GamerZ (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Robbie Fraser

Writer:

Robbie Fraser (writer)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

It's pure magic, by the way...

Plot:

A love triangle with a twist of fantasy! The hero is Ralph, a young nerd from a bad neighborhood who's on his way to university for the first time...

Plot Keywords:

University | Role Playing | Dungeons And Dragons | Goth | Role Playing Game

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ross Finbow	...	Ralph
Danielle Stewart	...	Marlyn
James Young	...	Lennie
Johnny Austin	...	Davy
Ross Sutherland	...	Hank
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Dr. Denham
Lynne McCallum	...	Shona
Alan Tall	...	Security Guard
Jamie Honeybourne	...	Gavin
Stacey Sampson	...	Julie
Eileen McCallum	...	Nan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arnold Brown	...	Z'rennk
John Conboy	...	Professor 3
Gary Cullen	...	Hemp Society (III)
Bruce Finlay	...	Professor
Gary French	...	Spotty
Evan Gavin	...	Apprentice Ned
Chris Goldie	...	Ned
Frankie Higgins	...	Startled Student
Jane Mackay	...	Dr. Mitchison
Lewis Macleod	...	Z'rennk (voice)
Joe McFadyen	...	Professor 2
Gareth McLean	...	Hemp Society (II)
Paul McMenemy	...	Hemp Society (I)
Wilma McRitchie	...	Knitting Goth
Bob Peacock	...	Copy Student
Kirsteen Ross	...	Goth Girl on Staircase
Annette Staines	...	Mrs. Bruff
Mikael Star	...	Fetish Shop Manager
Anne Marie Timoney	...	Marlyn's Mum

Also Known As:

GamerZ: One Game to Rule Them All (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Company:

Pure Magic Films Ltd.

Quotes:

Lennie: I never leave home without my vibrator.

Movie Connections:

References The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

A fun but not great little film about gamers in Scotland.

Do not confuse this title with the movies "Gamers" and "The Gamers" (one of which is a good geek movie). This movie was made in Glasgow Scotland and most of the stars have thick accents, which can make it a little hard to understand them at times for us non-UK viewers. The movie is a low budget but relatively well written story about a dysfunctional group of gamers (which might be redundant) going through an interpersonal crisis and love triangle. It's a story of obsession, losing the line between reality and fantasy, and a coming of age story for kids who happen to be gamers.

Visually they have created a very cool looking movie for the budget they had to deal with, and the use of shadow plays with a mix of CG and painted background was a great way to show what was going on in the main character's imagination. It allowed a very strong separation between the game world and the real world, while not making them feel completely separate. The sound and music mix could have been a lot stronger, but again it works fine for the low budget they had to deal with.

The acting is where you have the biggest problem with the movie. Although not exactly bad, you can tell these are mostly amateurs or student actors. The characters become larger stereotypes because of this, which can actually work for certain styles of movies but this isn't one. The sets are mostly "found sets" but used very well and the set dressing they did do worked fine (again, for the budget). The story gets a little convoluted and meanders towards the middle and end, but can still be followed.

The DVD is fairly simple, with a couple of interesting behind the scenes featurettes, but has a number of technical problems. Several of the tracks on the DVD (including the movie itself) like to hang up at the end, not going back to the menu on most players. One of the "next" buttons on the select a scene section doesn't actually go to the next screen but jumps into the middle of the movie.