32 Terrifying Computers That Turn Evil In Movies And TV Shows

32 Terrifying Computers That Turn Evil In Movies And TV Shows

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles

With the dawn of widespread AI, it only makes sense that I make this list about evil computers (or other types of technology) in movies and TV. There are a ton to choose from, of course. Sometimes it’s their creators that make them go rogue, other times the computers or software itself turns itself to the dark side. No matter why they go bad, this is a list of computers that are the ultimate villains in your favorite movies and TV shows.

Skynet (Terminator Franchise)

No list like this would be anywhere close to complete without the ultimate example of a computer system going pure evil, than Skynet in the Terminator franchise. “Skynet” has become a synonym for computers that become self-aware and is often used in everyday life to represent everything from surveillance systems to spyware.

best movies of the ’80s, WarGames, it just wanted to play a game. Still, at the end of the day, Joshua did take over the WOPR and threatened to destroy the globe with a nuclear war that it almost launched. On the flip side, the program does learn that there is no way to win at tic-tac-toe, nor can anyone triumph in nuclear war.

great video game scenes, it’s really the business side of the computer that gets into all the trouble.

Marvel movies have gotten in on the fun here with one of The Avengers’ most sinister villains, Ultron. Voiced by James Spader, Ultron was originally conceived by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr), but the program becomes sentient and uses its own logic to decide humanity must be wiped out. The plot of Avengers: Age of Ultron isn’t all that unique in fiction, and it’s not my favorite MCU movie, but it is still a lot of fun.

Stephen King movie actually directed by the famous author, it’s all machines that turn against humanity. Computers don’t play a huge role here, as it was the ’80s. Most of the evil machines are trucks and other mechanical machines, but it’s safe to assume the computers went rogue, too, right?

ranking Superman movies, it’ll always be at or near the bottom. BUT, it does feature a computer that turns on its creator, placing it firmly on this list.

Mission: Impossible movies. At the time, I said that to enjoy the movies, you kind of just have to let all reality go, and that’s especially true of The Entity. It fits on this list, but let’s be real, everyone just wants to see Tom Cruise do crazy stunts.

a Netflix original, is the most light-hearted, but as the title implies, audiences are still treated to an epic battle of man vs. machine. The all-star cast, including Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Eric Andre, Fred Armisen, and more, really carry the movie, even if you’re like me and don’t love animated movies.

The Matrix franchise. It’s Skynet on steroids, or, if you like, what Skynet in the Terminator franchise could evolve into.

David Hasselhoff) drove in the show for years. It was also like the Bizarro version of KITT that popped up in Season 3 of Knight Rider as an antagonist to Michael and KITT in the legendary ’80s show with one of the coolest cars ever.

Alex Garland-directed film Ex Machina is a perfect example. Ava (Alicia Vikander) is an AI-powered robot who realizes she is in danger and does what she has to do to escape her creator. Though it is easy to argue that she goes way too far by the end.

Julianne Moore), and for a while, we’re not even aware that “she” is a computer program. It’s a fun twist and a really fun movie, despite the incredibly low rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Will Smith sci-fi hit I, Robot, V.I.K.I (short for Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) goes through a pretty predictable plot of an AI system that decides the best way to protect humans is to take them out. This, of course, turns into all-out war between man and machine, like so many other movies in this genre.

WALL-E. In the classic animated flick, AUTO, which is clearly an homage to HAL, is the computer that turns evil.

James Caan’s best movies, but it’s not the first one you might think of when you think of the late actor. The 1975 sci-fi classic features a computer called “Zero” that holds all the knowledge of humanity, but the software fails and can’t help Caan’s character succeed.

from being invented, smart home tech, to turn against its owners. It’s a movie, based on a Ray Bradbury story, that warned us all the way back in the ’60s of the dangers of virtual reality.

STEM (Upgrade)

2018’s Upgrade is a really great movie that too many people haven’t seen (yet). The story involves a regular guy who, after a tragic car crash, ends up a quadriplegic. He agrees to have an implant, called STEM, implanted in his brain. Of course, the miracle he first experiences by regaining control of his body, things go very wrong with the tech, and everything goes south from there.

I’m So Obsessed With Ana De Armas Assembling A Gun In 14 Seconds In Ballerina, And This BTS Footage Confirms The Stunt Was Done Practically

I’m So Obsessed With Ana De Armas Assembling A Gun In 14 Seconds In Ballerina, And This BTS Footage Confirms The Stunt Was Done Practically

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles

As talk continues about whether or not John Wick: Chapter 5 will happen (for the sake of Keanu Reeves’ body, maybe it shouldn’t), let’s not forget about the heroine who debuted in the franchise earlier this year. Ana de Armas starred in the 2025 movie release Ballerina as Eve Macarro, who went on her own mission of revenge, just like Mr. Wick. I enjoyed watching Ballerina, including that moment where de Armas assembled a gun in 14 seconds, and am now even more impressed to see the stunt was indeed done practically.

