La machine (1994)
8/10
Creepy Experiment
4 October 2016
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")
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