Darkdrive (1997)

Set in some distant future, one man must restore order when a mainframe system crashes in a virtual reality prison where computers control the inmates thoughts.

Director:

Phillip J. Roth

Writer:

Alec Carlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi, Claire Stansfield, Nick Eldredge

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi	...	Matthew Stolopin (as Gian Carlo Scandiuzzi)
Claire Stansfield	...	Tilda
Nick Eldredge	...	Ken Allen
Ken Olandt	...	Steven Falcon
Christian W.C. Ryser	...	Tech One
Suzanne Charnos	...	Tech Two
Barry Ross Rinehart	...	Tech Three
Christopher Goodson	...	Hacker
Thomas Craig Elliott	...	Tye (as Tom Elliott)
Natasha Roth	...	Little Girl
Natalie Scandiuzzi	...	Tammy
Kerry Skalsky	...	Clerk
Marcus Aurelius	...	Dayton
Larry Albert	...	Old Man
Eric Liddell	...	Byron

Storyline

In the near future, a new law has criminals sent to a virtual reality world as their prison built by a shadowy corporation called Zircon based in Seattle. The designer of the system, Steven Falcon, realizes the danger of it being overloaded and of hackers whom try to break in and steal files only to have the prisoners try to break out vie that method. When Falcon threatens to quit the operation, he becomes marked for murder by his employers whom force him to enter the Maxtrix virtual reality/afterlife to find the source of the danger of the system crashing.

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Plot Keywords:

virtual reality | computer | electrocution | helicopter | simulation | 

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence and sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Darkdrive - Verschollen in der Matrix

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

AGATE Films, Unified Film Organization (UFO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Julie Falcon: Will they let you just walk away?
Steven Falcon: What else can I do?
Julie Falcon: That's what I'm afraid of.

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Connections

References An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Tilda Jazz"
Written by Jim Goodwin

User Reviews

Three stars for Julie Benz, Clare Stansfield and the music

I always aim to be fair to movies in reviews and ratings, I always try to know what to expect before viewing, I never bail out after a certain amount of time, I try to be as succinct and unbiased as possible and be understanding of other people's opinions instead of generalising or attacking(on a side note, people can do with this and they'll be surprised at how easy it is). I gave that treatment to Darkdrive and while I have seen much worse I still didn't like it. It is not entirely irredeemable, the music manages to be memorable and fitting, Julie Benz has a beautiful face and appealing presence that really shines through and Clare Stansfield is very cool. However there is so much that is wrong. The worst asset was the story which I found impossible to follow, in fact I don't think I have ever been this confused by a movie before. As a consequence of that, and the turgid pacing too, I never had any engagement or emotional attachment to the action or characters. Any suspense, memorable action move or humour just wasn't there in Darkdrive, there were probably attempts that didn't come through, at least to me. The dialogue is clichéd and stilted while the rest of the acting is at best dire. The camera work and angles get too much, there was an attempt to tell the story through them but with that tactic everything just felt incomprehensible, and the special effects look as though they belong in a very cheap-looking movie from the 80s. All in all, not the worst I've seen but lame. 3/10 Bethany Cox