There was a time when the only thing more dangerous than pot was virtual reality, and the industry was filled with genre movies declaring the dangers of these horrible, life-changing games. Virtual reality in real life never became a hit (but we finally seem to get closer to that now, which I for one welcome - it sounds like a lot of fun!), but spawned numerous films on the subject. The most famous one must be The Lawnmower Man and eXistenZ, but also underrated films like Virtuosity and Johnny Mnemonic...oh, and lets not forget the film that started it all: Tron. Anyway, along the way came smaller films trying to ride the wave of the hits - one of them is the Charles Band produced Arcade, directed by Albert Pyun and written by David S. Goyer!
A new virtual reality game is ready to be released to a world of teenagers in one month, but the company behind it wants to try it out a little bit more and gives free consoles away to a group of teens (one of them is a douchey Seth Green!). But the game is more sinister than anyone could imagine, and inside is a mad… demon? Monster? Killer? It’s hard to say, but someone wants to kill everyone using the game once and for all! Soon there’s only two teens left (one of them Death Valley’s Peter Billingsley, now with pubic hair) and they need to go further into the game to save their friends from the clutches of whatever is in there!
Shot in 1991, but according to legends the released was delayed and delayed until 1994 - some sources say 1993 - because of the visual effects, the virtual reality sequences. By the time it was released it I guess it slowly had touched a subject that wasn’t in fashion anymore and it faded into obscurity. But let me tell you, this is a vintage Pyun-production - which means it’s a damn fine and professional movie with the trademark cinematography by George Mooradian. Oddly enough it’s Alan Howarth doing the music and not Tony Riparetti, one of Pyun’s oldest and closest co-workers. Arcade also looks very cheap, but small cramped spaces and simple set-ups - but it’s never boring.
I especially like the final, set inside the game - including a Tron-esque chase scene with “Skycycles”. It’s a primitive digital landscape, but it triggers some kind of nostalgia (I hate nostalgia, it should be noted!) for me and I feel for watching every damn VR-movie ever made right now!
I often judge a cheap movie by how long my partner G sits and watches it. And here he actually sat and watched 90 % of it until he became too tired and went to bed. He’s a smart person, he understands budget issues, and didn’t even laugh at the sometimes very simple effects or very cheap set design solutions. He got hooked by the story, he found the cast believable and the movie itself reasonably entertaining. Which kinda says it all, it’s a production made for the DTV market in the nineties, a child of it’s time - and everyone with memories from that time - of virtual reality and early digital effects - will find some kind of sentimental value in it. I can’t say I think it’s the best in the genre, but Pyun always delivers good entertaining for very little money, which for me always gained more respect than anything else in the biz. It might not hold up for a new generation, which is born into a much more advanced level of effects - which is perfectly understandable - but for us “of a certain age”, this is a lot of fun! I almost wish Pyun and Full Moon would revisit this movie and make an "Arcade: Legacy" sometime!
Arcade is out on DVD from 88 Films in the UK, the picture quality looks okay (but a far cry from their blu-ray releases) and it’s not that expensive. So you know what to do.
"oh, and lets not forget the film that started it all: Tron."
For nostalgia reasons alone I love that movie......hahahahhahahahh.....but TRON: Legacy (2010) was so glossy, beautiful....
"Shot in 1991, but according to legends the released was delayed and delayed until 1994 - some sources say 1993 - because of the visual effects, the virtual reality sequences."
Has alot of grunge fashion, and stuff.....hahahahhah...I think Pyun was trying to get the kids to see it....ya´know....X-generation they called themselves.
"I especially like the final, set inside the game - including a Tron-esque chase scene with “Skycycles”. It’s a primitive digital landscape, but it triggers some kind of nostalgia (I hate nostalgia, it should be noted!) for me and I feel for watching every damn VR-movie ever made right now!"
If that means a review of Brainscan (1994)......I would love that.
"It might not hold up for a new generation, which is born into a much more advanced level of effects - which is perfectly understandable - but for us “of a certain age”, this is a lot of fun!"
hahahahhahahha...yeah you could say that again!
"Arcade is out on DVD from 88 Films in the UK, the picture quality looks okay (but a far cry from their blu-ray releases) and it’s not that expensive. So you know what to do."
I don´t like it as much as you do....but it has Megan Ward in it.....so who knows?
Good review Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | August 15, 2014 at 00:02