The Infernal Machine (2022 film)

Last updated

The Infernal Machine
The Infernal Machine poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrew Hunt
Written byAndrew Hunt
Based on"The Hilly Earth Society," written by Louis Kornfeld and produced by Jonathan Mitchell for The Truth podcast
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySara Deane
Edited byJeremy Wanek
Music byNathaniel Levisay
Production
companies
  • McLaren House
  • Filmology Finance
  • Moviebox Studio
  • Odin's Eye Entertainment
  • Liquid Noise
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • September 23, 2022 (2022-09-23)(United States)
  • December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)(United Kingdom)
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

The Infernal Machine is a 2022 psychological mystery thriller film written and directed by Andrew Hunt. [1] It is based on a story written by Louis Kornfeld. The film stars Guy Pearce, Alice Eve, Jeremy Davies, and Alex Pettyfer.

Contents

The Infernal Machine was released in the United States on September 23, 2022, and in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2022, by Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis

Bruce Cogburn, a reclusive and controversial author of the famed book The Infernal Machine, is drawn out of hiding when he begins to receive endless letters from an obsessive fan. [2] Cogburn has lived in self-imposed isolation for 25 years in the American southwest. He was driven there in 1981 by the actions of a young man who began shooting in a Knoxville TN university killing 13 people and blaming his action on Cogburn's only book called The Infernal Machine.Then letters show up in his post office box from William Dukent a writer seeking an interview with him. Cogburn travels 45 minutes to the nearest phone booth to leave increasingly threatening phone mesages for the writer demaning that the letters stop. Cogburn's paranoia and alcohol consumption grow. Cogburn goes to meet the shooter in prison using a fake name. The shooter manages to escape from prison. The shooter arrives to Cogburn"s house. Cogburn manages to kill him. In the end it turns out that it was actually one of his students when he worked as a teacher that wrote the book.

Cast

Production

Filming took place over five weeks in Algarve, Portugal, in Portugal’s Moviebox Studios, and on locations in and around the town of Loulé. Paramount Pictures acquired worldwide rights to The Infernal Machine in October 2021. [3] The film was financed by executive producer Jack Christian's financing firm, Filmology Finance. [1]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 13 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.5/10. [4]

Ewan Gleadow of Cult Following wrote positively of the film, praising Guy Pearce for having "finally found comfort and quality in a performance that should hopefully buffer his star that little bit more." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Face/Off</i> 1997 film by John Woo

Face/Off is a 1997 American science-fiction action thriller film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage as an FBI agent and a terrorist, respectively, who undergo an experimental surgery to swap their faces and, in the process, their identities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Monahan</span> American screenwriter and novelist

William J. Monahan is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was The Departed, a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Davies</span> American actor (born 1969)

Jeremy Boring, known professionally as Jeremy Davies, is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Ray Aibelli in Spanking the Monkey (1994), Corporal Timothy Upham in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Snow in Solaris (2002), Bill Henson in Dogville (2003), Charles Manson in Helter Skelter (2004), Sergeant Gene DeBruin in Rescue Dawn (2006) and Daniel Faraday on the series Lost (2008–2010).

<i>Winged Creatures</i> (film) 2008 American film

Winged Creatures is a 2008 psychological drama directed by Rowan Woods and starring Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Embeth Davidtz. It is an adaptation of Roy Freirich's novel Winged Creatures. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group in the United States on August 4, 2009, as Fragments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annabelle Wallis</span> British actress (born 1984)

Annabelle Wallis is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jane Seymour in Showtime's period drama The Tudors (2009–2010), Grace Burgess in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders (2013–2019), Mia Form in the supernatural horror film Annabelle (2014), Jenny Halsey in the supernatural adventure film The Mummy (2017), Sandra in Silent Night (2021) and Madison Mitchell in the horror film Malignant (2021).

<i>The Disappearance of Alice Creed</i> 2009 film by J Blakeson

The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a 2009 British neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by J Blakeson. It is about the kidnapping of a young woman by two ex-convicts. The film was shot on the Isle of Man.

<i>True Grit</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Joel and Ethan Coen

True Grit is a 2010 American Western film directed, written, produced, and edited by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. It is an adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, starring Jeff Bridges as Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. The film also stars Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Barry Pepper. It is the fourth installment overall in the film series of the same name, and a reimagining of the 1969 previous film adaptation which starred John Wayne, Kim Darby, and Glen Campbell.

