RF Generation Message Board

Hello friends!

I've been tossing around the idea for a monthly video game movie club, similar to the RFGen Community Playthrough, for some time now. As it happens, I'm ready to give it a go! I'll have an article on the main site page starting the morning of 9/29 that will go over everything as well, but basically I'd like to pick one video game movie every month, and have anyone who wants to participate give it a watch and discuss it here. I'm open to any kind of video game movies, be they ones based on an actual game, documentaries, or even films that use video games simply as a setting to tell a story unrelated to any actual game.

I'll use my monthly articles on the main site to sum up any discussions that happen here and announce the next month's movie pick, but I'm open to any suggestions on improving the format and recommendations on movies you'd like us to cover. The more community participation we get, the better and more fun it will be for all! If this little experiment proves popular enough, we can look into expanding the forum thread and giving each movie it's own conversation, but for now, we'll keep things condensed here and see how it goes. Feel free to post as much as you like, but please keep spoilers marked/hidden for those who may be watching for the first time. And it should go without saying, but please also be respectful. As it is for all our forum discussions, vulgarity or intolerance of other people's opinions are not welcome. This awesome community has yet to disappoint me in that regard, just putting it out there for the record.


To get things started, I've chosen Brainscan. Released in 1994, it stars Edward Furlong and T. Ryder Smith. Furlong buys a new VR horror game that is more intense than he expects. He's pretty stoked about his purchase until The Trickster shows up to urge him on in playing increasingly more brutal (and impossibly real) "levels." This is an appropriate pick for October and Halloween, and will hopefully make a great inaugural community watch. It can be a bit tricky to find a physical copy of this flick in the wild these days, but I picked mine up in a pretty cheap combo disc, which I've linked to below, along with where it can be found digitally. If you find it somewhere else, please feel free to share the info.

I'm looking forward to exploring the wonderful (and sometimes laughably terrible) world of video game films with everyone. I'll have the Brainscan article up for my November post on the main page, but in the meantime, feel free to watch and let the discussion begin!

Brainscan (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109327/?ref_=nv_sr_1) (1994)
Trailer: https://youtu.be/QaRbBSeLkj4
Available from:
Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DPU26GI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) - DVD - $11.88
Amazon Video (https://www.amazon.com/Brainscan-Edward-Furlong/dp/B001MA5PZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1506571155&sr=1-1&keywords=brainscan) - SD and HD rental $2.99-3.99 - SD and HD purchase $9.99-12.99
VUDU - SD rental $2.99 - SD purchase $9.99
iTunes - SD and HD rental from $3.99 - SD and HD purchase $9.99-12.99
Microsoft store - SD and HD rental $2.00-3.99 - SD and HD purchase $9.99-12.99
Netflix - DVD only

FIRST!  I'm in.  Let's do this community.

I've not watched it yet (since I last watched it, like fifteen years ago), but before I do I'd like to say I used to have the fattest nerd-crush on Amy Hargreaves, who plays the protagonist's love interest.

Just grabbed the four-pack dvd off ebay. Never seen Brainscan but I love bad video game movies.

Glad to see some early enthusiasm! It's been some time since I watched it too, and yes, while I never knew who the actress was, Amy was pretty attractive.

And GrayGhost, I don't know if I'd call it bad per se, just....not great lol. It has it's charms.

I think the movie got a lot of flak back in the day for the look of the Trickster villain, but you have to keep in mind that this was the day of iconic looking bad guys in movies, which was kind of mirrored in video games with the sheer amount of "mascot" characters in platforming titles.  Now, it isn't the greatest movie of its genre, but it is pretty original for its time, being an original "video game movie." 

I will say no more, as this particular movie is not just about the journey, but also the destination! If possible, please watch it in the dark and as close to the screen as you can comfortably get, and don't stop until you see the credits.

He looks like Steven Tyler and Freddie Kruger's ginger love child.

My DVD came in today. Psyched to watch this with Mrs Grayghost this weekend!

