After her father passed away, Susan Williamson (Sadie Katz) took over running the family’s insulation company, but the business is in danger of going under. Six months ago, she enlisted the aid of former college classmate Alan Han (Parry Shen) of Automative Solutions, to help modernize things, bringing in robot Auto (voice Jim Tasker) to work in the warehouse. While some of the employees tease and make fun of Auto, calling him “tin can”, aspiring singer/contract employee Jenny Hanniver (Elissa Dowling), has always been nice to him. She and Auto have come to be really good friends. She treats him like just another co-worker, and Auto’s AI learning abilities have caused him to form a bit of a crush on Jenny.
Auto has proved to be a huge success for the company, increasing productivity by 200%. So now Susan plans to deploy phase 2 of the Automated Worker program, going fully-automated and replacing 90% of the company’s employees with the next generation of robots, bringing the headcount from 120 down to just 12 employees. This obviously doesn’t go down well with the workers, who are told they will need to train the new robots for the next month before being let go if they want their severance packages. Employee Devin (Graham Skipper) takes it really hard, and even attacks Auto, causing some damage that allows some of his previous programming to resurface. Auto was originally designed to be a military weapon, and now he has gone into self-preservation mode. Once he learns that Susan and Alan plan to decommission him, he starts to go on a deadly rampage, not only protecting himself from being shut down, but also protecting his friend Jenny from getting hurt. Locked in the office with this killer robot, can Jenny and her coworkers find a way to stop the misguided Auto, who doesn’t realize that he’s doing anything wrong?!
Automation could have been more of an AI slasher movie, like the Child’s Play reboot that was also released in 2019, but it goes for more of a fun, comedic and satirical tone. Not only are the employees dealing with their jobs going to robots, but so is another robot. There are also many elements of a workplace comedy thrown in—though it’s a good thing many of these folks have already been fired, because some of the things they do/say to their coworkers would have HR fuming! While this is a lower budget indie film, it is still very well done—at the core, is a really well thought out and interesting story. We see a robot that was designed to learn from humans and adapt, and he does this to such a degree that he starts to take on human feelings and emotions. But for all those advancements, Auto doesn’t really understand right from wrong, and in his quest to please Jenny, he actually does some horrific things. But even the killing has a bit of a lighter tone. Early on, Auto walks in on Jenny editing her music video and she asks him as her friend to “keep it on the down low” since she was using the company’s time and resources for something personal. So later on, when Jenny finds the body of one of her coworkers, Auto innocently asks her to be a friend and keep it on the down low, not realizing that this wasn’t quite the same situation.
This is the first film by writer/director Garo Setian—we previously reviewed his other movie, Space Wars: The Quest For The Deepstar. It has a similar tone, mixing in action and humor for a fun ride. The cast may not be as well-seasoned as the big Hollywood stars—some of the line reading feels a bit straightforward at times—but the film is still quite entertaining, mixing in a lot of humor with the more dramatic arc for Auto. The Auto voice performance really makes that character come to life and gives him personality—you find yourself caring about this robot, despite his misguided and deadly attempts at friendship, and his story ultimately builds to a touching conclusion.
We were sent a copy of the Blu-ray release for review. The picture quality is very good, with a clean, detailed picture throughout. While this is a lower budget film, the effects are still very well done, and blend in naturally. The audio track is a bit staticky and soft near the beginning of the film, but either I got used to it, or the issue went away as the film went along. Either way, it never became something that it detracted from my overall enjoyment of the movie.
