Author Bruce Cogburn (Guy Pearce) wrote the controversial best-selling novel “The Infernal Machine”, but after the Knoxville Massacre tragedy in the early 1980s, his book was pulled from the shelves. A lone gunman had climbed the clock tower at Knoxville Baptist University and started shooting at the crowd below, killing 13 people and injuring at least two dozen others. 17-year-old Dwight Tufford claimed his innocence, blaming his actions on being brainwashed by Cogburn’s novel. After this incident, Cogburn stopped writing, and for the past 25 years, he has been living as a recluse in Southern California. Only his agent knows how to reach him—he uses a P.O. box for his mail, and a pay phone 14 miles away if he needs to make a phone call. However, despite this isolation, a mysterious aspiring author/obsessed fan named William DuKent (Jeremy Davies) manages to locate Cogburn, and starts harassing him with a seemingly-endless stream of handwritten letters. Cogburn tries to ignore the correspondence, and even asks DuKent to stop, but as things start to escalate, Cogburn fears that he’s being stalked and that his life could be in danger. Who is this mystery person and what do they want? Could they be working with the incarcerated Dwight Tufford (Alex Pettyfer), who still blames Cogburn for how his life ended up? As Cogburn hunts for the truth, he is forced to come out of hiding and confront his own past, which sends him down an even darker spiral. The only person who may be able to help is a friendly local cop, Officer Higgins (Alice Eve).

The Infernal Machine is a tense, twisty, dark thriller that keeps you guessing about what is really going on. The film is set in the early 2000s, which helps with the tension and narrative of the story. Cogburn doesn’t have a smartphone with him all the time to quickly call the cops, capture evidence of what’s being done to him, or to easily google the information he needs. While the internet does exist, it’s not right at his fingertips. Cogburn’s stalker also isn’t sending him emails he can just easily delete or block. Instead, he’s getting a more threatening stream of handwritten letters in non-descript block lettering, addressed to his home—a physical, tangible reminder that there’s no denying that the stalker knows exactly where to find him.

In flashbacks we see that Cogburn was once a clean-shaven, well-adjusted, well-groomed professor. But the events of “Knoxville Massacre” have taken their toll on him. He’s constantly drinking and smoking, and he always looks dirty and disheveled. In fact, Officer Higgins first comes across him drunk and passed out in the phone booth. At first Cogburn’s interactions with DuKent are a bit of an annoyance, and he just tosses the unwanted correspondence away. However, it soon becomes clear that this stalker is watching his every move and noting down his every word, secretly inserting himself into Cogburn’s life. While no overt threats are made, Cogburn can definitely feel an escalation, and that his life is in danger. This only sends him further into his drinking and puts him on edge. Cogburn becomes more and more desperate to put a stop to the situation, often sending him off into dangerous situations half-cocked.

The Infernal Machine has a very minimal cast. It is very much a showcase for Guy Pearce, who often finds himself in scenes alone, acting to the other end of a call in a phone booth, or with Cogburn’s newly-acquired guard dog, Saul. Pearce is excellent at conveying the fear, angst and emotion that Cogburn goes through as he tries to figure out why he is being targeted and for what reason. At the same time, you get the sense that Cogburn may already know the answer deep down—a secret from his past that has been haunting him for the past 25 years.

The film does a nice job of ratcheting up the tension as things between Cogburn and his stalker escalate. The filmmakers also throw in some red herrings and fake-outs to make you think you know what direction things are headed, only to suddenly swerve in a different direction. Art sort of imitates life in this film, as Cogburn sees his words and actions spelled out like a book before him. Cogburn even tells his adversary that “nobody gives a damn about an inspired second act if your finale is a big pile of shit, wouldn’t you agree?”. Similar to Cogburn’s sentiment to his would-be puppet master, the second act of the film itself did feel inspired. However, the final act was both hit and miss for me. The filmmakers do a nice job of taking things full circle and tying everything together in one big emotional arc, giving a satisfying conclusion to Cogburn’s journey, though some of the logic and things that were suddenly introduced to bring this about didn’t quite make sense or seem completely possible. That said, I found Guy Pearce’s performance very strong and worth the watch.

Normally I would comment on the audio and video presentation of the release, but I watched this film via a screener which may not reflect the final consumer product. The screener also didn’t include the bonus material that is available from some retailers such as iTunes. However, I will say that even in my watermarked screener, the setting and locales of the film were quite beautiful in their rundown look. Cogburn often finds himself in a phonebooth outside an abandoned gas station, where everything is covered in dust and any green grass is long dead. Flashbacks show a more lively and colorful world for Cogburn before the events of Knoxville sent him down his dark path.

The Infernal Machine is now available on digital platforms from Paramount Home Entertainment.

What’s Included:

Digital specs may vary by retailer.

Film: (1:51:08)

• 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Dolby Vision
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English

Extras:
Our screener did not include access to any bonus material, so we cannot provide exact details or comments on the content.
(There is some bonus material listed for iTunes Extras that may or may not be included with purchases on other retailers.)

• Behind-the-Scenes:
  Join the cast and crew if The Infernal Machine behind the scenes as they share their inspirations and intention behind their work on the film.

Final Thoughts:

The Infernal Machine is a tense, twisty thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Guy Pearce gives a phenomenal performance as a conflicted and tortured reclusive author who suddenly finds himself the target of a stalker, and is forced to confront some darker things from his past. iTunes contains some bonus material (though we could not review this as part of our screener). Since this is a Paramount film, it is not part of Movies Anywhere, so digital purchases won’t transfer to other services. The film is worth a look, especially for fans of Pearce.

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The Infernal Machine

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