Arcade (film)

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Arcade" film – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2015)

|

1993 American film

Arcade

Directed by| Albert Pyun
Screenplay by| David S. Goyer
Story by| Charles Band
Produced by| Cathy Gesualdo
Starring| Megan Ward
Peter Billingsley
John de Lancie
Sharon Farrell
Seth Green
A. J. Langer
Bryan Dattilo
Cinematography| George Mooradian
Edited by| Miles Wynton
Music by| Alan Howarth
Tony Riparetti
Distributed by| Full Moon Entertainment
Paramount Pictures

Release dates

* July 20, 1993 (1993-07-20) (Germany)
* March 30, 1994 (1994-03-30) (U.S.)

Running time

| 85 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $650,000

Arcade is a 1993 B-movie science fiction film directed by Albert Pyun, written by David S. Goyer and produced by Full Moon Entertainment. It stars Megan Ward, Peter Billingsley, John de Lancie, Sharon Farrell, Seth Green, A. J. Langer, and Bryan Dattilo.

## Plot

[edit]

Alex Manning (Megan Ward) is a troubled suburban teenager. Her mother committed suicide and the school counselor feels that she has not dealt with her feelings properly. Manning and her friends decide to visit the local video arcade known as "Dante's Inferno" where a new virtual reality arcade game called Arcade is being test marketed by a computer company CEO, Difford, who is more than willing to hand out free samples of the home console version and hype up the game as if his job is depending on it, and it is.

However, it soon becomes clear that the teenagers who play the game and lose are being imprisoned inside the virtual reality world by the central villain: Arcade. It would seem that Arcade was once a little boy who was beaten to death by his mother, and the computer company felt it would be a good idea to use some of the boy's brain cells in order to make the game's villain more realistic. Instead, it made the game deadly. The game's programmer knew there would be a problem with this, and even tried, but failed, to convince the computer company, Vertigo/Tronics, to halt the game's release because of the company's unorthodox decision to use human brain cells in the game's development.

Nick and Alex enlist the help of the game's programmer and head to the video arcade for a final showdown with Arcade and his deadly virtual world. While Alex is able to release her friends from a virtual prison, she also ended up freeing the evil little boy, who taunts Alex in the final moments of the film.

In the original CGI version, however, the film ends on a somewhat happier note, with Alex, her friends, and Albert (the programmer) simply walking away from Dante's Inferno, with the donor's soul seemingly laid to rest.

## Cast

[edit]

Actor | Role

|

Megan Ward | Alex Manning
Peter Billingsley | Nick
John de Lancie | Difford
Sharon Farrell | Alex's Mom
Seth Green | Stilts
A.J. Langer | Laurie
Bryan Dattilo | Greg
Brandon Rane | Benz
Sean Bagley | Lab Assistant
B.J. Barie | DeLoache
Humberto Ortiz | Boy
Norbert Weisser | Albert
Don Stark | Finster
Dorothy Dells | Mrs. Weaver
Todd Starks | Burt Manning
Alexandria Byrne | Kid at Arcade Parlour

## Production

[edit]

The film features heavy use of CGI, which was fully redone after The Walt Disney Company named Full Moon in a potential lawsuit. The Sky Cycles in this film resembled the light cycles from Disney's Tron. The VideoZone video magazine (a staple of Full Moon films during the 1990s) as well as some trailers showed footage from the original version of the film. As a rarity, the VideoZone featured on the Full Moon Classics DVD release of the film contains no footage of the released film's CGI, but only of the original film's version.

Despite the change in CGI, the original CGI version did manage to find a release in some places outside of North America, such as Argentina, Germany, Poland and Italy.[1][unreliable source?]

## See also

[edit]

* Brainscan
* The Dungeonmaster
* Tron
* Johnny Mnemonic
* The Lawnmower Man

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Featherston, Ryan W. (2014-07-30). "Houston on the Half Shell: Some Quick Thoughts on Arcade (1993) - The Version You've Never Seen!". Houston on the Half Shell. Retrieved 2021-06-09.

## External links

[edit]

* Arcade at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Albert Pyun

* The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
* Radioactive Dreams (1985)
* Dangerously Close (1986)
* Vicious Lips (1986)
* Down Twisted (1987)
* Alien from L.A. (1988)
* Journey to the Center of the Earth (1989)
* Cyborg (1989)
* Deceit (1989)
* Captain America (1990)
* Bloodmatch (1991)
* Kickboxer 2 (1991)
* Dollman (1991)
* Nemesis (1992)
* Arcade (1993)
* Knights (1993)
* Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)
* Kickboxer 4 (1994)
* Hong Kong '97 (1994)
* Heatseeker (1995)
* Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995)
* Spitfire (1995)
* Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996)
* Omega Doom (1996)
* Nemesis 3: Prey Harder (1996)
* Nemesis 4: Death Angel (1996)
* Raven Hawk (1996)
* Blast (1997)
* Mean Guns (1997)
* Crazy Six (1998)
* Postmortem (1998)
* Corrupt (1999)
* Urban Menace (1999)
* The Wrecking Crew (2000)
* Ticker (2001)
* Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)
* Infection (2005)
* Cool Air (2006)
* Left for Dead (2007)
* Road to Hell (2008)
* Bulletface (2010)
* Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010)
* The Interrogation of Cheryl Cooper (2014)
* Interstellar Civil War (2017)

* v
* t
* e

David S. Goyer

Films directed|

* Zig Zag (2002)
* Blade: Trinity (2004)
* The Invisible (2007)
* The Unborn (2009)