Watched the movie last night. We absolutely loved it. I can't believe I've never heard of it. If I had seen this back in 1994, I would have WORSHIPPED it. The soundtrack, characters, clothing, etc gave me such nostalgic feels.

EDIT: I forgot one thing that really stuck out to me. What was up with all the Aerosmith product placement, yet no Aerosmith songs in the soundtrack?

Hahaha he does, doesn't he?! I'm never going to look at Trickster the same way ever again.

Man it's been a long time since I've seen this movie. There's a lot of little details that started coming back to me. Initial thoughts after the first 10 mins:
 - I forgot what a dark opening this movie had. The brutal knee injury, the slow, somber score. Very 90s. The score instantly came back to me, love it.
 - They sure do set up Michael as a creeper stalker, don't they?
 - When I finally set up a smart home, I totally want my Google/Alexa overlord to be Igor!

I watched the film on Monday, since I had the day off to celebrate the "founder" of our country who actually missed it by several hundred miles.......... Anyway, I really enjoyed the film, though I do take issue with some of the "motivations" to keep playing.  I don't want to talk about it too much, but the payoff was great.  I know this is considered a "horror" film, but I don't think I was ever scared in the way most films from that genre at least attempt to establish fear.  I'd say that this film probably fits better as a thriller, which is fine, I love these types of films as well.

The film is very thought-provoking and is really screwing with my head as I play Until Dawn. If you've watched/played both, you may know why.  I love the opening, which gives some good insight into Michael's character and I especially appreciate the mimicking of the falsehood that violent video games begets real life violence.  And I agree, Igor is the coolest!

Great recommendation Travis!  Can't wait to meet you and talk about the film more this weekend. :)

I'd agree this is more of a thriller than horror. That said, something I never noticed before was that there were more than a few times when the score reminded me of that of Nightmare on Elm Street (the first, aka good, one). Thinking of it now, it seemed to be invoking the same type of surreal, almost dreamlike quality of those scenes.


That's an interesting observation. I didn't notice the comparison the first time I played Until Dawn, but it'd been years since I'd seen Brainscan at that time. I'll definitely keep an eye out for that when I reply the game again. Maybe I'll start that tonight.

And yeah, I got a similar vibe with the principal about violence and movies/games. Pretty topical for the time, but they don't really develop that thread much more than that one scene.

Something else I didn't notice the first time I saw it, a lot of the oddities of the story and character interactions that get more curious/noticeable as the movie goes on make a lot more sense when watching it for the second time. Made the ending (rather, the whole movie) more satisfying than I remembered it being all those years ago.

Finally, what little CG there was in the film was pretty bad, but I'm pretty confident in saying Trickster had a really great reveal/opening scene. Also, am I the only one who got a laugh at him turning on Michael's tv and sitting down with a bewildered look on his face at what he was watching?

Hey friends, I'm sorry to go off topic but I feel it is my duty to share to those who bought the dvd four-pack that although Brainscan, The Craft, and Fright Night are all great movies, Monster High is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm actually kind of mad at myself for watching the whole thing (I just find it hard to "give up" on movies usually,  but I really wish I had in this case). Avoid at all costs.

Oh yeah, Monster High is terrible. You can't win em all.

On a side note, guess what was playing on laserdisc at the Retro World Expo after party on Saturday night?  That's right, Brainscan!  I got to watch a good bit of it with several RF Gen members, including our monthly movie club host, zophar53.  Pretty cool!

See, now I have to watch this movie.  Googling I mostly get that terrible cartoon/toy line that my daughter stopped watching a year ago.  From IMDB:

"When a monster named Armageddon (David Marriott) is sent to destroy earth, he begins at a high school, giving out appropriate punishment to a jock and a nerd. It's up to the good guy (Dean Iandoli) to defeat the monster by any means necessary."\

How is this movie not on Rifftrax?!?  Tonight I should be playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, but instead I will be playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and watching Monster High out of the corner of my eye.  Or mainly listening to it.  In fact, that is my secret to watching bad movies.  I can get through them with ease, but I often find it is better to mostly listen to bad movies.

