La Machine Infernale

A thriller as slow-burn as debut writer / director Andrew Hunt's "The Infernal Machine" relies on its ending, which here is self-satisfied, contrived & implausible... wasting some terrific dark & moody set up work. Reclusive writer Guy Pearce (always solid) lives in isolation after his only novel inspired a mass-shooter 40yrs+ ago. Then SOMEONE starts sending him persistent 'fan mail'... but is it more sinister than that (duh)? Is it the jailed shooter Alex Pettyfor? Will Pearce get help from pretty cop Alice Eve (whose performance epitomises the whole movie: surprisingly good, til ultimately it ain't)? Worthy questions all, all sadly let down by that bloated ending. Shame... sigh.

I don't quite know why this didn't work, but it wasn't gripping, the story was messy and was clunky. The acting was really good and I love the idea, but disappointing sadly. Some interesting twist, so not a complete flop, and whoever wrote it was clearly intellectual, just a bit of a dullard, or maybe that was the director? Had to tell.

Not as scary as I was hoping, as the advert made it look awesome. Maybe there weren't enough characters in the film? Sorry I can't quite put my finger on what the issue is here, but there we go.

I'd love to read some other reviews of this, so get posting! .....

Better than I was expecting -- given it had an average rating of 5.4 out of 10 when I watched it -- but there was too little there to make it a must see.

I'd suggest there were a couple of key flaws.

First, so much of this seems to hinge on the central concept expounded in "The Infernal Machine", the one and only book written by Bruce Cogburn. And yet, when that concept is explained, I struggled to understand how someone fleshed it out to produce a novel rather than simply a short story.

Second, the precise motivation of Bruce Cogburn's "tormenter" wasn't clear to me, nor was it clear how that person had the financial resources necessary to inflict such torment.

Still, I enjoyed it. And you might if you don't think too much about the flaws.

Guy Pearce should easily win a best actor award for this. He gives it his all.

All the actors do. Maybe the director's strength is his ability to get good acting out of his actors?

He shot this wrong. There wasn't any gore or observed threat. The movie has real guts for a solid creepy horror movie but it pulled it's punch. This was more of a slap and not a hard one.

It would have been much shorter too. One seasoned producer would have made a major difference in this movie.

But Guy Pearce makes it work still. He's that good in this. The other actors try but he stands out. David Lynch should work with him.

Watch this without expectations of greatness.

The Infernal Machine is a real shame as I do think there's a good film to be had in the core idea, but the film just feels like a real mess.

There are too many plot threads going on that don't blend together or connect very well. I think a lot of the character motivation is a bit convoluted which doesn't help either. The result is that this film feels very leggy and drags on quite a bit. This would be somewhat forgivable but the ending is quite bland.

Still, there are some positives. Guy Pearce gives a convincing lead performance and he anchors the film nicely. The middle act is also pretty pacey and exciting, just a shame it is sandwiched between two lethargic acts.

Overall a disappointing tale, but not without a few redeeming features. Worth a watch if you do enjoy a mystery thriller, but don't expect to be blown away.