In a video making the rounds that was originally shared by @cinema.encyclopedia, we see Ana de Armas successfully putting together a gun opposite one of the stunt team’s members. It was important for her to do it as quickly as possible for one of Ballerina’s key scenes, and just look at the joy on her face when she made it happen.

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By completing that final task, Eve became the Kikimora and carried out various missions for the Ruska Roma. However, it wasn’t long before she left the group to pursue exacting vengeance on The Cult, which was responsible for the death of her father when she was a child. While she succeeded in killing The Cult’s leader, known only as The Chancellor, and many of its members, the survivors put a $5 million bounty on her head, forcing her to seek refuge at the New York Continental.

Immediately after seeing Ballerina, I wondered how the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 affected Eve’s current status quo. More importantly though, will we reunite with her in a Ballerina sequel? Although the John Wick spinoff earned positive critical reception, it had a disappointing box office return of just $137.2 million worldwide off a reported $90 million budget. Still, I hope Lionsgate does decide to bring Ana de Armas back to reprise Eve, whether that’s in another solo movie or as a supporting character elsewhere, like Donnie Yen’s Caine spinoff. She’s too good a character to never use again.

Along with being available for digital and physical purchase, Ballerina can now be streamed on Starz, which you can add on to your Hulu subscription. You can also sign up for a Peacock subscription to watch all four of the main John Wick movies and the prequel TV series The Continental.

V/H/S/Halloween Review: This Franchise-Best Sequel Puts The Fun Back In Found-Footage Horror

V/H/S/Halloween Review: This Franchise-Best Sequel Puts The Fun Back In Found-Footage Horror

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles

One of the most widely understood fixtures of horror fandom is that the more sequels a franchise has, the greater the chances are for diminishing returns with each film. Amityville Horror and Texas Chain Saw Massacre fans are all too aware of it, though rare exceptions can and do exist. (See: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Saw X, the Scream requels.) As such, it’s not even a candid confession to say I had minimal confidence the V/H/S anthology could still possibly deliver a “series-best” entry at this point in the run.

It turns out my expectations are worthy of being toilet-papered and pelted with rotten eggs, because V/H/S/Halloween is not only the best V/H/S film yet, but it’s also one of the most fun horror anthologies of the modern era. Rather than focusing on a specific year, similar to several past entries, producers Josh Goldblum and Brad Miska instead organically leaned into the most apropos holiday possible for found-footage, and the result is all treats, zero tricks.

Diet Phantasma – Directed By Bryan M. Ferguson

Marlon Wayans’ spooky family comedy The Curse of Bridge Hollow, and I dare say, it’s more worthy of viewers’ time. The segment centers on a home haunt whose freaky props and attractions come to live due to a cursed LP. It’s the latest from married co-directors Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman, who helmed the acclaimed 2021 short Grummy with teen scream queen Violet McGraw.

Despite still boasting plenty of the usual nitpicks that one can make about V/H/S movies (and horror anthologies in general) (an overlong runtime, largely forgettable characters, simplistic storytelling, nausea-inducing camerawork),V/H/S/Halloween is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. And there are lots of parts strewn about – believe me. It may not be the most cohesive horror movie you’ll see in 2025, but it’s absolutely worth the price of a month of Shudder.

I Rewatched Hancock And Here’s Why It’s Better Than It’s Given Credit For

I Rewatched Hancock And Here’s Why It’s Better Than It’s Given Credit For

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles

It’s interesting to think about Will Smith’s career both pre “the slap,” and post-the slap. Pre-the slap, a movie like Hancock seemed a little odd and against type for the actor. Will Smith as a reckless, maligned superhero? That’s not the Will Smith I know. The farthest I could give you for a profane Will Smith was the Bad Boys movies.

However, post-the slap, Hancock feels a lot different now. And, in many ways, better. Because that was the thing about Hancock – it didn’t quite feel right when it debuted back in 2008. Smith had a much cleaner image back then, and it almost felt like it didn’t fit him as an actor. Now, it almost feels on-brand.

But, there’s more to it than just that, and a number of reasons why I think Hancock is a lot better than people give it credit for. Here are those reasons.

(for obvious reasons). In fact, in a scene where Hancock literally destroys a train, everybody around him is yelling at him, telling him what he should have done rather than what he did do. Sound familiar?

I’d be lying if Hancock didn’t feel like a totally different movie now in 2025, but it does. And, the thing is, even back in 2008, Will Smith was still really good in the role. Hancock is an amnesiac, and a tortured one at that. He feigns that he doesn’t care that everybody hates him, but you can tell that he wears sunglasses not just because the light hurts his eyes from an all-night bender, but because he doesn’t want people to see how pained he is.

