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{{short description|1993 film by Rachel Talalay}}
{{About|the 1993 horror film|other uses|Ghost in the Machine (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = Ghost in the Machine | name = Ghost in the Machine
| image = Ghostinthemachine poster.jpg | image = Ghostinthemachine poster.jpg
| image_size = 215px | alt =
| alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster | director = ]
| director = ] | producer = ]
⚫ | writer = {{Plainlist|
| producer = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]
| writer = William Davies<br />William Osborne * ]
* ]
| starring = ]<br />]<br />Ted Marcoux
⚫ | music = ]
⚫ | cinematography = ]
| editing = Janice Hampton<br />Erica Huggins
⚫ | distributor = ]
⚫ | released = {{Film date|1993|12|29}}
⚫ | runtime = 95 minutes
⚫ | country = {{Film US}}
⚫ | language = English
| budget = $12 million
| gross = $5,086,909
}} }}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
⚫ '''''Ghost in the Machine''''' (also known as '''''Deadly Terror''''') is a 1993 ]/] directed by ] and released by ].
* ]
* ]
* Ted Marcoux}}
⚫ | music = ]
⚫ | cinematography = ]
| editing = {{Plainlist|
* Janice Hampton
* Erica Huggins
}}
⚫ | distributor = ]
⚫ | released = {{Film date|1993|12|29}}
⚫ | runtime = 95 minutes
| country = United States
⚫ | language = English
| budget = $12 million<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://moviesandmania.com/2013/09/29/ghost-in-the-machine-film/ |title=Ghost in the Machine – USA, 1993 – overview and review |website=moviesandmania.com |date=29 September 2013 |access-date= December 29, 2020}}</ref>
| gross = $5.1 million<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ghostinthemachine.htm |title = Ghost in the Machine}}</ref>
}}
⚫ '''''Ghost in the Machine''''' is a 1993 American ] ] directed by ] and released by ] about a deceased serial killer with artificial computer intelligence.

⚫ == Plot ==
While working at a computer store in ], ] Karl Hochman, known as "The Address Book Killer" due to habitually stealing address books and choosing his victims from them, obtains the address book of Terry Munroe, a customer, as the store manager uses the book to demonstrate a handheld scanner. He copies a page of her address book into a computer. On a rainy night while heading home, Karl hurriedly drives into an oncoming lane and swerves to miss a truck. This causes his car to go off the road into a cemetery, all while he laughs maniacally.

In the emergency room, he is put into an ] machine. A surge from an ] causes his soul to be transferred into a computer. Now, as a network-based entity, Karl continues to plot his killing spree using various objects connected to the ] and ]s.

Karl accesses the scanned page from Terry's address book and begins to kill everyone listed on the page. Her boss, Frank Mallory, becomes the first victim when his microwave oven begins irradiating the entire kitchen. Another friend, Elliot Miller, gets burned to death when a hand dryer turns into a ]. Later on, babysitter Carol Maibaum is hired to look after Terry's son Josh and his best friend Frazer. However, Carol becomes the third victim; she is electrocuted from an exposed electrical cord on the kitchen floor when the dishwasher explodes and floods the kitchen.

The police do not believe the theory that Karl is on a killing spree after his death, but Josh realizes the order of the killings parallels a list of contacts from Terry's address book. Terry, along with noted ] Bram Walker, unplugs everything in her house.


⚫ The police then receive anonymous reports of an armed robbery, a hostage situation, domestic violence, and a murder in progress, all at Terry's house. The police open fire on the home after mistaking an exploding pole transformer for gunfire. After realizing their mistake, they cease fire. Terry's mother goes into shock during the siege and is transported to the hospital for recovery. Aided by Bram and Josh, Bram manages to defeat Karl by introducing a ] that traps him in a physics laboratory. They activate an ] located in the laboratory, which draws Karl in and destroys him with its extremely powerful magnetic field.
⚫ ==Plot==
A ] named Karl Hochman (Ted Marcoux) is known as the "address book killer", due to his habit of stealing the address books of various people, from which he chooses his potential victims. While he is working at a computer store, he obtains the address book of Terry Munroe (]), after another employee demonstrates how a scanner works by scanning a page of her address book into the computer. After this, Karl leaves work, however he is nearly killed by a head-on collision with a truck. At the emergency room, he is placed in a ] machine, when a surge, caused by an ], transfers his mind into a computer. As a network-based entity he plots to continue his killing spree, using the ], appliances, and the ].
Because a page of Terry's address book was scanned into the computer, Karl manages to obtain the page and begins to go through the list to kill off her friends. Her co-worker, Frank Mallory (Richard McKenzie), becomes his first victim by making it look like he died in an electrical fire. Elliot Kastner (Jack Laufer), her friend that works at the DMV, gets burned to death after a hand dryer becomes a ]. His third victim is a babysitter, Carol Maibaum, who dies after both a television and dishwasher explode in a kitchen. When the police do not believe the story about Karl continuing his killing spree even though he is dead, Terry's son, Josh (]), realizes that there is an order to the list of victims. Terry's mother visits, and it is during this time Terry and ] Bram Walker (]) unplug anything electrical in the house.


