Arcade

Original (excludng Disney's actually inferior hit 'Tron') Full Moon picture whereby a group of slightly irritating youngsters get wrapped in a game called 'Arcade' down at the local bargain basement, ummm, arcade. The cast is a staggering one considering the low budget (though at the time they were largely unknown). Lead Megan Ward (also in Full Moon's 'Crash and Burn'; 'Trancers 2/3') is a fantastic actress and the now successful director/producer/writer/actor Peter Billingsley, A.J. Langer and Seth Green are among the other teens. To give the film some Sci-Fi credibility we have Star Trek's John de Lancie. The effects, though good considering budget and scope are too adventurous for their own success and frequently characters sucked in to the game look like they are not in the game at all merely wearing tight all-in-one swimsuits and pretending to touch or hold game components (which in reality they are). Megan Ward is an unlikely heroine which adds to the credibility (not all hero/heroine types are built for the role) and the cast have striking chemistry. Put any understanding of big budget CGI and your own knowledge of computer graphics aside to really appreciate this film and you may be pleasantly surprised. Writer David S. Goyer who wrote a few Full Moon films including 'Demonic Toys' has achieved great mainstream Hollywood success since and this is probably significant on his path there (as it was for stars Ward, Green and Langer). Director Albert Pyun is generally pretty poor and this is - without doubt - his best work. Good, (and except for some pointless bad language) clean, fun.

The newest video game sensation is "Arcade", a virtual reality game that one must win....or lose your mind and forever be part of the game. Alex (Megan Ward) and her friends try the game, but Alex's boyfriend loses and disappears. One of Alex's friends tries a home version of the game and disappears before her eyes. Determined to get their friends back, Alex and her friend Nick (Peter Billingsley) take on the mind-reading Arcade!

While the plot may be familiar to anyone who's seen TRON, this is a decent low-budget sci-fi film. Many of the actors are now familiar faces: Seth Green, A.J. Langer and John DeLancie among them. Although director Albert Pyun usually directs low-budget boredom (DOLLMAN, CYBORG, etc.), this movie actually has a good story and some pretty good actors. The pace is somewhat slow, and the CGI F/X won't impress today's kids accustomed to video game-like movies with endless amounts of special effects, explosions and loud music, but fans of movies that actually have a plot and characterization will find it entertaining. I'd place this with Pyun's better movies such as RADIOACTIVE DREAMS and THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER.

Charles Band, the film's producer and CEO of Full Moon Pictures, held this movie's release back for a year in order to redo the CGI F/X. For those curious to what they originally looked like, watch the 10 minute "Videozone" featurette included on the DVD. I think it was a wise move, and the movie benefits greatly because of it. The only complaint I really have is that the DVD didn't include the full "Videozone" segment, which included this film's trailer. (This DVD was part of a import boxed set of region-free DVDs.)

Something fishy is going on. After playing the newest, hottest video game on the market a bunch of teenagers in the neighborhood begin to disappear. The special effects are the main attraction here. At the time of it's release they were pretty good, but today they are badly dated. Pretty bland entertainment without any excitement.

Rated R; Violence.

Rating Breakdown.

Story - 1.25 :: Direction - 0.50 :: Pace - 0.50 :: Performances - 1.25 :: Entertainment 1.00 :::: TOTAL - 4.50/10.00.

Ah, Arcade (1993), a cyber-horror movie that promised to make us "kiss reality goodbye" but instead delivered a virtual reminder of how far CGI has come since the early '90s. Albert Pyun, known for his low-budget miracles, takes a big swing here-unfortunately, it's more of a foul tip than a home run.

The premise is tantalizing: a malevolent VR video game traps teens in a digital hellscape, forcing our lead Alex (Megan Ward) to rescue her friends. It's a concept worthy of Tron's neon dreams or The Lawnmower Man's techno-paranoia. But unlike those films, Arcade buckles under the weight of its own ambition. The budget is painfully evident, especially once the characters enter the VR world, a green-screen nightmare where the CGI resembles a rejected screensaver from Windows 95. What should've been high-octane spectacle becomes a sluggish chore, as scenes that should dazzle instead drag.

And yet, there are glimmers of hope. The cast-led by Ward, with a young Seth Green and John de Lancie along for the ride-does its best to sell the material. They bring a touch of humanity to their clichéd characters, even if the direction falters once they step into the digital void. Pyun struggles to translate VR peril into cinematic thrills, leaving the actors adrift in a sea of garish polygons.

Still, there's an earnest charm to Arcade's flawed ambition. It's a film that aims for the stars but lands in a low-resolution crater. If you have fond memories of the movie, be warned: revisiting it might tarnish your nostalgia. For everyone else, it's a cautionary tale about dreaming big on a small budget.

Yes, this is the worst film I have ever seen. That's not to say it's the least enjoyable film I've ever seen, that dubious honour goes to My Dog Skip, a hideously patriotic story of a boy who learns all life's lessons through his pet dog that I was forced to watch on a bus. But Arcade has the worst plot, the worst production values, the worst script, the worst acting, the worst... everything, really.

This complete lack of virtue is, of course, Arcade's saving grace. This really is a freak show exhibit of a film. I watched it all the way through because I simply could not take my eyes from the grotesque spectacle on the screen. I had to see how much worse it could get. And boy, did it ever get worse.

How did this film get made? Who knows. I'm glad to see it went straight to video, which is where it deserves to be. Watch it if you've got a taste for the truly horrible.