And, this becomes evident once Hancock decides to use his powers for good. Because Hancock is a tale of two Wills–one who does bad, and one who wants to do better. Again, it does kind of feel like this movie was quite prescient in regards to his later career.

Charlize Theron) is actually Hancock’s ex-wife, and that she has superpowers, too. Not only that, but the closer they are together, the weaker they become, which means that they could die if they were to pair up again. And, yeah…that is kind of weird. That said, it’s not so bad when you actually know it’s coming.

Now look, I’m not going to say that this is one of the best plot twists I’ve ever seen. Nor will I say it’s one of the worst (though some might disagree). That said, when you know it’s coming, you can brace for it, and it really isn’t the worst in the world. What I will say is that it does drastically change the movie from something that was pretty cool, to something that is…different.

more like Dr. Manhattan than the Man of Steel, what with his nihilistic viewpoints on existence. But once we learn that Mary is also superpowered, the battles become pretty cool.

Characters are thrown through walls, knocked onto roads, and lightning and tornadoes become a part of the fights. And, I understand why some people hate this. The tonal shift is really abrupt, and if you only watched the movie once, then you’ll likely only remember it for that screeching halt of the plot and the pivot into a totally different direction.

Even so, now that I know it’s coming, I kind of relish the big action set pieces and the way the story flows. Honestly, if you think of the film as two separate halves, it’s actually pretty interesting. Watch it again if you don’t believe me.

Jason Bateman at different times in his career. If you’re old (like me), then you might have first seen him on the show Silver Spoons, or perhaps in the movie Teen Wolf Too. If you’re a bit younger, your introduction to him might have been Arrested Development or Horrible Bosses.

Or, maybe you’re just getting to know him as “Bateman” in the State Farm commercials. Whatever your introduction to Bateman is (Unless it’s Ozark), you most likely see him as a kind, down-to-earth man who is sometimes a little absent-minded. Which is why he’s so good in Hancock.

That’s because nobody plays the everyman like Bateman. And, as the man who tries to clean up Hancock’s image, pushing him toward heroism, he often steals the film.

Because as much as we want Hancock to succeed, we really want Bateman’s character, Ray Embry, to succeed. He’s a PR consultant, and he never seems to get down or upset in the film. He also makes everything seem to make sense in the plot, even when superpowered beings are duking it out in the middle of the city. Honestly, if not for Bateman, I think a lot of this film would fall apart, as he’s the connective glue that holds it all together. And, he does it all with a smile.

three out of the four Men in Black movies, but Hancock definitely feels like the Will Smith superhero film, which is strange, given how you’d think he would have done a lot more in his lengthy career.

Even so, Hancock is pretty cool, and I implore you to watch it again. You’ll probably like it this time around.

Emily Blunt Reveals The Sweet Way Dick Van Dyke Made ‘Everyone’ (Including Colin Firth) Cry On The Mary Poppins Returns Set

Emily Blunt Reveals The Sweet Way Dick Van Dyke Made ‘Everyone’ (Including Colin Firth) Cry On The Mary Poppins Returns Set

by | Sep 30, 2025 | Articles, Cinemablend Articles

Director Rob Marshall’s Mary Poppins Returns is a movie with a whole lot of whimsy and heart, featuring some great music and performances, but when I think back on the 2018 film, my brain immediately goes the brief role played by Dick Van Dyke. Having previously played Bert the chimney sweep and Mr. Dawes Sr. in the original Mary Poppins, the actor’s appearance in the film is delightful in and of itself – but it’s what he ends up doing in his turn that makes it one of the best cameos in recent memories, and it apparently had all of his castmates on set in tears.

Emily Blunt is currently doing the press circuit promoting her new 2025 movie The Smashing Machine with Dwayne Johnson, but she took a quick trip down memory lane recently during a recent interview with People. The actress looked back on her experience playing the role originally made famous by Julie Andrews, and her standout memory from the making of the movie was watching the then-93-year-old Dick Van Dyke perform a dance number (which reduced everyone to tears). Said Blunt,

read about the making of the movie and read about how he was able to pull of the choreography all by himself. It’s remarkable, and it’s wholly unsurprising that it got everyone on set to start crying.

Colin Firth was emotionally moved by the moment. Emily Blunt added:

In Mary Poppins Returns, Dick Van Dyke makes a special appearance as Mr. Dawes Jr. – and he is technically portraying his own son given that he played Mr. Dawes Sr. in Mary Poppins. He ends up saving the day, as he makes the decision to dismiss Colin Firth’s William Wilkins for corrupt practices and the Banks family saves their house.

If it’s been a minute since you last had the experience of watching Mary Poppins Returns – also featuring the lovely talents of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters and Meryl Streep – the film is currently available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.