Ghost in the Machine (film)
| Ghost in the Machine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rachel Talalay |
| Written by | William Davies William Osborne |
| Produced by | William Davies William Osborne Barry Sabath Paul Schiff Aron Warner |
| Starring | Karen Allen Chris Mulkey Ted Marcoux Wil Horneff Jessica Walter Brandon Quintin Adams Rick Ducommun Nancy Fish Jack Laufer |
| Edited by | Janice Hampton Erica Huggins |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | December 29, 1993 (U.S.) January 1, 1994 (1994 release) May 25, 1994 (VHS) January 17, 2006 (DVD release) |
Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | unknown |
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Ghost in the Machine (also known as Deadly Terror) is a 1993 horror/science fiction film from 20th Century Fox.
Plot
The film is about a fictional serial killer named Karl Hochman (Ted Marcoux), who is known as the "address book killer." At the beginning of the film, he is nearly killed by a head-on collision with a truck. At the emergency room he is placed in a MRI machine, when a surge, caused by an electrical storm, transfers his mind into a computer. As a network-based entity he plots to continue his killing spree, using the electrical grid, appliances, and the computer network.
He obtains the address book of Terry Munroe (Allen) and begins to go through the list to kill off her friends. (In the film she has a son, Josh, played by Wil Horneff.) Aided by computer hacker Bram Walker (Mulkey), however, they manage to fight back and defeat the killer by introducing a computer virus that traps him at a physics laboratory. Hochman is forced to escape, existing in a form similar to the holograms in the Star Trek: The Next Generation holodecks. The heroes then proceed to activate an atom smasher which appears to draw in the killer and destroy him.
Production
This film was filmed in Cleveland, Ohio in color with Dolby SR sound.
Reaction
The movie was not generally well received by most critics. Common criticisms were of some sub-par acting and a weak, implausible plot that failed to build suspense. Speaking from his couch, Dave Harrison exclaimed, "This is fucking bullshit!" as overheard by Mark Wheeler, who later declared, "I know I'm supposed to suspend disbelief while watching movies, but they're really asking me to suspend a lot."