Ghost in the Machine (1993)

Director:

Rachel Talalay

Writers (WGA):

William Davies (written by) &
William Osborne (written by)

Release Date:

29 December 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Plug in to your worst nightmare

Plot:

Karl, a technician in a computer shop, is also the "Address Book Killer," who obtains the names of his victims from stolen address books...

Plot Keywords:

Address Book | Computer | Hospital | Airline Employee | Magnet

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Deadly Terror

Runtime:

104 min | USA:93 min (VHS version) | Argentina:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The trailer shows the power going out at Frazier's place, but yet in the actual movie this scene never happens.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Carol (the babysitter) unbuttons her shirt for the two boys, the shot is a close up of her chest, there is then a shot of the boys screaming, then the shot reverts back to the closeup of her chest again, at which point she slams her shirt closed and the camera rolls seamlessly up to her face. However, a quick eye will notice that on the second closeup, not only have her breasts shrunk to about half the size they were in the closeup where she actually opened her shirt, but also, the style of bra she is wearing in the second shot is totally different, making clear the use of a body double.

Quotes:

Veteran Cop: [to rookie cop] Looks like your gonna have a hell of a night as your first day on the force.

Movie Connections:

Features "In Living Color" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Mind Power

I didn't want to watch it in the 90's....

... and I should have never watched it now. A bad rip off of Nightmare on Elm Street mixed with Lawnmower Man, & a bit of Shocker.

Sure, you are not supposed to ask questions like "Gee, why is the Address Book Killer such a stupid name?" or "Why don't CAT scans have surge protectors?", but it's hard not to.

I found myself at odds with even more bewildering, illogical explanations. Such as how a serial killer suddenly has control of every single electrical appliance and mechanism. Look, I'm not the one to judge intelligence when it comes to sci-fi or any "good" movie that requires a stretch of the imagination. But had the movie moved out of the realm of a typical hospital CAT scan, and more into a mad scientist lab...

I cared so little for the characters, with the exception of Karen Allen's. Her son is a brat, so what if he dies? The bad guy is so... meh. Typical & boring. Special FX's are laughable, even by it's time of release. Compared to computer sfx extravaganza Jurassic Park, which released the same year, GITM showed it's low budget like strings holding a UFO. Like many 80's movies, it tried to reach out to a new "computer horror" genre, but this movie was from the 90's. Too late.