Animation Review: Love, Death + Robots (Volume 4)

Very Average Joe
Sep 9
6 min read

Title: Love, Death & Robots – Volume 4

Director(s): Various

Screenwriter(s): Various

Studio: Various

Released: 2025

Volume 4 Runtime: 10 episodes, ~6m–16m each.

As with the previous volumes, the anthology contains films produced by various studios from around the world. Each episode is based on at least one of the titular themes of “love”, “death” or “robots”.

The titles that are in bold and with screenshots are, in my opinion, the better episodes, taking into account the storytelling as well as the visuals. It does not mean they are great, just that they are arguably better on balance.

Just like the previous three volumes, there are hits and misses. Volume 4 contains ten episodes and these are generally better than Volume 1 as they don’t try as hard to be edgy just for the sake of it.

As expected, the rendering and animation have improved. But, overall, most of this volume is mediocre.

Please note that the order below is of the original release which has since changed.

●

“Can’t Stop” (6m) – Director: David Fincher, Studio: Blur Studio

Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at a concert in which everyone is a marionette. It looks good, but it’s pointless unless you’re a fan of the band and/or the song.

●

“Close Encounters of the Mini Kind” (6m) – Director: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon, Screenwriter: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon, Studio: Buck

Earthlings’ overreaction to an alien first contact which in turn triggers an invasion that leads to further retaliation and so on.

It is a sped-up montage piece with no dialogue, the same style as seen in “Night of the Mini Dead” in Volume 3 with miniature models and shallow depth of field. The plotting in this one is better as the conflict and escalation are not one-sided.

●

“Spider Rose” (16m) – Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Screenwriter: Joe Abercrombie, Story: Bruce Sterling, Studio: Blur Studio

Lydia is a cybernatically augmented woman, the “lost everything and now lives alone in space” trope. An alien buyer, the same pleasant race that likes to do business in “Swarm” of Volume 3, offers to purchase her rare find for which she demands a WMD to exact her revenge. Instead, the alien buyer leaves her a cute pet for a trial period.

The setting and premise are obviously inspired by the anime “Magnetic Rose”, the first part of the anthology Memories (1995), and a particular episode of Star Trek: TNG even though the plot is quite different to both.

It goes for the photorealistic look which is mostly well done. The tone is dark and gritty.

The pacing is steady. The final act is arguably a little too fast, but it is a short film. It still has enough movement and the overall piece feels complete.

●

“400 Boys” (14m) – Director: Robert Valley, Screenwriter: Tim Miller, Story: Marc Laidlaw, Studio: Passion Animation Studios

Five guys with some sort of telekinetic abilities talk of some mysterious giants taking over their territory. In what is a stereotypical post-apocalyptic urban landscape, they try to get together with other gangs to deal with the problem.

The mystery is intriguing although once the giants are shown, one wonders what theme the imagery is intended to suggest… The pacing is not bad even if the story turns out to be pretentious.

Done in a similar visual style to “Zima Blue” in Volume 1 and “Ice” in Volume 2, the posterization is different from the other works of the series. The layering suggests paper craft with standard CG nicely blended in. Overall, it looks good for what it is intended to be.

●

“The Other Large Thing” (8m) – Director: Patrick Osborne, Screenwriter: John Scalzi, Story: John Scalzi, Studio: AGBO

This is the prequel to “Three Robots” in Volume 1 and the plot follows Sanchez, a dissatisfied domestic cat that desires world domination. He is able to initiate his plan when his hated owners bring home a domestic droid with whom he forms an alliance.

The cat is stereotypical but amusing to anyone who appreciates that side of a cat’s character. Unlike “Three Robots”, there is actually a plot and it is well-paced. It could use a longer concluding act, which would make the story fuller.

Both interior and exterior environments are rendered nicely. The cat and robot are both done very well in their design and motion. The human characters are deliberately caricatures but this fits the theme and is not jarring.

●

“Golgotha” (9m) – Director: Tim Miller, Screenwriter: Joe Abercrombie, Story: Dave Hutchinson, Studio: Luma Pictures

A marine alien race known as the Lupo recently arrived in orbit. They were initially silent but have demanded to speak to local priest Father Maguire who witnessed the supposed resurrection of “Blackfin”. Maguire is a bit of a bumbling priest, the “fish out of water” trope.

It is in essence a joke with dry British humor, even mildly black. In this regard, it is enjoyable even though it lacks a substantial plot. It could use one more moment of conflict between the two main characters; for example, a few lines of dialogue that suggest an attempt to negotiate.

The photorealistic CGI is excellent. It is a shame the piece is not a little longer.

●

“The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur” (14m) – Director: Tim Miller, Screenwriter: Tim Miller, Story: Stant Litore, Studio: Blur Studio

A small group of gladiator slaves run a race with dinosaurs on a ring space station as part of the ritual celebration of the wedding between two aristocrats.

It’s not a bad premise, blending ancient Rome into sci-fi. However, it tries too hard to be edgy with nearly naked gladiators, an Asian female as lead with a black female lover and the theme of class struggle that is in-your-face.

The photorealistic rendering, and the dinosaurs in particular, look good but it does not make up for the story that tries too hard.

●

“How Zeke Got Religion” (14m) – Director: Diego Porral, Screenwriter: J.T. Petty, Story: John McNichol, Studio: Titmouse

During WWII, a US heavy bomber is sent alone into France for a special mission: to bomb a church. Whilst a few of the crew are Christians, Zeke is a rebellious unbeliever… but this mission might change his mind.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not woke or anti-religious. If anything, it recognizes the significance of the spiritual realm, albeit in a superficially dramatic manner. There is a good reason for the mission. The premise is presumably inspired by the likes of Shadow in the Cloud (2020) but is more in-your-face with the brutal action and less hide-and-seek.

It is done in a gritty comic-book style with some posterization. One either likes it or not, but it looks very good for what it is intended to be. For a short action-horror piece, it is paced nicely with a satisfying conclusion.

●

“Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” (6m) – Director: Patrick Osborne, Screenwriter: John Scalzi, Story: John Scalzi, Studio: Aaron Sims Creative

Done in the style of claymation, random smart appliances speak of their experiences with their human owners. It has no plot and it’s not even funny. It tries but fails.

Whilst it looks good, there is no action as it is done in interview format in which the subject is stationary (even if they can move) and speaks directly to the camera. So, not only does it not have plot movement, it has no physical movement either.

This could easily be mitigated if the monologues gradually reveal something about a person or group of persons; for example, the appliances are all part of one household and they tell a story about their owner or, to take a subtler approach, they live in different households of the same neighborhood and their monologues reveal something about the neighborhood or one particular resident.

●

“For He Can Creep” (13m) – Director: Emily Dean, Screenwriter: Tamsyn Muir, Story: Siobhan Carroll, Studio: Polygon Pictures

Set in 1757, the plot follows Jeoffry, a cat in St Luke’s Asylum who protects a poet. One night, the devil appears to make a deal with Jeoffry, that he be allowed to recruit the poet to write a poem that could destroy the world.

It’s an interesting enough premise that gets one’s attention. It could use one more scene as the structure comes across as two acts rather than three, lacking a substantial mid-point struggle. Jeoffry simply finds a solution and then executes it. But still, for a piece of this length, the pacing is managed well enough even if the structure is a little odd.

The orchestral score helps make the work feel bigger than it is, whilst the comic-book and 3D are nicely blended and look excellent.