Regarding the movie of the month, I still really enjoyed it, and still find the soundtrack (mostly) enjoyable.  I remember getting to the ending of it back in the day and feeling a massive amount of relief at the ending.  Literally breathed a sigh after it was all done.  I didn't actually do the same this time around, but I really did enjoy Frank Langella's performance as Detective Hayden.  If at all possible, I find him more intimidating now then back then, and that was knowing that the man played Skeletor in the He Man movie (maybe a nomination for next month?).

The only other one in this collection I've seen is The Craft. It was THE emo/goth/witch movie when I was in high school haha. Sometimes they still have it playing at the goth club in my town. I'll have to check the other two out for sure.

It was really cool seeing this playing at the after party, and watching it with the crew. Def helped cement October as a memorable one for the site, and for me.

I was a little disappointed at the ending when I first saw it. But it was a pretty big head trip that took me more by surprise back then than it probably would now. If I were Michael I'd probably react the same way, like "W...T...F?" I mentioned this to Rich at the after party, but I love the final scene with the dog. Matter of fact, I just love that dog all around.

Thanks for making this a successful first month, everyone! Looking forward to the next one. I think I have the next couple of months planned, but keep the suggestions coming.

Hello all! It's time to reveal this month's game movie. I always wanted to get Mortal Kombat on the list, but since so many of us at RWX got to play MKII with John Perrish and Daniel Pesina recently, it felt fitting to get it in next.

I'm sure most of us here remember where we were the first time we saw this in the theater, depending on how old you were at the time. Personally, I was 15 and had been playing the heck out of Mortal Kombat II at my local Aladdin's Castle as often as I possibly could. The first game hadn't really caught my interest, but the second entry was so much more real, dark, and played so much better. The friends I made while playing it were busy compiling move list cheat sheets and selling them, even getting the manager of the place in on it. We turned the movie into an event. We all met up at the arcade a couple hours before to play the game, then carpooled to the nearby theater on opening day. I still remember the lot of us letting out huge cheers when the opening logo came on and that voice shouted "MORTAL KOMBAT!" before jumping into that song we all know and love.

It's been a long time since I got to talk about this movie with fellow MK lovers, so let's relive those moments. Share your stories of watching this. How do you feel after watching it again? If you've never seen it before, a) why the heck not? and b) what do you think watching it fresh now? This should be a fun one. I've posted below the IMDB link and trailer. It shouldn't be too hard to find a physical copy on Amazon or your local used media store. It's also available to stream from Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, and a few other places between $3-$14, depending on if you want SD or HD, rent or buy.

Mortal Kombat (1995) on IMDB (http://http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113855/?ref_=nv_sr_1)
Trailer: https://youtu.be/JHIfHL5UgFs

 Nice pick!  I've actually never seen it...

Oh man. You are in for a treat, my friend :)

I watched Mortal Kombat with my wife this past weekend. I had never seen it before.

I was really taken aback by Christopher Lambert as "Lord Rayden." I was expecting an Asian person, for some strange reason.

Like Brainscan, I felt like I could appreciate it in a sense that I would have loved it if I had seen it at the time it came out.

It's definitely entertaining and fun to watch, but it has some really dated CGI and my wife and I both really started to get annoyed at the way the phrase "FLAWLESS VICTORY" was tossed around with no value attached to it; knowing the rules of the video game and the conditions of an actual flawless victory, very few of the victories in this film were actually flawless.

On the other hand, I loved the soundtrack and the use of voice samples from the game within the mix.

This was another cool choice, Zophar. Looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts and seeing what the next flick is!

Nice choice.

If this had been an 80s martial arts film then I would of loved it as a kid and would of wanted to see it ( No Retreat No Surrender or Gymkata anyone), but adult me in the 90s wasn't interested (drink, girls and work) and would of laughed at it if I had watched it. All these years later and I enjoyed it despite it's flaws because it's not to be taken seriously just good old fashioned entertainment. That tune at the start got me hooked.

