THE INFERNAL MACHINE
Guy Pearce plays writer Bruce Cogburn, who lives in booze-soaked seclusion on the outskirts of Almas Perdidas in California.
It has been 25 years since the publication of his controversial debut The Infernal Machine, which won numerous awards and was infamously pulled from shelves following a shooting at Knoxville university which left
13 dead and 26 critically injured.
The 17-year-old culprit, Dwight Tufford (Alex Pettyfer), claimed the book compelled him to kill.
Bruce communicates with his
agent by pay phone and she forwards mail to a PO box, including a barrage of handwritten letters from diehard fan William Dukent. Fanaticism moulders into a fixation and Bruce grows increasingly paranoid. Local police officer Laura Higgins (Alice Eve) kindly listens to Bruce’s concerns and the jittery author seeks an audience with Dwight in prison. Pearce puts his character through the wringer while co-stars effectively play against type to sustain tension. Pieces of the elaborate puzzle are more satisfying than the completed picture.
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