GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Karl Hockman is an introverted young man who works in a computer store, but at the same time he is the infamous telephone directory killer; Karl, in fact, takes possession of his clients' agendas and then begins to kill one by one the contacts listed therein. One evening, after coming into possession of Terry Munroe's agenda, Karl has an accident and is transported in serious condition to the hospital, where he dies. But in reality, the killer's soul manages to penetrate the building's computer system and from there can move through the electrical cables that cross the entire city. Now Karl wants to complete his work and begins to kill Terry's contacts using all sorts of electrical appliances. How many times have we seen in a movie a killer who, once dead, continues to live in the form of some kind of energy? Surely it's not a few, but the film from which "Killer Machine" ("The Ghost in the Machine" in the original) heavily draws inspiration is undoubtedly "Sotto Shock" by Wes Craven, in which a serial killer continued to live in the form of electrical energy and transmitted from body to body. The curious thing is that Rachel Talalay, the director of this film, has a huge debt to Craven, as she must link the beginnings of her professional career to the "Nightmare" saga in which she was an assistant to the production director in the first film and then was involved in various capacities in all subsequent chapters, up to writing and directing the sixth. Fortunately, although it presents quite consistent elements in common with "Sotto Shock", "Killer Machine" manages to have its own personality that allows the film to be framed under an autonomous and at times also original perspective. The film essentially focuses on the victims, on humans, and the serial killer is simply an abstract entity that manifests itself through any kind of electrically powered appliance. If we exclude the first scenes in which the killer is still human, it is only in the finale that Karl materializes in the form of magnetic particles but with his original appearance; and it is precisely the final climax that seems particularly out of place, banal, and poorly made in a film that for a good half is engaging and knows how to entertain. The somewhat moralistic intent of the film is to underline the danger and unreliability of computers and various "gadgets", which in a historical context dated 1993, when personal computers had not yet entered all homes, could work as a look at a still unknown world with many possibilities for fantasizing. Paradoxically, even today, in a world practically dominated by technologies where the omnipresence of computers is distinguished, an idea like the one at the base of "Killer Machine" could be even more plausible and close to the viewer's daily experience, transforming what could seem science fiction into pure material for horror films. Moreover, for various narrative solutions and for the emphasis and imagination in the elaborate death scenes, "Killer Machine" reminds one of "Final Destination". A film ahead of its time, then? Probably yes. But "Killer Machine" also presents a fundamental flatness, both visual and rhythmic, that almost attaches it to the average television product (not surprisingly, the director will end up channeling her career exclusively into TV, directing episodes for a considerable number of different series). Moreover, the characters seem uninteresting and too stereotyped; if we save the single mother and determined character played by Karen Allen ("Raiders of the Lost Ark"; "Starman"), the young Wil Horneff ("Stephen King's Shining"; "The Roost – The Nest") is the typical and annoying smart kid who knows everything about computers and video games, while Chris Mulkey ("Alien"; "Twin Peaks Secrets") is one of the most bland "heroes" seen in a film of this kind. The finale at Ohio Tech is then shot with approximation, clumsiness, and an overly large request for suspension of disbelief. The "raw" digital special effects that appear here and in the virtual reality scene are a sign of premature aging. With more precautions, "Killer Machine" could have been significantly better, also because some aspects of the subject make it a film that is always current. Discreet entertainment and nothing more.