ARCADE (1993)
Tagline: The game wants to play...with you!
(Sci-Fi, Thriller, All of Your Friends Are Here) [R]
It’s tough being a hero, isn’t it?
In this one, Alex Manning is having issues dealing with her emotions regarding her mother’s suicide and finds some solace in hanging out with her friends at a video arcade called “Dante’s Inferno”. Everyone in the group is unaware that a new virtual reality game is being tested, but Alex’s boyfriend Greg decides to try it out. Greg goes missing and Alex enlists the help of her friend Nick to find out what has happened to him after a home version of the game threatens her. Now the game is driving its users to the point of madness where they end up dying in reality. Can Alex overcome the challenges of the game's sinister virtual world to destroy the game?
First off, FULL MOON ENTERTAINMENT is known for putting out some of the crazier outlandish films of the 90s and that hasn’t stopped to date. This movie isn’t an exception, it’s kind of like if TRON and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET had a Sega VR baby. The producers even got threats of getting sued due to scenes with vehicles that looked so much like the lightcycles in TRON, that they were forced to change the graphics.
What you don’t want to do is go into this thing expecting a big-budget production. The graphics in this game make THE LAWNMOWER MAN look like a masterpiece. The story itself is actually pretty interesting, but the backstory for Alex is actually pretty depressing. When it comes to the production the lighting is pretty weak, the cinematography is rough and the soundtrack sounds like what would be playing if you walked into a goth rave and the DJ only had access to B-sides. Having said that this cast makes this thing pretty watchable.
Acting wise we get Megan Ward (ENCINO MAN) who is still acting to this day. I thought she crushed it as Alex in this and I am not shocked at all that she’s been involved in over 50 movies and TV shows in her career started in 1990. Peter Billingsley (A CHRISTMAS STORY) does a good job, Nick. He was definitely coming out of his child actor years at this point and went on to do mostly TV for a while before getting involved with MARVEL more recently. Billingsley plays William Ginter Riva who was in IRON MAN and was responsible for the Stark Industry Combat Drones. The character would go on to work with Quinton Beck (SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME) and was largely responsible for exposing Peter’s secret identity to the world. We also get a bit of John de Lancie in this as Difford. John is best known for CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, but he’s been in all kinds of stuff.
Overall there is nothing really all that mind-blowing here, but it’s a pretty cool concept and I did like the cast quite a bit. This is a good one to check out if you are just looking for something a bit off the beaten path or really need a reminder of how crappy CGI and video games used to look.
ARCADE gets a 3 out of 7. It’s certainly not bad but the ending kind of killed it for me because it’s almost too ripped from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF FULL MOON ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
Comments
Post a Comment