I’ve said it numerous times before, and I’ll say it again: I’m a big fan of Lovecraftian horror. I’m always willing to check out a new movie with a mysterious monster beyond human understanding, so when I heard that The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine was in that time-honored tradition, it instantly became one of my most anticipated titles of this year’s FrightFest. I just had to see what inscrutable chills and thrills the film had in store, so I requested a screener as soon as I got the chance.
The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine was written and directed by Graham Skipper, and Skipper also stars in the movie alongside Paul Guyet and Christina Bennett Lind. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by deadly monsters that come out at night, and in this world, a man named Wozzek lives a lonely life. His wife, Nellie, was killed by the creatures a few years ago, so as far as he can tell, he’s the last human being on the planet.
However, not all is lost for the poor guy. He has a machine that can slowly bring his dead wife back to life, and every night, he gets closer and closer to his long-awaited goal. But he’s not the only one who yearns for a personal connection. One night, he’s visited by an enigmatic figure known as the Deleterian, and this eerie stranger comes back to talk to him multiple times throughout the film.
As you might be able to tell from that brief plot synopsis, The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine is largely a one-man show. Sure, a couple of other people pop up every now and again, but for the majority of the movie’s runtime, it’s basically all Wozzek all the time. It stands or falls almost exclusively on the strength of this one character, and unfortunately, he’s not quite good enough to carry the story by himself.

To be fair, Wozzek isn’t a bad lead, and writer/director Graham Skipper is actually pretty good in the role. In fact, in most films, his performance would be totally fine, but this isn’t most films. Because there’s so much resting on the shoulders of this one character, he has to do more than just make you believe he’s lonely.
Wozzek has to make you feel his pain as well. He has to make you feel like you’re right there with him struggling to stay sane in a world that’s gone to sh*t, but he never did that for me. He didn’t allow me to cross the barrier from detached observer to genuine participant in his story, so the whole thing ended up falling pretty flat.
That being said, The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine is far from terrible. It has its fair share of gripping moments, and one of the best involves Wozzek’s mysterious nighttime companion, the Deleterian. He’s voiced excellently by Paul Guyet, and the first time he knocks on the main character’s door, the tension immediately ratchets up to 11.
You simply have no idea who or even what this guy is, and his motives are equally uncertain. In fact, you don’t even see him, but his voice alone tells you that he’s not to be trifled with. His smooth, mellifluous tone reminded me of Smaug from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films, but he combines the menace of that character’s line delivery with a more ASMR-like, almost comforting quality.
That’s admittedly a bit of an unusual combination, but it works brilliantly here. It magnifies your uncertainty about this guy’s intentions, and in typical Lovecraftian fashion, that makes him even more terrifying.

Unfortunately though, as The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine goes on, the Deleterian loses quite a bit of stream. In particular, once I saw his face, I had a tough time taking him seriously. It’s not a bad design, but his look simply doesn’t match the mystique the movie builds up around him. In fact, the mismatch is so egregious it almost completely ruins the Deleterian’s enigmatic allure.
Last but not least, we have to talk about the way this film ends. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I will say that the last 15 minutes or so are the best part of the entire movie. This sequence finally gives actress Christina Bennett Lind her time to shine as Nellie, and it adds a really interesting twist you almost certainly won’t see coming.
On top of that, these final few scenes also inject The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine with some more thematic heft. It’s almost like a tough-love pep talk, so it gives you a lot more to chew on than just the basic idea that loneliness sucks. It made me look back at my own life and reflect a bit on some mistakes I’ve made, so even though I had a tough time getting into Wozzek’s story, my experience ended on a surprisingly high note.
Unfortunately, though, that good finale isn’t enough to salvage the entire movie. At the end of the day, the flaws in the first 70 minutes of the film outweigh the strengths of the final 15, so if you get a chance to watch The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine sometime in the future, I recommend giving it a pass.
The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine had its European premiere at FrightFest on August 23.