<i>Cold Comes the Night</i> 2013 American film

Cold Comes the Night is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by Tze Chun, who co-wrote the script with Oz Perkins and Nick Simon. It was released on September 20, 2013, in the UK and on January 10, 2014 in the United States. The film stars Alice Eve, Bryan Cranston and Logan Marshall-Green. The film was produced by Mynette Louie and Trevor Sagan.

<i>Warning</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Agata Alexander

Warning is a 2021 science fiction thriller film directed by Agata Alexander in her directorial debut, from a screenplay by Alexander, Jason Kaye and Rob Michaelson. It stars Alex Pettyfer, Alice Eve, Annabelle Wallis, Benedict Samuel, Charlotte Le Bon, Thomas Jane, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rupert Everett, Tomasz Kot, Kylie Bunbury and Garance Marillier. The film premiered at the 2021 Sitges Film Festival.

<i>The Contractor</i> (2022 film) 2022 American thriller film by Tarik Saleh

The Contractor is a 2022 American action thriller film directed by Tarik Saleh in his English-language film debut. The film stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, J. D. Pardo, Florian Munteanu, and Kiefer Sutherland. Filming began in Europe in October 2019. It also filmed in Fort Bragg and wrapped at the end of 2019.

<i>Murder at Yellowstone City</i> 2022 American film by Richard Gray

Murder at Yellowstone City is an American Western film directed by Richard Gray from a screenplay by Eric Belgau.

<i>Memory</i> (2022 film) 2022 American film by Martin Campbell

Memory is a 2022 American action thriller film starring Liam Neeson as a brooding hitman with early dementia who must go on the run after declining a contract on a young girl. It is directed by Martin Campbell from a screenplay by Dario Scardapane. It is based on the novel De Zaak Alzheimer by Jef Geeraerts and is a remake of the novel's previous adaptation, the Belgian film The Alzheimer Case. The film also stars Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, Harold Torres, Taj Atwal and Ray Fearon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Christian</span> Film producer

Jack Christian is a film and television showrunner, producer, writer and director. He has received critical acclaim for his work in screen entertainment, including two Emmy Award nominations.

<i>Mayor of Kingstown</i> American crime thriller television series

Mayor of Kingstown is an American crime thriller television series created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon. The series premiered on November 14, 2021, on Paramount+. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 15, 2023. In September 2023, the series was renewed for a third season, which is set to premiere on June 2, 2024.

<i>Mid-Century</i> 2022 American film

Mid-Century is a 2022 American horror thriller film directed by Sonja O'Hara and written and produced by Mike Stern. The film stars Bruce Dern, Stephen Lang and Shane West, with the latter two also serving as executive producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spy Manor Productions</span> Portuguese film production company

Spy Manor Productions is an independent film production, film production services and consulting company based in Algarve, Portugal, founded in 2019 by Vanda Everke, who also serves as the company's executive producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D.J. McPherson</span> Australian producer

D.J. McPherson is a two-time Emmy Award winning and nominated film and television writer, producer, director and showrunner. She splits her time between Melbourne and Los Angeles and has worked with actors such as Guy Pearce, Rose Byrne, Sarah Snook and Diane Keaton.

<i>The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare</i> 2024 film by Guy Ritchie

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a 2024 spy action comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Guy Ritchie, and starring Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding and Alex Pettyfer. Based on the 2014 book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis, the film portrays a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Postmaster.

<i>Sunrise</i> (2024 film) Film by Andrew Baird

Sunrise is a 2024 horror film directed by Andrew Baird and written by Ronan Blaney. It stars Alex Pettyfer, Crystal Yu, William Gao, Kurt Yaeger, Olwen Fouéré and Guy Pearce.

References

  1. 1 2 "Paramount Acquires Rights to Guy Pearce Thriller 'The Infernal Machine'". 11 October 2021.
  2. "Guy Pearce on 'Memory,' Liam Neeson, 'The Proposition' and Making 'A Spy Among Friends' with Damian Lewis". Collider . 6 May 2022.
  3. "Paramount acquires world on Guy Pearce thriller 'The Infernal Machine'".
  4. "The Infernal Machine". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media . Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. "The Infernal Machine Review". 24 September 2022.