Films written|

* Death Warrant (1990)
* Kickboxer 2 (1991)
* Demonic Toys (1992)
* Arcade (1993)
* The Substitute (1993)
* The Puppet Masters (1994)
* The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
* Dark City (1998)
* Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998)
* Blade (1998)
* Blade II (2002)
* Batman Begins (2005)
* Jumper (2008)
* The Dark Knight (2008)
* Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
* The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
* Man of Steel (2013)
* Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
* Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
* Hellraiser (2022)

Television series created|

* Sleepwalkers (1997)
* FreakyLinks (2000)
* Blade (2006)
* FlashForward (2009–2010)
* Da Vinci's Demons (2013–2015)
* Constantine (2014–2015)
* Krypton (2018–2019)
* Foundation (2021–present)
* The Sandman (2022–2025)

* v
* t
* e

Full Moon Features

Full Moon Productions|

* Puppet Master (1989)
* Shadowzone (1990)
* Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Full Moon Entertainment|

* Crash and Burn (1990)
* Puppet Master II (1990)
* Subspecies (1991)
* The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
* Trancers II (1991)
* Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge (1991)
* Dollman (1991)
* Netherworld (1992)
* Demonic Toys (1992)
* Seedpeople (1992)
* Bad Channels (1992)
* Doctor Mordrid (1992)
* Trancers III (1992)
* Robot Wars (1993)
* Bloodstone: Subspecies II (1993)
* Arcade (1993)
* Mandroid (1993)
* Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (1993)
* Puppet Master 4 (1993)
* Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight (1993)
* Trancers 4: Jack of Swords (1994)
* Bloodlust: Subspecies III (1994)
* Oblivion (1994)
* Lurking Fear (1994)
* Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994)
* Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994)
* Shrunken Heads (1994)
* Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (1994)
* Castle Freak (1995)
* Demon in the Bottle (1996)
* Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996)
* Teen Knight (1998)
* Phantom Town (1999)

Full Moon Studios|

* Vampire Journals (1997)

Full Moon Features/Pictures|

* Hideous! (1997)
* Head of the Family (1996)
* Petticoat Planet (1996)
* Alien Abduction: Intimate Secrets (1996)
* The Creeps (1997)
* Talisman (1998)
* Shrieker (1998)
* Curse of the Puppet Master (1998)
* Blood Dolls (1999)
* The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes (film) (1999)
* Hollyweird (1999)
* The Incredible Genie (1999)
* The Killer Eye (1999)
* Retro Puppet Master (1999)
* Alien Arsenal (1999)
* The Dead Hate the Living! (2000)
* Prison of the Dead (2000)
* Witchouse II: Blood Coven (2000)
* Demonicus (2001)
* Trancers 6 (2002)
* Jigsaw (2002)
* Groom Lake (2002)
* Puppet Master: The Legacy (2003)
* Cinemaker (2004)
* Tomb of Terror (2004)
* Dr. Moreau's House of Pain (2004)
* Decadent Evil (2005)
* The Baker's Dozen (2005)
* Doll Graveyard (2005)
* The Gingerdead Man (2005)
* Aliens Gone Wild! (2006)
* Evil Bong (2006)
* Petrified (2006)
* Chinango (2007)
* Decadent Evil II (2007)
* Deadly End (2008)
* Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust (2008)
* Dead Man's Hand (2007)
* Dangerous Worry Dolls (2008)
* Evil Bong 2: King Bong (2009)
* Skull Heads (2009)
* Demonic Toys 2 (2010)
* Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (2010)
* Killjoy 3 (2010)
* Evil Bong 3D: The Wrath of Bong (2011)
* Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver (2011)
* Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt (2011)
* The Dead Want Women (2012)
* Killjoy Goes to Hell (2012)
* Puppet Master X: Axis Rising (2012)
* Ooga Booga (2013)
* Haunted Dollhouse (2013)
* Unlucky Charms (2013)
* Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong (2013)
* Puppet Master: Axis Termination (2017)

Moonbeam Entertainment|

* Prehysteria! (1993)
* Remote (1993)
* Dragonworld (1994)
* Prehysteria! 2 (1994)
* Beanstalk (1994)
* Pet Shop (1994)
* Magic Island (1995)
* Leapin' Leprechauns (1995)
* Prehysteria! 3 (1995)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 1, Planet of the Dino-Knights (1995)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 2, the Human Pets (1995)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 3, Trapped on Toyworld (1996)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 4, Eggs from 70 Million B.C. (1996)
* Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns (1996)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 5, Journey to the Magic Cavern (1996)
* Josh Kirby... Time Warrior: Chapter 6, Last Battle for the Universe (1996)
* Magic in the Mirror (1996)
* Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play (1997)
* Mystery Monsters (1997)
* The Shrunken City (1998)
* The Secret Kingdom (1998)
* The Search for the Jewel of Polaris: Mysterious Museum (1999)

Torchlight Entertainment|

* Beach Babes from Beyond (1993)
* Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000 (1994)
* Beach Babes 2: Cave Girl Island (1995)
* Blonde Heaven (1995)
* Petticoat Planet (1996)
* Huntress: Spirit of the Night (1996)
* Lurid Tales: The Castle Queen (1998)

Monster Island Entertainment|

* Zarkorr! The Invader (1996)
* Kraa! The Sea Monster (1998)

Filmonsters!|

* Frankenstein Reborn! (1998)
* The Werewolf Reborn! (1998)

Alchemy Entertainment/Big City Pictures|

* Ragdoll (1999)
* The Horrible Dr. Bones (2000)
* Killjoy (2000)
* The Vault (2001)
* Killjoy 2: Deliverance from Evil (2002)
* Cryptz (2002)

Edge Entertainment|

* Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999)
* Dying to Get Rich! (2000)
* Gun: Fatal Betrayal (2000)

Related articles|

* Empire International Pictures
* Moonbeam Entertainment
* Moonbeam Films

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template