Arcade Blu Ray Review (Full Moon Features)

Arcade is a 1993 science fiction flm directed by Albert Pyun (Captain America, Mean Guns, Crazy Six, Blast, Cyborg, Dollman, Kickboxer franchise, and Nemesis franchise). It was written by David S. Goyer (Batman franchise, Dark City, Hellraiser, Blade franchise, Demonic Toys, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Constantine, Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). It was executive produced by Charles Band (The Puppet Master franchise, Trancers franchise, Subspecies franchise, Evil Bong franchise, Demonic Toys franchise, Ghoulies franchise, Troll franchise, From Beyond, Crash and Burn, The Resonator, Pet Shop, Robot Wars, Tourist Trap, Laserblast, Beach Babes from Beyond, Castle Freak, Blood Dolls, Death Streamer, Doll Graveyard, Quadrant, Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity, Bad Channels, Baby Oopsie franchise, Dollman, Doctor Mordrid, Sorority Babes in the Slimebowl-O-Rama, Creepozoids, Seedpeople, and ShadowZone). All the kids in town are dying to play the popular new video game “Arcade”. Unfortunately, once they play the game they are no longer in reality. Arcade has seven levels of excitement, adventure, and terror for all its players. The game transports you to another world with its virtual reality simulation that becomes real. This experience doesn’t come cheap because in Arcade you’re putting your life on the line. The kids have accepted the challenge and they are obsessed with it. Only Alex (played by: Megan Ward from Crash and Burn, Trancers franchise, Freaked, Encino Man, Amityville 1992: It’s About Time, PCU, and Joe’s Apartment) and Nick (played by: Peter Billingsly from A Christmas Story, The Dirt Bike Kid, Elf, Iron Man, Spider-Man: Far from Home, A Christmas Story Christmas, and Death Valley) realize that these mysterious disappearances are linked to the mysterious Arcade. Now they must battle the game alone and try to save their friends which includes Stilts (played by: Seth Green from IT, Idle Hands, Changeland, Can’t Hardly Wait, Austin Powers franchise, Rat Race, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Pump Up the Volume) and Laurie (played by: A.J. Langer from The People Under the Stairs, Escape from LA, My So-Called Life, Three Sisters, and Private Practice)!!!! Arcade capitalizes the popularity of virtual reality at the time. This independent science fiction feature follows a few teenagers that are caught up in a new video that’s taking over. When bizarre events start happening, they realize it’s more than just some entertainment. Director Albert Pyun did some of his best work back in the day with Full Moon and the legendary Charles Band as producer. Arcade is definitely one of the highlights in his career. It was written by superhero veteran David S. Goyer. It had a fantastic score from the iconic Alan Howarth (Christine, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, They Live, The Dentist franchise, and Halloween franchise). Megan Ward is great as Alex, she’s the one that’s really getting through when it comes to playing the game. She’s put in some rough spots while trying to find out the truth about this dangerous Arcade. Peter Billingsly gives one of his better performances here as Nick. He keeps pushing the powerful people behind it all to figure out what’s really going. These two have really good chemistry together. The rest of the supporting cast includes Seth Green, A.J. Langer, Sharon Farrell (It’s Alive), John de Lancie (Multiplicity), Don Stark (That ’70s Show), Bryan Dattilo (Days of Our Lives), Tom Stoviak (Children of the Living Dead), Norbert Weisser (The Thing), and B.J. Barie (The Borrower). Arcade is loaded with so many familiar faces from other projects. I will say that the visual fx here were ahead of it’s time but they kinda look silly now compared to modern technology. What’s wild about that, Charles Band delayed this production for a long time to upgrade it’s visual fx so Full Moon really put some serious effort into this one. It kinda has a Tron vibe to it, I feel like it was probably heavily influenced by it. Like I’ve said many times, Full Moon Features were at their best when they partnered with Paramount Pictures for their ambitious movies. You can tell Arcade was put together for a younger and more mainstream audience. It’s not really that violent and there’s no nudity in it. It had some solid suspense and tension towards the end. It has a good pace and flow to it so it’s never dull. Arcade is a fun 90’s throwback to sci-fi, video games, and virtual reality, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Full Moon Features! This 1080p (1 37:1) transfer is from w brand new restoration. It’s honestly just a slight upgrade when it comes to picture quality compared to the previous DVD. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much sharper but Arcade is one of those films that are only going to look so good no matter what. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Digital 5.1 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks on the disc. Arcade is one of the better sounding Full Moon productions from the 90’s. It’s definitely an improvement compared to all of it’s past home video releases. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has an “Audio Commentary” with producer Charles Band and lead actress Megan Ward. As always, Charles Band has a blast revisiting his 90’s production. He is joined by the amazing Megan Ward. She jokes about being nervous and if she can even remember anything from it. They bring up updates about the cast and what they have done after this. They share all kinds of detailed information and inside stories from Arcade. If you want to learn some new stuff about this then you will love this track. It has the almost 10 minute “VideoZone”. It has interviews with Charles Band, Albert Pyun, Megan Ward, Peter Billingsley, Seth Green, Brandon Rane, George Mooradian, Bruce Granofsky, Stéphane Couture, and A.J. Langer. It has various clips and behind the scenes footage from the film. They chat about the concept and the overall game here. They talk about their characters and the cast. They go over the visual fx and how it was made for this low budget production. This is an interesting inside look into the sci-fi feature. It has an almost 16 minute “Interview” with actor John de Lancie. He chats about he got the film. He previously worked with both Pyun and Band on Dollman. He talks about his role here. He pointe out some differences between bigger and independent productions. He goes over the science fiction genre. It has the little over 18 minute “Rare VFX Reel”. It shows off some of the original visual fx that were replaced later on for it’s final version. It has the original “Trailer” for Arcade. It has a variety of Full Moon related “Trailers”. All of you Albert Pyun fans make sure you look out for all the upcoming releases from Yippee Ki-Yay Mother Video for additional movies from the cult director. It’s available everywhere right now including FullMoonHorror.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!