Ghost from the Machine (2010)
"Phasma Ex Machina" (original title)

After his parents are killed in a car accident, Cody is left dealing with enormous guilt, caring for his younger brother and the persistent thought of how to bring his parents back to life.... See full summary »

Director:

Matt Osterman

Writer:

Matt Osterman

Stars:

Sasha Andreev, Michelle Bergh, Lynette Biunno

Cast

Credited cast:
Sasha Andreev	...	Cody
Michelle Bergh	...	Emily Conlee - Ghost
Lynette Biunno	...	Cody and James's Mother
Matthew Feeney	...	Tom
Emily Fradenburgh	...	Becca
Bill Gorman	...	Mr. Kravitch
Ted Hall	...	Cutter
Mari Harris	...	Principal
Max Hauser	...	James
Katrina Hawley	...	Tom's Wife
Ellen Karsten	...	Jess
Gary David Keast	...	Cody & James's Father
Laurie King	...	Mrs. Conlee
Daniel Sjerven	...	Police Officer
Joel Thingvall	...	Jeff the Blogger

Storyline

After his parents are killed in a car accident, Cody is left dealing with enormous guilt, caring for his younger brother and the persistent thought of how to bring his parents back to life. Cody knows he is not the first person to have this idea or the first to have attempted to carry it through. After several attempts with his electromagnetic device, he becomes the first to breach the wall between the living and the dead But where is the line between life and death? And who actually comes back? What ghosts come out of the machine? "Phasma Ex Machina" is a sci-fi film that combines both heart and mystery with electronic veins and sheet metal.

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Plot Keywords:

male in shower | bare chested male

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghost from the Machine

Filming Locations:

Lakewood Cemetery - 3600 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hodag Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Police car that we see in the background when the cop is questioning Cody and James was actually belonged to the film's Sound Designer, 'Jonathan Mohs' - an early 1990s Ford Thunderbird. Employed for use at the last minute, the car had a bad battery which required someone to start and run the engine a few minutes between each take to recharge and re-brighten the headlights.

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Connections

Remade as Our House

User Reviews

A Perfect Debut

In Phasma Ex Machina, Cody (played by Sasha Andreev) is devastated by the sudden deaths of his parents; even though he's just barely an adult, he has sole custody of younger brother James (Max Hauser), whom he is unintentionally neglecting because of the force of his grief. A year and more later, he has become obsessed with creating a machine that will "bring them back," using electromagnetic fields and negative ions to create something of a bridge between one world and the next. After all, just because people have "passed over" into death doesn't mean the realm they go to is immune from the laws of physics, right? Cody is able to buy arcane electronic equipment, creating his own Vandergraaf Generator and using solar adaptors made and sold by Tom (Matthew Feeney), an older man just coming to terms with the death of his wife six years ago and just starting to form a relationship with a new woman. But Cody is on to something, and Tom's not as much over his grief as he thinks he is. Add to that the fact that nobody can control who might "come back," and, well, anything might happen....

This is a first film by writer/director Matt Osterman, who hosted the World Premiere at the FantAsia Festival in Montreal, and I've got to say, it's perfect. In every way, this is a perfect film - the writing, the direction, the framing of the story, the cinematography, the acting, everything. The only actor I'd heard of in this is Laurie King (who plays a middle-aged neighbour of the boys, in a small but key role), but every one of these actors is spot on. Completely naturalistic in behaviour and authentic in dialogue - you really believe these are real, ordinary people doing things that real, ordinary people do, or would like to do. I was especially impressed with Sasha Andreev, who looks a bit like a cross between Freddy Rodriguez and Casey Affleck, and whose acting is as good as the latter's without the annoying adenoidal voice. Even the ending of the film is perfect, in that not everything comes out alright, but that's okay because that is the way life really is.

Really. This film should be getting a decent release in the US - it helps a lot that it's American-made and in English, perhaps our only FantAsia film without subtitles; I've read rumours that major studios are already lining up for a Hollywood remake, but you know they'll mess that up. So do what you can to encourage a release, please; it's very much worth it! Go to HTTP://www.phasmamovie.com/ - the official website

• and check out the trailer for yourself.

This is quite possibly the best film I've seen all year - not best FantAsia film, but film, period. A gazillion stars!