The Blu-ray release comes loaded with hours of entertaining bonus material, including two audio commentaries, some deleted/alternate scenes, a blooper reel, an extensive behind-the-scenes featurette, many interviews with the cast/crew, and the film’s trailer. The disc is placed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include a slipcover. There is also no digital copy included, but it is available for digital purchase, and streaming.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:31:40)
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Blu-ray:
- 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Stereo
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras:
- Featurettes
- Deleted Scenes (3:48)
Three deleted scenes play back-to-back—“Doughnuts and Bagels”, “Linda and Rick”, and “The Cooling Gel”. In the optional commentary, writer/producer/director/editor Garo Setian and writer Rolfe Kanefsky discuss the scenes and why they didn’t make it into the movie. - Alternate Takes (2:35)
Four alternate scenes play back-to-back—“Standoff”, “Leaving Beastie Burger”, “The Christmas Party”, and “Aerial Combat”. In the optional commentary, writer/producer/director/editor Garo Setian and producer/actress Anahit Setian (“Marci”) discuss the scenes and why they didn’t make it into the movie. - Bloopers (5:35)
Fun with the cast as they flub and forget lines, constantly drop the F bomb, and have fun on set. - Behind the Scenes Featurette (29:06)
Extensive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. The participants talk about how they got involved with the project, making their first film, how aspects of Elissa Dowling’s life were integrated into her character, the robot suit, working with Auto, the challenges of making an indie film, the story, their own thoughts on technology, what they hope the audience takes away from the film, and more. Includes interviews and footage with producer/writer/director Garo Setian, producer/actress Anahit Setian, star Elissa Dowling (“Jenny”), producer Esther Goodstein, actor Jeff J. Knight (“Auto”), producer/creator of “Auto” Ted Smith, associate producer/actress Sadie Katz (“Susan”), actor Graham Skipper (“Devin”), first assistant director Joshua Lou Friedman, associate producer Andrew Brown, director of photography Michael Su, producer/music supervisor Allen Copeland, producer Robert Parigi, and producer Dan Bowen. - Writing the Screenplay (12:29)
Producer/writer/director Garo Setian, writer Rolfe Kanefsky and writer/stunts Matthew L. Schaffer discuss the process of writing Automation, the evolution of the story, adding action, editing the movie and writing pickup scenes, and more. - Building Auto with Evil Ted (9:13)
Producer Ted Smith, who makes videos and tutorials about making costumes and props, provides and introduction to footage of what went into creating the Auto costume. - Auto’s Voice (11:16)
Hunter Setian, son of Garo Setian, interviews voiceover artist Jim Tasker about how he got involved with the film, how he came up with the voice for Auto, how the voice changes over the course of the film, how he first got into voiceover, working with Don LaFontaine, doing trailers for Garo Setian, his recording process, his reaction to seeing the finished film, and more.
- Deleted Scenes (3:48)
- Interviews
Additional interviews with the cast/crew, who discuss their work in the film, which had limited time and budget. Select from:- Garo Setian – Producer/Writer/Director (9:17)
- Anahit Setian – Producer/“Marci” (15:42)
- Ted Smith – Producer/Creator of “Auto” (16:22)
- Esther Goodstein – Producer (6:09)
- Sarah French – “Linda” (7:30)
- Rolfe Kanefsky – Writer (4:37)
- Matthew L. Schaffer – Writer (9:00)
- Joel Christian Goffin – Composer (6:29)
- Automation Trailer (1:52)
- Commentaries
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Two entertaining and informative commentaries with the filmmakers, who discuss the process of creating the film, and share lots of fun behind-the-scenes stories about the production. The first commentary primarily focuses on the story aspect. Select from:
- Producer/Writer/Director Garo Setian and Writer Rolfe Kanefsky (1:31:40)
- Producer/Writer/Director Garo Setian, Producer Anahit Setian, and Producer Dan Bowen (1:31:40)
Final Thoughts:
Must Own for Fans
Automation may be a low budget indie film, but it is a thoroughly entertaining watch. The script is really well-written and thought-provoking while also having a lot of fun and action. What could have been a darker slasher movie about a robot gone evil becomes a humor-filled office comedy/satire with a body count. The Blu-ray release features a solid presentation and comes loaded with bonus material, making it a must own for fans of the movie. If you want to check out the film first, it’s currently streaming on several free services such as Tubi. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Automation
$18.29 (as of April 27, 2024 14:43 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Automation
$0.99 (as of April 27, 2024 14:43 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
