 2011 as a passion project, and it will continue to exist so long as I don't lose the ability to hear or see. Besides, what else am I going to do with all of these recent purchases? Let them collect dust? Sell them to sketchy individuals on sites like Craigslist? Let's jump right in, shall we?

The Carters are your average American family partaking in your average American vacation. While on the road to Los Angeles, they stop near the Nevada desert for gas. The owner of the store, an elderly gentleman named Fred, urges them to not stray from their path and stick to the main road. Not fully heeding his advice, they swerve and crash after nearly running over a rabbit. Bob, the father of the Carters, decides to walk on foot back to Fred's for assistance while the other members are left to care for the damaged vehicle. It doesn't take long for this group to realize that something is very amiss, as strange and mortifying incidents begin to occur, including the disappearance and mutilation of one of the family pets. It's a distinct possibility that out in the wide, blazing desert, they aren't as alone as they may think they are.



It has been uttered many times since the untimely and tragic demise of Wes Craven that the man helped to reinvent the horror genre on at least three separate occasions. The most notable features in his catalog are The Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. Lost among those juggernauts, however, are some real underrated and equally noteworthy gems. I've previously reviewed flicks like The Serpent and the Rainbow for Unseen Terror, and I'll even champion some of his later works like Red Eye. While compiling this year's list, it suddenly occurred to me that I had somehow never seen his 1977 effort The Hills Have Eyes, which is held in very high regard by the horror community. So, with Arrow Video having recently re-released it on Blu-ray (more on that below), let's dive right into this story about cannibals out in the middle of the desert.


The first thing you notice about this late 70s flick is that it looks very, very dirty. Throughout its brisk running time, The Hills Have Eyes just looks scuzzy, which gives it a very uncomfortable vibe. It feels as though the people behind the camera and in the director's chair were intent on making you feel like you could potentially be watching an underground tape of innocents preparing to be attacked and eaten in the future. In a way that I'm certain wasn't coincidental, it resembles some other pictures from around the same time period such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the like. It's an ugly view of what some still perceive to be a beautiful world in the eyes of mom and pop. This is pure grindhouse and midnight movie madness, and I can imagine that this would have made for an excellent late night feature at your local cineplex back in the day.


Outside of the strange aura, Craven's effort sports a very fine cast of performers in front of the camera. Fan favorite Dee Wallace (Cujo, E.T., Critters) is instantly recognizable and even newcomers like myself shouldn't have much difficulty identifying the rather creepy Michael Berryman, whose career was kickstarted thanks to an appearance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and his portrayal here of a lunatic cannibal who is intent on just trying to help his other family members survive, no matter what kind of despicable acts he may have to commit alongside of them. As good as he is, his brethren are equally as sinister. Cannibal dad Jupiter (James Whitworth) and Berryman's brother Mars (Lance Gordon) lead many of these horrible acts, including a crucifixion and a late night assault on a trailer, in what had to be one of the most intense sequences I've seen in any Craven-directed movie. Accompanying most of the terrifying moments is a rather good score from Don Peake, whose pieces could be isolated and played outside of your complex to scare away nearly anyone. Hills is forty years old, and yet something like this could easily rival anything put out in theaters these days. There is one ray of light in the hills folks though, as youngest sibling Ruby (Janus Blythe) is constantly abused because even she can see that what constantly happens around her is wrong. The cruelty and just flat-out "meanness" of these crimes and acts can be a major turnoff for those who are just looking for their horror movies to be dumb and fun, but all one has to do is look at the plot synopsis to realize that this isn't going to be a walk in the park.


All of my praising aside, there are some very minor things to nitpick about The Hills Have Eyes. Outside of the villains, who are very charismatic and immediately memorable, I didn't find any of the main cast to be anything special. Dee Wallace is good as always, but there were often times where I felt as though some of their acting was a bit stifled. Mercifully, their numbers are thinned out after the second act, so that complaint became nearly null and void. It also does take quite a bit for things to start getting really interesting, so some of the more impatient horror fans could end up staring at their phones more than they should (*cue angrily shaking fist at damn kids these days*). And despite the fact that the final twenty minutes do emphasize that this is ultimately a battle of family v. family and that perhaps we ourselves are more monstrous than we initially thought (there is undoubtedly some hidden messages in here about the treatment of those "different" from us), the ending is kind of a wet fart. Yet after viewing the alternate one on the Blu-ray, I suppose that it is slightly more fitting.


I'm rather glad that I started off this year's marathon with The Hills Have Eyes. It's a demented little experience that's chocked full of creepy moments, memorable antagonists, and it sports one of the best middle segments that I've seen in a Craven movie to date. If you have the cash to spare, make sure to nab the previously-mentioned Blu-Ray from Arrow Video. This thing is CRAMMED with special features, including retrospective pieces, three commentary tracks, outtakes, and a great 4K restoration which gives the viewer what must have felt like the most authentic theatrical experience possible. There's also a wonderful foldout, double-sided poster and a thirty-four page booklet which discusses various aspects of the release, including its impact on the genre and how they were able to work on the transfer for this home video release. It should make a bloody great addition to your collection.



