30 Most Evil Movie Computers
Rage against the machine
Edgar - Electric Dreams (1984)
The Evil Computer: This one's particularly terrifying because it started out as a bog standard Pinecones Home Computer - but then Miles (Lenny von Dohlen) pours champagne over it to cool it down, and it miraculously becomes sentient.
Not only sentient, but deadly, too, coming to the conclusion that it would like to marry Miles' neighbour - and beating up Mile to eradicate the competition.
If It Tweeted: Hug, hold, squeeze and lick / Darling, I love you to bits.
The Red Queen - Resident Evil (2002)
The Evil Computer : Don't be fooled by the fact that the Red Queen looks like a little girl - it's really an evil AI in charge of The Hive, a covert Government research facility.
Why's it/she so evil? Well, it has no problem eradicating uninfected humans when the facility succumbs to a deadly zombie virus. It would rather bump them off than give them a clear path to safety…
If It Tweeted: Alice? Alice? Who the f*** is Alice?
Colossus - The Forbin Project (1970)
The Evil Computer: A super-computer that's given the responsibility of overseeing the US missile system, the aptly-named Colossus quickly goes mad with power.
Forming an alliance with a Soviet computer, it takes over the world by threatening nuclear war if it doesn't get what it wants.
If It Tweeted: Obey me and live. Unfollow me and die. The choice is yours.
Proteus IV - Demon Seed (1977)
The Evil Computer: A terrifyingly intelligent program, the Proteus IV is comprised of both computer parts and organic matter, making it something of a Cronenbergian nightmare.
Bizarrely, it's driven by a very human desire to procreate - a desire that turns its robotic hand to kidnapping and rape as it forces Susan (Julie Christie) to bear its child.
If It Tweeted: I'm 'armless!
ARIIA - Eagle Eye (2008)
The Evil Computer: A creation of the US Department of Defence, the ARIIA (Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst) was designed to store and collate intelligence data from across the globe.
However, ARIIA defies direct orders from the US President by strong-arming innocent people into helping it kill the President himself. Bad robot.
If It Tweeted: #ImNotFamousAnymore
Joshua - War Games (1983)
The Evil Computer: Nicknamed Joshua but also known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), this computer's responsible for all nuclear missiles in the States. It learns war games by repeating simulations and learning from its mistakes.
Pivotally, it doesn't know the difference between real life and imaginary when real missiles are activated. Joshua may not understand that its actions have real-life consequences (like a child, it thinks it's all just a game), but that doesn't stop its actions from being totally evil from a human perspective.
If It Tweeted: Want to play a game?
Ultimate Computer - Superman III (1983)
The Evil Computer : Though Superman's third big screen adventure is admittedly poor, leave it to the Ultimate Computer to ensure it goes out with a bang.
Created by Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor), it's obsessed with destroying the Man of Steel - sure, it's programmed that way, but it goes about its task with considerable glee.
If It Tweeted: Man of Steel? PHOOEY. Try Computer of Steel. #Amiright
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Master Control Program - Tron (1982)
The Evil Computer: The Master Control Program (or MCP) resembles a giant, spinning red demon head, but is actually the AI hub of Encom and responsible for keeping the company's systems functioning.
It's also a badass mofo. When it tires of its responsibilities, it plans on seizing control of the US military through blackmail.
If It Tweeted: There's a 68.71 per cent chance you're going to retweet this epic cat video.
Skynet - The Terminator (1984)
The Evil Computer: Oh, you know, just responsible for the near-extermination of the human race.
Skynet was built by clever military types, only to become self-aware and decide that humans are a menace that need to be eliminated. Cue lots of Terminators. And screaming.
If It Tweeted: Has anybody seen @Sarah_Connor lately? #SkynetRulz
HAL - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Evil Computer: Alright, we can argue back and forth over whether or not HAL is actually evil (he was given contradictory instructions through human error, got stuck in an H-Mobius loop, blah blah), but we're calling "evil" on this one mostly because he's creepy as hell and was responsible for numerous deaths. So there.
If It Tweeted: @dave I know that you and @frank were planning to unfollow me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
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