Ghost Machine

If you believe the box, this film is about a group of young American soldiers who use a video game simulator to have a little fun before encountering a ghost in the machine, quite literally. Of course, if you are paying attention, you'll quickly notice the soldiers speak with accents and drive on the wrong side of the road. As the film is an Irish one, I suspect the cadets are meant to be Irish, not American. Beyond that, it's about right.

I watched this one with two associates and cheap vodka filtered to make it taste better, though I am not a fan of vodka. The primarily chick was mildly attractive, which I appreciate, but beyond that I think we should look at the words of the critics (besides myself). Here's three samples: "If you have seen Doom, Stay Alive, Death Row, Gamer, etc., etc., ad nauseam, you have seen Ghost Machine. There are some cringe-inducing moments of violence, I'll give it that. And Rachel Taylor makes the movie watchable for awhile, but even she can't save it from the murky camera work, hackneyed storyline, and gawdawful CGI." ... "The horror elements are not that scary and the sci-fi is not that convincing." ... "This is hands down, one of the worst movies I've seen in recent history... The most enjoyment I got out of this movie was when the screen went black and the credits finally rolled." Well, they said it better than I could. Rachael Taylor good, CGI and plot bad. If you feel the need to rent this one, be sure to be plenty drunk or something, because it probably won't hold your attention. I find that it picks up after a while, but we are given many parts where it drops down again and no reason to care about the characters... whose names I already forgot, though I think the guy who looks like Tom Cruise is named Tom.

Firstly, for a totally Independent and VERY Low-Budget film, they did a great job in putting it together. If you are the kind of person who likes these kinds of films, say like Full Moon's 'ARCADE' (which this one is FAR more polished) or 'THE LAWNMOWER MAN' (although this one here is WAAAAAAAY simpler and cost about 1% as much) then you should find this entertaining.

The point is, is the film made well with what they had? Is the acting decent? Is the script and direction okay? If so, then you have a decent, entertaining film that does PRECISELY what it is supposed to do. I really liked the way it ended too; nice touch...

If you like these kinds of films and you go in realizing that this is just a VERY simple Low-Budget Sci Fi Thriller, and you are NOT expecting ultra-realism and as I am always saying, if you have a good imagination and can easily suspend disbelief, and you don't mind a few Phantastical elements thrown in, then you should enjoy it. Believe me... there are TONS of horrible, lousy, and EXTREMELY Painful Sci fi / Horror films out there (just check out the Syfy channel. Or better yet, DON'T... :)

Definitely a strong '6'...

The basic plot: a group of soldiers and their gamer buddies play a haunted video game, where if you die in the game, you die for real.

I didn't have high expectations for a movie titled Ghost Machine, and, when I read the synopsis, I lowered my expectations even further. If all you're looking for is a cheesy, derivative movie that looks like a video game, then I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Otherwise, I'd say you should avoid it, because it's only going to annoy you.

The writing was a bit stupid, but any bad writing was dwarfed by the monumentally bad idea of a haunted video game. The acting and special effects were alright. There's a bit of gore, titillation, implied torture, and an attempted rape. If the story had focused on these elements, instead of recreating a generic console game, maybe this would have been a better movie... but I kind of doubt it.

If it weren't for the language and gore, this would look just like your typical SyFy channel movie of the week. The plot (described elsewhere on this site) is hackneyed and uninspired. The ending is particularly predictable.

Don't get me wrong, the film is at least competent, it's just that the producers didn't have the talent, budget, or script to produce anything impressive.

Adding to the distaste is the political slant of the director and writer(s). You know...all noncommissioned officers are sex perverts and sadists, acting openly to molest female enlisted personnel and torture prisoners to death; each female soldier is worth ten male soldiers due to her commitment to having to "prove" herself throughout her military career; and the government routinely captures and tortures female terrorists, which would be a bad thing even if they are in fact murderous bitches, but it might be a good thing, too....who knows?

What it boils down to for me is that this film is made with some skill, but I never cared about what was happening to the characters. This is in direct opposition to some other films that are made rather poorly, but which have compelling characters and a decent story.

Choose this one if you don't bore easily.

This story is a beauty. Don't pay attention to the cheesy art cover.

Some of the characters are formula. And some are not. And the Story itself may seem to be formulaic-- but it's slightly skewed in a different direction. Some good Thought went into this script.

And as for the ghost. . .the beauty of this flick is how your feelings will shift from one direction to another. Stupidity, Pride and Viciousness all end up paying a satisfying price.

And the Horror is not in the Blood Spatters-- but the twisty discomfort that comes from watching torture. No-- nothing a la 'Saw', but uncomfortable just the same.

This movie isn't produced cheaply either. It's a satisfying Saturday Nite Flick. Get the popcorn ready!