As the film ends, Bram tells Terry to turn off a ] in an ambulance, causing the screen to fade to black.
⚫ The police receive anonymous reports of armed robbery, hostage situation, domestic violence, and a murder pointing to Terry's house. They open fire on the house after mistaking an exploding generator for a gunshot. Noticing what they have done, they cease fire. Terry's mother gets shot in the process, putting her in the hospital. Aided by Bram, however, they manage to fight back and defeat the killer by introducing a ] that traps him at a physics laboratory. Karl is then forced to escape. They then proceed to activate an atom smasher which draws Karl in and destroys him after Terry uses a revolver on him. The film ends when Bram tells Terry to turn off a heart monitor in an ambulance.


==Cast== ==Cast==
Line 35: Line 50:
* ] as Josh Munroe * ] as Josh Munroe
* ] as Elaine Spencer * ] as Elaine Spencer
* ] as Frazer * ] as Frazer
* ] as Phil Stewart * ] as Phil Stewart
* Jack Laufer as Elliott Kastner * Jack Laufer as Elliott Miller
* ] as Carol Maibaum * Shevonne Durkin as Carol Maibaum
* Richard McKenzie as Frank Mallory * ] as Frank Mallory
⚫ * Nancy Fish as Karl's Landlord
* ] as Scanner technician * ] as Scanner Technician
⚫ * Nancy Fish as Landlord


==Production== ==Production==
In 1987, writers ] and ] first got the idea for ''Ghost in the Machine'' when reading about a piece of computer software called Skeleton Key, which allowed users to invade other computer networks and retrieve all data within them without owners knowing anything about it, and crafted a premise wherein a serial killer was absorbed into a computer and now possessed those same abilities.<ref name="GitmProd">{{cite magazine |last=Beeler|first=Michael|date=August 1993 |title= Ghost in the Machine|url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2024%20No%202%20%28Aug%201993%29/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater|url-status= |magazine=]|location= |publisher= Fourth Castle Micromedia|access-date=February 20, 2023}}</ref> Due to the release of ] '']'', ] briefly put the film in ] due to perceived similarities between the two films, however the film resumed development at Fox following uncredited re-writes by ].<ref name= "GitmProd"/>
The film was shot in ] in color with ] sound.


The film's special effects were provided by Video Image under the direction of special effects supervisor Richard Hollander.<ref name= "GitmProd"/> In order to create evolutionary images of the electronic serial killer's computerized environment, at the suggestion of director ], Hollander and his group decided to digitally manipulate real-life data taken from ] body scans. Ted Marcoux, who plays Killer Karl, was scanned at ].<ref name= "GitmProd"/>
==Reception==

⚫ ''Ghost in the Machine'' was not generally well received by most critics; on ], the film currently holds a 13% "Fresh" rating.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|ghost_in_the_machine|Ghost in the Machine}}</ref> On its opening weekend, the film grossed $1,854,431 and ranked at #10, the only opening that weekend that made it into the top 10.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1993&wknd=53&p=.htm</ref> By the end of its run, it had grossed a domestic total of $5,086,909.<ref>{{mojo title|ghostinthemachine|Ghost in the Machine}}</ref> The film is considered a box office failure, seeing as the budget was $12 million.<ref></ref>
The film was shot over the course of 51 days in ], which doubled for the film's ] setting.<ref name= "GitmProd"/>

==Release and reception==
''Ghost in the Machine'' had initially been slated for release in August 1993, but to avoid competition with '']'' and other major fall releases, its release was delayed until December.<ref name="GitmProd2">{{cite magazine |last=Beeler|first=Michael|date=April 1994 |title= Ghost in the Machine|url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2025%20No%202%20%28April%201994%29/page/n55/mode/1up?view=theater|url-status= |magazine=]|location= |publisher= Fourth Castle Micromedia|access-date=February 20, 2023}}</ref>

⚫ During its opening weekend, ''Ghost in the Machine'' grossed $1,854,431 and ranked at no. 10.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1993&wknd=53&p=.htm |title = Domestic 1993 Weekend 53}}</ref> By the end of its run, it had grossed a domestic total of $5,086,909,<ref>{{mojo title|ghostinthemachine|Ghost in the Machine}}</ref> failing to recoup its $12 million budget.<ref></ref>

On the ] website ], the film has a rating of 10% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghost_in_the_machine|title=Ghost in the Machine|website=]|publisher=]|access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref>

===Home video===
''Ghost in the Machine'' was released on ] and ] on May 25, 1994, and on ] on January 17, 2006.