I didn't really have expectations for Rayden going in since I didn't know who he was at that age. Although I was disappointed he didn't wear that hat the whole time.

I definitely agree that leaning into the more gamey aspects of it (the "flawless victory" and "finish him" lines) were pretty lame. I didn't mind them when I first saw the movie, but as an adult they're more than a bit ridiculous. And yeah, the CG doesn't hold up well.

On the other hand, I think it's willingness to just be the game instead of a good regular movie is its biggest asset. So many game movies are terrible because they try to be something they're not. Watching a Mortal Kombat movie in the 90s as a kid, you don't want a "good" movie, you want to see the ninjas fight, you want to see Johnny Cage as a smartass movie star, and that's exactly what you get. I agree with FatherJack, it's because it doesn't take itself too seriously and just tries to bring the game to life that it manages to be one of the best game movies out there.

I will say, however, that the actor who played Shang Tsung kind of annoyed me with his performance, even as a kid. That character certainly didn't live up to the hype of what my mind thought he would be.

This month I decided to go with a community recommendation. GrayGhost81 suggested How to Make a Monster, from 2001. I've never seen this before, but the trailer makes it look hilariously awful. I found DVD copies on Amazon and Netflix, but I wasn't able to find it anywhere for streaming, so if anyone knows where it can be found in digital format, let us know. Otherwise we'll have to use those game hunting skills to track this one down at a used media store.

Looking forward to discussing this one with the group. And keep those suggestions coming if there's anything you'd like to watch!

How to Make a Monster on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281919/?ref_=nv_sr_1)
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/videoembed/vi212730137

I appreciate you taking my recommendation. I didn't realize this movie was actually so elusive.

I just grabbed a dvd off ebay for four bucks. There's a rip of the movie on youtube but the quality is potato in a dumpster fire. I even tried slapping on a eye-patch and hunting for the film in...less than legal ways...and I couldn't find it.

Sorry it's such a pain in the ass to acquire. On the other hand, it's a good excuse to hit up Goodwill and Savers this weekend. 

Yeah I didn't realize it was so obscure either until I tried looking for it. Ebay is a good idea though; none of my local places had it, which surprised me. I'll go with the youtube version if I have to, but if I can get a cheap copy that'd be preferable.

I found a used copy on Amazon for $2, and about $3 shipping.

Utter rubbish BUT a very enjoyable utter rubbish lol. I went in to this one knowing that it's not very good but this pushed my enjoyment levels up. One to switch off your brain and just enjoy it.  ;D

I re-watched the movie with my wife last weekend.

Despite the ass pain of getting a hold of the movie, I was happy to be able to see it again, and now I'm glad to own it, to be completely honest.

I have a real soft spot for Clea DuVall, and although her character development here isn't exactly Shakespearean, I like that she takes a major turn at the end.

I think it was kind of funny how they pulled a "She's All That" with the character of Bug. Take a stud like Jason Marsden, give him glasses and unkempt hair and boom! What a dweeb, am I right?

Also, I hated the scene with Julie Strain nude in the mocap suit. It made me cringe so hard that I actually threw my back out.

The evil Pikachus in the game were hilarious.

Worth a watch for the practical (Stan Winston) effects alone. 

Oh man this movie is bad hahaha. I had a hard time seeing even ironic merit in it until the halfway point. Once Sol dies the horror parts actually get pretty entertaining. But every scene that's not that is so terrible.

Clea DuVall is really cute though. I'm not really familiar with Jason Marsden, but he did play Bug pretty well. His first scene, during the interview, I thought was particularly amusing.

And yeah, I did not expect that level of nudity. At least not that they'd get that goofy with it.

Was there something at the end that explained why she came to be running the company and I just missed it? Only thing I can think of is she used the bonus money to buy it, but a million wouldn't have been enough for that. Course, with the "logic" of this movie I probably should just not even ask lol.

