Make Believe 2024: THE LONELY MAN WITH THE GHOST MACHINE

The struggle to overcome grief is well-trodden territory on film. Yet when a director or actor can dig deep, they can reveal unique truths about the experience. The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine – premiering at Make Believe 2024 – marks Graham Skipper‘s return to the director’s chair. It’s Skipper’s most accomplished film to date, and even when it steps into the odd elements of his story, Skipper remains in control. However, other elements feel gratuitous for the sake of shock value. Still, Skipper proves he’s ready for another step forward in terms of budget and scale.

When the world ends, a couple escapes to a cabin in the woods. After the death of his wife Nellie (Christina Bennett Lind), Wozzek (Skipper) tries to resurrect her. His work on a ghost machine allows her to reappear to him, but she’s unresponsive. As Wozzek continues to refine his machine, a creature – known as The Deleterian (Paul Guyet) – begins questioning him through the door. Without human contact for years, Wozzek must navigate his sanity. The race to bring Nellie back and keep his mission on track proves difficult.

Skipper works with a microbudget and uses strong visuals to expand the scope of his story. The claustrophobia of the cabin quickly becomes apparent, and while we see Wozzek step outside on occasion, his loneliness shines through. Even when he has a chance to observe the open world, his ties to his project become a literal chain to his world. Yet The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine showcases fun lighting packages, black-and-white photography, and handheld cameras to add dynamic visuals. While the production is simple and the creature design reflects the low budget, there’s power in the narrative.

It’s hard to imagine that Skipper is not channeling some of his Covid experience into the screenplay and movie. The dialogues between Wozzek and The Deleterian are too pointed to not feel rooted in this experience. The sense of loneliness and hopelessness are familiar, yet within the context of The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine, they feel fresh.

A final act turn helps The Lonely Man and the Ghost Machine land its self-aware ending. Much of Skipper’s film focuses on grief, but he surprises with a discussion between characters that turns The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine on its head. It’s not the “twist” that sells it, but instead the emotionally complex reactions between characters. There’s a lot to like in The Lonely Man and the Ghost Machine up to that point, but its the ending that helps push it over the edge.

While Skipper works well to convey a theme and message, he is held back by the limited budget. The creature outside the house is lacking, and while it is far from a completed work, it does not rise to what we expect from the movie. The choice to hop between black-and-white shots versus color helps differentiate The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine from similar movies. However, it also becomes somewhat predictable and gives away aspects of the ending before we reach it. While the indie spirit throughout the film is admirable, it does hurt the final product when the audience is asked to emotionally invest.

Additionally, The Lonely Man and the Ghost Machine needs a little more from its actors. Skipper has proven capable a capable performer, and does so again multiple times here. However, being asked to carry an entire film is difficult, especially when one is also directing the feature. Skipper’s facial expressions are golden, but there are times when the emotion rings a little hollow. Lind works in many scenes but also feels one-note in others. The calibration between the two may have just been off, and with no one else on screen, it’s difficult to overlook.

Skipper proves that his vision is not lacking in any way throughout The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine. He succeeds in many ways where others would not. Unfortunately, a lower budget holds back some aspects of the creature feature from fully succeeding. Still, the claustrophobic environment and themes running through The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine make it an alluring, if imperfect, feature.