==See also==
* ]


==References== ==References==
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==External links== ==External links==
* {{imdb title|0107009|Ghost in the Machine}} * {{IMDb title|0107009|Ghost in the Machine}}
* {{Amg movie|122239|Ghost in the Machine}}
* {{mojo title|ghostinthemachine|Ghost in the Machine}} * {{mojo title|ghostinthemachine|Ghost in the Machine}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|ghost_in_the_machine|Ghost in the Machine}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|ghost_in_the_machine|Ghost in the Machine}}


{{Rachel Talalay}} {{Rachel Talalay}}
{{William Davies}}

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Latest revision as of 15:24, 2 January 2025

1993 film by Rachel Talalay
Ghost in the Machine
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRachel Talalay
Written by
Produced byPaul Schiff
Starring
CinematographyPhil Méheux
Edited by
  • Janice Hampton
  • Erica Huggins
Music byGraeme Revell
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • December 29, 1993 (1993-12-29)
Running time95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$5.1 million

Ghost in the Machine is a 1993 American science fiction horror film directed by Rachel Talalay and released by 20th Century Fox about a deceased serial killer with artificial computer intelligence.

Plot

While working at a computer store in Cleveland, Ohio, serial killer Karl Hochman, known as "The Address Book Killer" due to habitually stealing address books and choosing his victims from them, obtains the address book of Terry Munroe, a customer, as the store manager uses the book to demonstrate a handheld scanner. He copies a page of her address book into a computer. On a rainy night while heading home, Karl hurriedly drives into an oncoming lane and swerves to miss a truck. This causes his car to go off the road into a cemetery, all while he laughs maniacally.

In the emergency room, he is put into an MRI machine. A surge from an electrical storm causes his soul to be transferred into a computer. Now, as a network-based entity, Karl continues to plot his killing spree using various objects connected to the electrical grid and computer networks.

Karl accesses the scanned page from Terry's address book and begins to kill everyone listed on the page. Her boss, Frank Mallory, becomes the first victim when his microwave oven begins irradiating the entire kitchen. Another friend, Elliot Miller, gets burned to death when a hand dryer turns into a flamethrower. Later on, babysitter Carol Maibaum is hired to look after Terry's son Josh and his best friend Frazer. However, Carol becomes the third victim; she is electrocuted from an exposed electrical cord on the kitchen floor when the dishwasher explodes and floods the kitchen.

The police do not believe the theory that Karl is on a killing spree after his death, but Josh realizes the order of the killings parallels a list of contacts from Terry's address book. Terry, along with noted computer hacker Bram Walker, unplugs everything in her house.

The police then receive anonymous reports of an armed robbery, a hostage situation, domestic violence, and a murder in progress, all at Terry's house. The police open fire on the home after mistaking an exploding pole transformer for gunfire. After realizing their mistake, they cease fire. Terry's mother goes into shock during the siege and is transported to the hospital for recovery. Aided by Bram and Josh, Bram manages to defeat Karl by introducing a computer virus that traps him in a physics laboratory. They activate an atom smasher located in the laboratory, which draws Karl in and destroys him with its extremely powerful magnetic field.

As the film ends, Bram tells Terry to turn off a heart rate monitor in an ambulance, causing the screen to fade to black.

Cast

Production

In 1987, writers William Davies and William Osborne first got the idea for Ghost in the Machine when reading about a piece of computer software called Skeleton Key, which allowed users to invade other computer networks and retrieve all data within them without owners knowing anything about it, and crafted a premise wherein a serial killer was absorbed into a computer and now possessed those same abilities. Due to the release of Wes Craven's Shocker, 20th Century Fox briefly put the film in Turnaround due to perceived similarities between the two films, however the film resumed development at Fox following uncredited re-writes by Todd Graff.

The film's special effects were provided by Video Image under the direction of special effects supervisor Richard Hollander. In order to create evolutionary images of the electronic serial killer's computerized environment, at the suggestion of director Rachel Talalay, Hollander and his group decided to digitally manipulate real-life data taken from MRI body scans. Ted Marcoux, who plays Killer Karl, was scanned at UCLA.

The film was shot over the course of 51 days in Los Angeles, which doubled for the film's Cleveland, Ohio setting.

Release and reception

Ghost in the Machine had initially been slated for release in August 1993, but to avoid competition with Jurassic Park and other major fall releases, its release was delayed until December.

During its opening weekend, Ghost in the Machine grossed $1,854,431 and ranked at no. 10. By the end of its run, it had grossed a domestic total of $5,086,909, failing to recoup its $12 million budget.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 10% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10.

Home video

Ghost in the Machine was released on VHS and LaserDisc on May 25, 1994, and on DVD on January 17, 2006.

See also

References

  1. "Ghost in the Machine – USA, 1993 – overview and review". moviesandmania.com. 29 September 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  2. "Ghost in the Machine".
  3. ^ Beeler, Michael (August 1993). "Ghost in the Machine". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. Beeler, Michael (April 1994). "Ghost in the Machine". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  5. "Domestic 1993 Weekend 53".
  6. Ghost in the Machine at Box Office Mojo
  7. Ghost in the Machine (IMDb)
  8. "Ghost in the Machine". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 6, 2023.

External links

Films directed by Rachel Talalay
Films
Television
Works by William Davies
Films written
Television series
Family
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