Ghost in the Machine (1993)

Karl Hochman, a technician in a computer shop, is also "The Address-Book Killer", who obtains the names of his victims from stolen address-books. Terry Munroe and her son Josh come into the... See full summary »

Director:

Rachel Talalay

Writers:

William Davies, William Osborne

Stars:

Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey, Ted Marcoux

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karen Allen	...	Terry Munroe
Chris Mulkey	...	Bram Wlaker
Ted Marcoux	...	Karl Hopkins
Wil Horneff	...	Josh Munroe
Jessica Walter	...	Elaine Spencer
Brandon Quintin Adams	...	Frazer
Rick Ducommun	...	Phil Stewart
Nancy Fish	...	Karl's Landlord
Jack Laufer	...	Elliott Miller
Shevonne Durkin	...	Carol Maibaum
Richard McKenzie	...	Frank Mallory
Mimi Lieber	...	Marta
Mickey Gilbert	...	Mickey the Driver
Ken Thorley	...	Salesman
Carl Gabriel Yorke	...	Safety Technician

Storyline

Karl Hochman, a technician in a computer shop, is also "The Address-Book Killer", who obtains the names of his victims from stolen address-books. Terry Munroe and her son Josh come into the store to price software, and a salesman uses Terry's address-book to demonstrate a hand-held scanner. Karl obtains the file, and while driving to Terry's house that night in a heavy electrical storm, his car runs off the road and lands upside down in a cemetery. While Karl is undergoing a CAT scan at the hospital, a surge of lightning courses through the building, and Karl's mind is transformed into electrical energy. Karl uses the electrical grid and computer networks to continue his killing-spree.

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Plot Keywords:

address book | computer | hospital | burned alive | young teens | 

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Taglines:

Plug in to your worst nightmare

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for high-tech horror violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deadly Terror

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,914,692 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Approximately 40 minutes into the movie, a computer is scrolling through a list of names in a phone book, in search of its next victim. The names listed are mostly Hollywood producers. Going through the list slowly reveals Caryn Mandabach (listed as "Caryn Mandab"), Wink Martindale, Lorne Michaels (of Saturday Night Live), Bill Melendez ("Charlie Brown" specials), Neal Marlens (Growing Pains), Thomas L. Miller (Full House) and a host of others. The name the computer is searching for is Terry Munroe, which (maybe by coincidence) happens to be the birth name of actor Stepin Fetchit.

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Goofs

At Terry's ATM and on the computer address search, her last name appears as Munroe. On her son's computer info, his name is spelled as Monroe which is what the credits show.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Bram: Terry?
Terry Monroe: Yeah?
Bram: Do me a favor.
Terry Monroe: Anything.
Bram: Turn off that damn machine.
[Terry switch off the ECG monitor Bram is hooked up to]

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Connections

References The Monkees (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Electric Slice (Shall We Dance)"
Performed by Grandmaster Slice
(Additional Vocals Cheryl Clark and Juliet Walker)
Written by Grandmaster Slice and D.J. Adam T.
Courtesy of Jive Records

User Reviews

Serial Killer's Soul Invades Computer Mainframe...

I thought THE NET with Sandra Bullock was pretty over-the-top in the way her identity was so completely stolen, but it made a smashingly interesting thrill flick. However, THE NET was nothing compared to the overripe imagination of the screenwriter for THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE.

Computer tekkies will love all the computer graphics involved here in showing how a serial killer, during an MRI power surge, gets his killer soul inserted into a network of computers so that he becomes the hacker from hell. KAREN ALLEN is his main victim, since he was an employee in a store where she was looking for a computerized address book. He has designs on her the moment he sees her with her young son (WIL HORNEFF).

But she's not the only victim he seeks from her address book. Several others meet their imaginative deaths because of his stalking them through his computer wizardry (in most improbable and highly unlikely ways). But logic is the ingredient missing from the entire concept of this horror story that has fun devising various gruesome deaths for at least four or five people. CHRIS MULKEY is good as a computer wizard who helps her combat and ultimately destroy the virus which takes human form in the shape of graphic bits.

Not really as bad as it sounds but all the graphics become a bit tiresome after awhile. I thought one of the best scenes had the automatic awning on the swimming pool covering almost the entire pool in ominous fashion, until the boy decides to swim underneath it to adjust the controls. That bit of natural horror was scarier than some of the computer graphic nonsense.

Summing up: Not bad as these sort of things go. Holds the attention but demands complete suspension of logic.