So imagine my surprise when I go to put a comment here about the Jan movie, and discover I forgot to post about the new movie. Ack! I'm going to blame my forgetfullness on the post holiday blahs. Yeah, let's go with that. My apologies to anyone who missed my article a few weeks ago introducing the new movie. Here's the info. Fortunately, this one's pretty easy to find.

For the new year I thought it'd be fun to go with a new genre to kick off 2018. With that in mind, I've decided to go with a documentary titled Indie Game: The Movie. Released in 2012, it follows the development of three of the best and most popular independent games of the time, Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez. These games were effectively the kick in the pants the industry needed to convince big publishers to start paying attention to the little guys, eventually leading to the creation of things like Sony's Pub Fund. Now the indie scene is its own genre and some of the most creative, unique, or downright bizarre ideas come from small teams who are able to take risks that triple-A games can't.


Below you'll find Indie Game's IMDB page and trailer. This one's available to stream on Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, PSN, and the Microsoft Store. If memory serves I think you can even get it on Steam. In fact, you'll probably have an easier time finding it digitally than physically, unless you want to buy a DVD/Bluray copy from the Indie Game website.

Indie Game: The Movie (2012) on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1942884/?ref_=nv_sr_7)

I saw this one a while back. Great documentary and worth everyone's time. Don't worry, it won't make you like Phil Fish. 😂

Good stuff. Nice to see an insight into programming indie games and the pressures it brings. Nice to see all that effort rewarded in the end.

Yeah, I can't even imagine the stress of living like that for years on end to not even be sure if people will see your game, let alone actually like and buy it.

No joke and no lie at all, I came here to say that I also saw this a while back and it made me like Phil Fish.

It's been a long time, but what I do remember is that the creators of the film were very effective in delivering their message; by the time the credits rolled I felt for all the designers, and keep in mind this movie was released when "indie" game designers were all the rage, and not a week went by when I didn't feel like the game media weren't trying to cram these people down our collective throats (as if lone, independent designers was a new phenomenon).

I forgot Jim Guthrie did the music for the movie.  Very nice.

We inturrupt your Super Bowl preparations to bring you the next selection in our movie group. For March, I chose one I've wanted to showcase ever since I made my list a year and a half ago. Judging from the comments on that article, The Thirteenth Floor is a flick that most people either hadn't seen or hadn't even heard of, but were pretty interested in watching. Released in 1999, before The Sims and Second Life became a thing, it tells the tale of a tech company who develops a virtual world modeled after Los Angeles in the 1930s. It's so real that the creator of the simulation starts using it to live a second life of carefree shenanigans. When he turns up dead and one of the simulated people discovers that his world isn't real, things get pretty intriguing.

It's worth noting that the trailers for this movie are a bit strange. Some of them make it seem almost like a horror flick, which in my opinion isn't necessarily representative of the final product. There are some horror elements toward the end, but overall I'd describe The Thirteenth Floor as more of a slightly noir-ish sci-fi film that takes philosophical influence from Philip K. Dick. Also, stay away from the longer trailers (over 2 minutes), as they blatantly reveal the big twist. I can't stand it when studios do that.


As usual, below are links to the (non-spoilery) trailer for The Thirteenth Floor as well as its IMDB page. This movie was fairly quickly forgotten in the wake of films like The Matrix, which debuted the same year, so I'm not sure how easy it'll be to find in physical format. You can check your local used media store, but the DVD and bluray copies I found on Amazon are way overpriced so I don't recommend going there. Fortunately, it's available digitally on Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube, PSN, and the Microsoft Store. Enjoy some football (if that's your thing) and see you next month!

The Thirteenth Floor (1999) on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139809/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

The Thirteenth Floor trailer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139809/videoplayer/vi3120234777)

I'm a little surprised there haven't been any comments on this one. I'm prepping my piece to write it tonight but don't have any thoughts from the community. Did anyone see this?