The Machine (1994)
This deftly made French psychological thriller terrifies with its exploration of an experiment gone horribly wrong. Dr. Marc Lacroix, a psychiatrist specializing in brain functions, is obsessed with the link between mind and spirit. To find his link he studies the criminally insane. He builds a secret machine, known only to his mistress Marianne, in which he hopes to exchange minds between humans. He simultaneously wants to help the mentally ill recover, and he wants to experience their madness. He chooses the psychotic killer, Zyto, a man who stabbed at least three women, for his experiment. The initial experiment is successful and the two exchange minds. But trouble ensues when Zyto refuses to reverse the switch. There is little Marc can do when Zyto takes over Marc's life, and more ominously his wife and child whom are unknowingly in mortal danger. Marc, encased in Zyto's body, is returned to the asylum. Will Marc's wife recognize the danger? Will Zyto kill again?
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I cannot understand how the movie "Face Off" could get near 8 on IMDb valuation and this movie, bacause is an european movie, only got 5.4. To me this movie, which is a science fiction or fantasy movie is similar in the fiction, but better
The psychiatrist Marc Laxroix (Gérard Depardieu) is a studious scientist of the brains of criminals. He has an unhappy and loveless marriage with his wife Marie Lacroix (Nathalie Baye) and they have a boy, Léonard Lacroix (Erwan Baynaud). Marc has also a mistress, Marianne (Natalia Wörner), who is also his confidante. Marc has secretly built a machine to study the mind of a person to another one in his old house, but he has not tested it yet, and Marianne is the only person who knows. When the serial-killer Michel Zyto (Didier Bourdon) is sentenced to life in the institution where Marc works, he decides to study the mind of the psychopath. Then he brings Zyto to use the machine and their minds are exchanged. When Marc asks Zyto to press a green button to restore their minds, Zyto refuses and uses Marc's body to lock up Marc trapped in his body in the institution. Further, he goes to Marc's house to stay with his family. Will Marc retrieve his body?"La Machine" is a dark film with a creepy and tense story that could be darker with a different and less commercial conclusion. The plot holds the attention of the viewer until the ending and the direction and performances are top notch, highlighting Gérard Depardieu. Unfortunately this film was only released on VHS. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Memórias do Mal" ("Memories from Evil")
This was one of those rare cases in which the opposite occurs: a movie that should have been stupid and hokey but turned out to be well-done and a good thriller. Yes, a very pleasant surprise.A man invents a machine which can switch the inward beings (at least the brain) of two humans so....the doctor winds up being a killer while the killer becomes him, the doctor in actions and thoughts. This "fact" is hidden because the two people still have the old face and body of the person they used to be, so no one else can see the two people have switched "identities.""Anyway.....there is very good suspense in this film as the good guy tries to save his wife and family from being killed by the deranged human. Yeah, I know....it sounds confusing and stupid, but it isn't. The film also boasts a few shocking scenes and twists at the end. Recommended.
A psychiatrist (Gerard Depardieu) and his woman-stabbing patient accidently exchange minds with a machine (the machine) he developed. The maniac overthrows him before the transfer-back process and stays in the body. Now the psychiatrist is locked away in the clinic and the madman is at home with the psychiatrist's wife and child.Queer sounding story but nevertheless a fascinating, exciting "mind-exchange" movie. 8/10