Horrorvision

A science fiction film is often one of the most expensive types of films to make, especially as the science in our own era gets more and more advanced. No longer are viewers impressed by cardboard and plastic cutouts with shining buttons. Now, audiences desire heart-stopping slow motion effects, intricate designs, and costly CGI (computer graphics). Perhaps even more difficult than a science fiction film is a science fiction/horror film, because not only must the technology be conceived and impressive, it also must be believable as frightening, deadly, and evil or aiding an evil force. Can Full Moon's 2000 release "Horrorvision", a science fiction/horror film made for "the Matrix's coffee budget", be believable without a big budget and a lot of special effects? Although it has a strong story, and (as usual) wrings an amazing amount of effects from its low budget, "Horrovision" is unfortunately just too ambitious for Full Moon.

"Horrorvision" definitely has a strong story and plot. Instead of featuring a true physical entity as its technological nemesis, the film features a techno-spiritual being, a god-like manifestation of all the hate that is allowed to be spread over the internet (known, fittingly, as Manifesto). Though Manifesto has physical outlets, it is essentially indestructible because it can live and act within any piece of computer technology. The story also benefits greatly from being set in an urban, underground "geek is chic" type circle, with uber-cool, leather-clad programmers/hackers as its lead roles. Despite sharing general appearance and character types with contemporaries in films such as "Hackers" and "The Matrix", the leads in "Horrorvision" act and relate to each other like real people (e.g. Dazzy constantly tries to encourage Dez to follow his aspirations of writing a screenplay, but he'd rather make porn sites because it pays the rent). Though sometimes the plot moves a bit fast, it's well paced until the last 10 minutes where, because of the short length, it becomes extremely rushed. As soon as Dez and his mysterious ally Bradbury get their first leads, the film kicks into high gear, with a series of short, anti-climactic confrontations with the "main villains" Wetwall and Manifesto (the Manifesto one, being the film's climax, immensely disappointing) as the film just ends. Interestingly enough, there were several unnecessary music video sequences in the movie that could've been easily cut to save time and fix the pace problems near the end (combined the sequences must have eaten up around 10 minutes of screen time in an 80 minute movie), and it's a wonder why they were left in.

Although "Horrorvision" doesn't have a ton of awe-inspiring effects like its bigger-budget contemporaries, coming from a label as accustomed to low budgets as Full Moon, there is a lot wrung out of the budget. Particularly impressive are the cyber-bug creatures and the Wetwall machine/man (that whole set is amazing). The full-body suit of Manifesto is well-detailed, but the design looks just as goofy as it does sleek. Unlike the practical effects and costumes, the computer effects still aren't up to par. CGI has just not advanced to the point where it can be used effectively by low-budget film-makers yet (although for a neat little flashback of how far it has advanced, check out the footage from the 1994 Full Moon release "Arcade" that Dez watches on a hotel TV).

On the whole, "Horrorvision" is just too much for a Full Moon picture. The story is involving, and definitely requires much more than the hour and a half length that a Full Moon picture is limited by budget to be, not to mention the super-expensive CGI and other special effects it requires and can never get; Danny Draven definitely shows his talents as an up-and-coming director on this one, unfortunately he has too great of a vision for the low budget. The plot and concept are just too involved, and by the end too rushed (of course, this can be blamed on the time lost on the useless music video sequences previously mentioned), such that it seems like a work-in-progress that will never be finished.

It started off on the right foot. Full Moon movies are notoriously bad but this 'lunar edition' dvd had an interesting plot, solid direction and some good performances. But just when you thought the movie was really taking off it ended. It's like they decided not to spend anymore money and that was that. Or maybe they figured that because of all of the extra features which can now be dumped on the dvd format you only need a little over 70 minutes for the actual movie. This saves money and to cover it up you can add a lot of cheap slop under the guise that you're giving the collector more for his buck. Whatever. Wait until Horrorvision 2 comes out and maybe coupled with the first one you'll be able to see an entire movie.

I thought this looked interesting from the first time I saw it at Hollywood Video, although I have no idea why. I mean, if you just look at it, it looks like any other direct-to-video release and one with a pretty cheesy title at that. But, for better or worse, it kept tugging on my "check this out" senses, so when I was at the Horrorfind convention and not only had a chance to get it, but also had a chance to get it signed by Brinke Stevens herself, I couldn't resist. So now that I've seen it what do I think? Well, it was okay, but it could have been a lot better.

The story started out pretty predictably. In fact, the whole movie was pretty predictable. Another thing was that there was no sense of closure. It was left hanging wide open for a sequel. And if no sequel gets made, then "Horrorvision" will turn out to be a pretty pointless movie, you know, like the new "Planet of the Apes". It did have a nice 'end of the world' feel to it, which was cool (kinda like "Maximum Overdrive" in a way). Other than that, there weren't really any highlights in the story. Except for a few "Star Wars" references near the end. Must love those "Star Wars" references.

The acting was decent for a low budget, Full Moon production. There were a couple Full Moon regulars, a few total newbies, and, of course, Brinke Stevens. Brinke had a pretty cool part, but she wasn't around very long (that's what happens when you have 'Special Appearance by' in front of your name). The lead, Jake Leonard, was a little bit of an over-actor, but he did pretty well considering this was his first flick. Another relative newcomer that I liked was Maggie Rose Fleck, but, like Brinke, her part wasn't that big.

The make-up was done pretty well. There was one creepy-looking guy with a bunch of computer stuff on him. The other forms of special effects were pretty cheesy. Little puppet thingies on strings and quite a lot of really bad computer graphic effects. But, hey, this is Full Moon, king of the really bad computer graphic effects. One thing in the flick that I thought was pretty cool was the music. It was some weird 'electro-rock' type stuff and it fit with the movie pretty well.

Do I regret buying or watching this flick? Nope. Will I watch it again? Maybe. Anytime soon? Probably not. If you're a fan of cheesy Full Moon direct-to-video flicks with no closure or a die-hard Brinke Stevens fanatic, check it out.

save your money. i have been a fan of fullmoon productions for a long time and i have never seen them make a movie as bad as this. the casting is terrible, the story is even worse and the special affects are worse than any movie iv'e seen sence the 80's. this movie is so bad i cant even suggest renting it.

Tempe and Full Moon team up for a rather slow science fiction/horror adventure regarding a website that causes trouble when one logs on to it. Cast is good, especially Maggie Rose Fleck (from Full Moon flick 'Stiches') though several Tempe regulars appear including Ariauna Albright and Tammi Sutton. Fantastic photogrophy in the film is by Ward Boult. Scream queens Linnea Quigley (in a still picture) and Brinke Stevens feature briefly and James Black is good in a small role. Watchable but dull film and another relatively poor feature from Full Moon and further evidence of their poor relationship with Tempe. There are some good graphics in this one and some new ideas so its certainly worth a look but its disappointing none-the-less.