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Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey, Ted Marcoux, Wil Horneff, Jessica Walter ... see more see more... , Brandon Quintin Adams , Rick Ducommun , Nancy Fish , Jack Laufer , Shevonne Durkin , Walter Addison , Carlease Burke , Nigel Gibbs , Charles Haugk , Alix Koromzay , Michael LaGuardia , Clayton Landey , Dom Magwili , Edwina Moore , Zach Phifer , Richard Schiff , Charles Stranski , Ken Thorley , Chris Ellis , Mickey Gilbert (II) , Richard McKenzie , Don Keith Opper , Rick Scarry , Haunani Minn , John Miller , Mimi Lieber , Carl Gabriel Yorke , Matthew Glave

A serial killer is transformed into a computer virus out to destroy more than your hard drive in this sci-fi thriller. Terry Munroe (Karen Allen), a single mother, is looking for a gift for her boss a... read more read more...nd visits a computer store, where one of the employees demonstrates a hand-held scanner than can transfer the information from her address book into a software program that will store the information on her PC. Unknown to Terry, one of the employees of the store is Karl Hochman (Ted Marcoux), known in the press as "The Address Book Killer," who likes to steal other people's address books and murder all the people listed within, including the book's owner. Terry accidentally leaves her book behind at the store, and Karl lifts it, but as he drives to her house to strike her off the list first, he is injured in a serious accident and taken to a hospital. While Karl is being given a CAT scan, lightning strikes the building and Karl is transformed into a series of electrical impulses that can travel as computer code from one system to another, or as current through power lines. Soon Terry begins to suspect something is wrong as her friends succumb to attacks by microwave ovens, hot-air blowers, and other household objects. Terry and her computer-savvy son, Josh (Wil Horneff), realize that they're at risk after Karl appears in Josh's virtual reality games; it's up to Bram Walker (Chris Mulkey), a brilliant hacker-turned-computer maintenance technician, to isolate and destroy the Karl virus before it can kill again. The film's soundtrack features such hip-hop stars as D-Nice and Too Short, Schoolly-D, Grandmaster Slice, and Kool Moe Dee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

30% liked it

8,983 ratings

Critics

13% liked it

8 critics

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Rachel Talalay

Release Date: January 1, 1993

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DVD Release Date: January 17, 2006

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Stats: 167 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (167)

  • bbcfloridabound
    April 3, 2008
    bbcfloridabound
    Its a great movie, 1993 time frame so the computers are somewhat of a joke, but who am I to talk I once paid $249.99 for a Commodore 1541 Disk Drive. I wouldn't show it to Young Children (Under 17) because of the cussing near the end of the movie, that?s just me. If you allow you... read morer children to hear cussing, then its on you. A somewhat entertaining movie for adults.
  • garyX
    June 6, 2007
    garyX
    A murderer is zapped into a computer and starts killing using household appliances. This lame sci-fi spin on the serial killer movie is as bad as it sounds (the last I heard, tin openers weren't online...) Maximum Overdrive had a similar concept, but at least that had a sense of ... read morehumour, and more importantly, AC/DC.
  • wbgoose13
    April 28, 2007
    wbgoose13
    Impressively inane techno-thriller.
  • juliantoepfer
    April 16, 2012
    juliantoepfer
    A truly terrible and inexcusable abortion of a film viewing experience. The stars seemingly align to make this one of the worst films I can ever recall viewing, and not that special good kind of bad; this is the straight up 'would rather eat broken glass' bad-bad. Clearly written... read more as a wanna be Wes Craven movie as it borrows heavily from another all time horrible movie, 'Shocker'. When thinking about it, there is not even one thing this movie is able to accomplish with any shred of competency.

    To start with, the script is absolutely deplorable. Like 'I must have misheard what they said, because there is no way a human being would ever say that out loud.' Solidly garbage throughout with a heavy sprinkling of some of the worst lines perhaps of all time. There is no way in Hell that anything other than a chimpanzee with down-syndrome wrote and approved this sort of dialogue. It really is right up there as the worst I've ever heard. Unbelievable shit is really all I can say.

    The acting is only .2 degrees better. Featuring Wes Craven castoffs like Brandon Adams and Karl Hochman, and introducing us to Wil Horneff, the most horrific child actor the world has ever seen. There isn't one actor here who should have been able to book the 'Non-Speaking Extra #8' role for the Reno Community Theater without sleeping with the director first. As with the script, there is absolutely nothing positive to mention at all. All actors involved should be sterilized for the betterment of future generations.

    At its most basic core, the concept for the plot could have been at least interesting. A cyberspace bound killer who kills through electronic devices. Could have at least been halfway entertaining right? Not in this instance. First and foremost is that the technology on display here is the most antiquated and obsolete crap ever made. Even the computers used in the 70's would have been infinitely cooler. This theme of terrible early '90s dating isn't limited to the technology though, it oozes onto everything and somehow debilitates the film even further than its horrific script and acting allows. It just feels dirty and greasy. The plot is frittered away with meaningless scenes, mind numbing stupidity , and all around lack of tension, believability and talent.

    Top to bottom, this is a one of a kind soul-raping fiasco. Please do not waste a second of your time on it. So terrible that I literally couldn't bring myself to close my mouth, as it just hung open in the disbelief of the trash on display before me. If this film was a person, I would follow him home and light his house on fire.
  • antwanleeroyphillips23
    February 12, 2010
    antwanleeroyphillips23
    a great creepy horror film of the 90's a true shockfest filled with terror and suspense at the same time I highly recommend it
  • BondFiction
    December 5, 2006
    BondFiction
    Wow. Just wow. What a piece of shyte. I watched this, thinking, "Hey, it sounds kinda like Final Destination." Well, I guess I was sorta right. The plot is similar, except, you know, this movie BLOWS. Basically, the soul of a killer breaks loose into all kinds of electronics. He ... read morethen proceeds to kill people using very lame methods. Every scene is drawn out and boring, and the special effects suck. I didn't even realize Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth) was in it 'till afterwards. Too bad. Then I would have at least kept myself entertained quoting Arrested Development.
  • fifthcore
    May 20, 2006
    fifthcore
    What an awful movie. Watch it by mistake thinking it was Ghost in the Shell, bad I felt stupid. So yourself a favor and don't watch this.

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Critic Reviews

Keith Breese
January 25, 2006
Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com

A reboot is definitely in order here. Full Review

David Nusair
January 14, 2006
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...exceedingly silly and surprisingly tedious... Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson
May 22, 2004
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Subpar slasher.

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Another one of those brilliant horror movies about homicidal electricity.

Leonard Klady
March 26, 2009
Leonard Klady, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Caryn James
May 20, 2003
Caryn James, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 17, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Frank Swietek
July 13, 2004
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Ghost in the Machine Trivia

  • Which film is not direct by H. Miyazaki?  Answer »
  • The unknown quality in the robots of "I, Robot" that allow them to develop and evolve on their own is referred to by Dr. Lanning as "the ___ in the machine."   Answer »
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