Ghost from the Machine (2010)

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

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Tom is watching TV just before a dinner plate mysteriously falls and shatters in his kitchen, we see and hear a commercial being played on his television. The muffled, unintelligent voice on the commercial is that of the film's Sound Editor, Benjamin Allison. A quick fix by Allison to create audio for a fake prescription drug commercial.

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Crazy Credits

Includes the following humorous variation on the standard legal disclaimer at the end of the credits: "The events, characters and firms depicted in this motion picture are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actually dead, or to actual firms is purely coincidental."

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Connections

Remade as Our House (2018)

User Reviews

This is NOT a Horror movie like you'd think...

There are a number of reviews smashing this movie-- mostly due to unmet expectations of normal Hollywood Horror. Worse, some people may be expecting it to be a modern remake on a Lovecraftian idea of a Machine that could open a gate to the 'Beyond'. If you're expecting a 'Re-animator' clone-- it's NOT. It's totally different.

It's a Ghost story that really runs like a Drama. And it's bareboned. It's done ENTIRELY without special effects. The 'Creep' is in the actors' situations alone. The Ghosts are a Dramatic Question...and the Question behind ALL Ghost stories is a Fundamental one posed: "Is it RIGHT for the Dead to come back to the Living?"

It's Not about whether 'The Dead Hate the Living' or 'Evil Spirits being unleashed' or 'Curses from beyond the Grave'

This movie is about what happens if you refuse to Let go. What happens if you actually bring the Dead Back into your Life when the World has already closed the books on their Lives.

A young man loses his parents, and seeks to undo their Deaths by bringing them back with a machine. But the World and Life really has no place or order for things that 'Should not be'. Bad things will happen.

Not Supernatural Bad Things...Just Inadvertent things. Unpleasant things. Irrevocable things.

As an indie/Non-Hollywood effort-- this one gets a solid round of applause from me. The acting was decent and heartfelt. And the timing was good with tension and build-up. And the ending was a solid moral stamp: You can't change What Was.

This is an intelligent indie/drama flick is good for a late, rainy weekend afternoon. And if you like it...it's also a Girl-friend Test.