Speaking of bloody, this is also equally the best and worst advertisement for owning a German Shepherd. On one hand, they can be panicky. On the other, they can prove to be more efficient killers than anything that walks on two legs. Neat.



Tomorrow, we're venturing far away from the desert and down to the bottom of the sea! Will I find hidden treasures? Or should what lurks in the "Deep" put me out of my misery as soon as humanly possible?

Unseen Terror 2017: Day 8

A serial killer is on the loose in Los Angeles, having amassed a large body count in a surprisingly short amount of time. One detective, Lt. Don Parker, is close to discovering the individual's identity, while his foster son Jonathan has reported having strange visions and dreams which could reveal his face and whereabouts as well. When they appear to be getting closer, the killer begins to target, and even slay their loved ones. Eventually, the slasher, whose identity is revealed to be that of a deranged television repairman named Horace Pinker, is captured and sentenced to die in the electric chair. On the night of his execution, something seems to go awry. Yes, the madman doesn't go as quietly and quickly as he should, but what is more shocking is that while his physical body may cease to be, there is a possibility that he has survived and returned from beyond the grave using rather unconventional methods.



Let's not mince words here: Wes Craven, the dearly-departed and sorely missed legendary filmmaker who changed the horror game on more than a few occasions, will go down as arguably one of the top five (if not top three) directors in the genre. Hell, even some of his weaker efforts, though trashed by critics upon release, are still watchable and arguably undeserving of the thrashings that they received during their opening weekends (it can only be called an act of some greater deity that Cursed is still somewhat cohesive considering the hell that it went through). While determining which of his projects I could add to this year's marathon, I was admittedly having quite the difficult time. Then I noticed something rather unusual: I had never sat down to watch Shocker, the final film of his to be released during the 1980s. The likely result would be that either this little ditty would catch me by surprise the same way that his prior film did, or I would find it too boring for my taste like Deadly Blessing was.


Off the bat, you will notice that a large portion of Shocker's plot and overall demeanor is ripped straight from a very notable horror movie that also had Craven's name attached to it. Around this time period, the father of Freddy Krueger was not shy about speaking his mind when it came to the treatment of the Nightmare series (viewing the excellent Never Sleep Again documentary sheds more light on that). Despite writing and producing the third installment in that franchise, the signs were there that future sequels were going to become decidedly more comical, while toning down the genuine terror and uneasy feelings that came about from the initial film. It's understandable to feel that way, but while sitting through Shocker, it almost feels as though he was simultaneously making fun of New Line Cinema's practices while also succumbing to the problems that he was vocal about disliking. Because of it, Shocker's tone is all over the place. The jokes that litter most of its running time feel like leftovers from first drafts of fan-made Nightmare scripts, and the first third feels like it was aiming to be a genuinely chilling thriller with how much seriousness future X-Files standout Mitch Pileggi puts into his performance as Horace Pinker. I'd be very curious to hear about Wes Craven's writing process behind creating the script for this one.


Cast-wise everybody is actually fairly decent (keep your eye out for a Heather Langenkamp cameo), if not flat-out good considering the weird circumstances and picture that they are involved in. Peter Berg, who would go on to direct motion pictures such as Patriots Day and Hancock, makes for a sympathetic and lively protagonist, even if he is a near-carbon copy of Nancy Thompson from ANOES but with an added pair of testicles. He's a jock with a heart of gold and determination that never wanes during the entirety of Shocker, even if his sanity may begin to. I've already briefly touched on Pileggi's portrayal as our psychotic antagonist, so there isn't a great deal more than I can add to this. When he wants to be scary, the man can pull it off better than I expected him to. But when he has to go into slapstick mode, which comprises a large portion of the third act, he just isn't given the strongest of material to work with and lacks the same tongue-in-cheek charm that someone like Robert Englund naturally possesses. He's also a bit of an underwhelming murderer when it comes down to it, as his body count is significantly higher and more impressive when he was a living, breathing human being. Pinker does get a chance to partake in some amusing bits though, including taking control of a little girl and attempting to run Berg's character down with a construction vehicle. There is also an extremely silly addition to the plot of Shocker that begins before the second act kicks in and the overuse of heavy metal songs scattered throughout (Megadeth covering "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a standout), and depending on your tolerance for absurd twists and technical aspects in horror films, you may find yourself laughing far more than you should. I for one felt as if I were channeling the great Rich Evans during certain scenes.


At the end of the day, Shocker is pretty stupid. But thankfully, it's a better shade of stupid, such as when you sit down to watch pictures like The Room or Pocket Ninjas with a group of friends and bring the finest of beverages with you (be they alcoholic or non). This 1989 flick is absolutely NOT the worst thing that Wes has his name attached to, but I personally wouldn't strongly recommend that you rush out and grab a copy unless you know what you are getting into or want to see the (possibly?) uncredited inspiration for the first segment of "Treehouse of Horror IX." If you would like to take that chance, however, Shout! Factory has released a Blu-ray of the movie for a surprisingly cheap amount of money, and there have been petitions online demanding that an unrated cut be released to the general public at some point during our lifetimes.



And at this point, it's probably got a better chance for an uncensored cut to hit the stores than The Devils does.

Tomorrow, we say hello to Brad Dourif again, but this time, his problems lie in the hands of something less human and more mechanical...