Killer robots in film – in pictures

Metropolis, 1927
In Fritz Lang's German expressionist sci-fi epic, a robot is created as the double of the film's heroine, Maria. The robot spurs the inhabitants of the city to murder and destruction

Ronald Grant Archive

2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
In Stanley Kubrick's film, HAL 9000 controls the spacecraft Discovery One, which is bound for Jupiter. The crew suspect HAL of making a mistake and secretly talk about disconnection. HAL lip-reads their conversation and then kills most of the crew in an attempt to survive: 'I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that'

Ronald Grant Archive

Westworld, 1973
'Have we got a vacation for you!' In Michael Crichton's future amusement park, the robots malfunction. Yul Brynner's Gunslinger is the coldest human-killer of all

MGM/Allstar

The Stepford Wives, 1975
If you an independently minded female and move to the Connecticut suburb of Stepford, beware. You will be murdered by your robot double

Alamy

Logan's Run, 1976
In 2274, when you hit 30 years of age, you are vaporised. Michael York and Jenny Agutter take umbrage and become fugitives, known as Runners. They come across the robot Box in an ice cave. He likes to capture and freeze Runners for all eternity

Everett Collection/Rex Features

Demon Seed, 1977
Computer Proteus IV has artificial intelligence. Proteus wants to procreate with Julie Christie's Susan. It threatens to kill a child; she complies. It doesn't end well

MGM/Allstar

Alien, 1979
Ian Holm played science officer Ash in Ridley Scott's movie. He wasn't helping the crew of the Nostromo. He was, in fact, a Hyperdyne Systems android intent only on bringing back an alien alive, even if the crew had to die

Corbis

Blade Runner, 1982
Replicants, Tyrell Corporation Nexus-6 synthetic humanoids, only have a four-year life span. A gang led by Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty return to Earth looking for answers. Here Batty confronts his 'maker', Dr Eldon Tyrell, prior to killing him in a powerful scene

Ronald Grant Archive

The Terminator, 1984
Man creates artificial defence computer system Skynet. Skynet self-develops and thinks autonomously. Skynet creates Terminators. Terminators kill humans. We have been warned

MGM/Allstar

Hardware, 1990
Based on a short story from 2000AD, this post-apocalypse-set movie about a self-regenerating, murderous M.A.R.K. 13 cyborg was shot in Camden's famous Roundhouse and featured Iggy Pop as one Angry Bob

Ronald Grant Archive

Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave, 1995
Wallace's love interest Wendolene Ramsbottom is the daughter of a late inventor and owns a dog called Preston. Trouble is, Preston is an evil robot dog who wants to feed everyone into a giant Knit-o-Matic machine – alive

Aardman/Allstar

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, 1997
There are two fembot costumes in Austin Powers, the metallic silver bra that shoots bullets at the guards, and the pink nightie that sprays sleeping gas. Austin is only able to defeat them by 'outsexing' them

PR

The Matrix Reloaded, 2003
The Sentinels that feature throughout the trilogy are autonomous killing machines that patrol the ancient sewers of the dead human cities

Warner Bros/Allstar

I, Robot, 2004
It's 2020 and United States Robotics have a supercomputer Viki (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence). Viki has been gaining intelligence and interprets Isaac Asimov's first law of robotics (a robot must never harm a human being or, through inaction, allow any human to come to harm) as meaning she must kill humans, including Will Smith's Detective Spooner, to save them from themselves. She employs the NS-5 bots, pictured

20 Century Fox/Allstar

Moon, 2009
In Duncan Jones's brilliant sci-fi film, another seemingly benign space-station controlling AI computer, Gerty, complete with smiley emoticons, turns out to be a sinister clone-controlling minion of the evil Lunar Industries corporation

PR

Abe, 2013
'Are you comfortable?' This cracking seven-minute film about a robot serial killer looking for love, written and directed by Rob McLellan, is rumoured to be being picked up by a major. Hunt down the original online

PR