I'd be shocked if you know the title to the review, but it was an episode of the SNICK show Are You Afraid Of The Dark in 92. That's basically what this movie was. It's about a video game tester who mysteriously receives a new system in the mail that's supposed to give you the ultimate gaming experience. But once he plugs in, he's stuck and can't get out until he beats the game.
This really seems more like a project for Adobe After Effects than a full out movie. The whole "game" doesn't really seem to make sense and the effects make you wonder where the million dollar budget went to. The zombies in it are actually just strange, CGI, shadow gymnasts. The acting and the writing is pretty bad, but nobody hams it up like the evil cop who offed the main character's girlfriend. I swear, Nicolas Cage would tell this guy to tone it down. The movie gets points for not having a stupid twist ending that could have easily been churned out with the whole "reality/fantasy" thing it had going for it. But when the best compliment you can give is for not doing something even more stupid, I don't think that says much.
And though it's easy to focus on the negative, it's not completely unwatchable. The premise, though obvious, can be interesting and all in all it's a fun watch if you have the right group of people with you. Also, it stars Harvey from Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Topanga from Boy Meets World, so any TGIF fan should dig it just for that.
All in all, this isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. But if you enjoy camp, this movie should hold your interests. Just get a good group of friends to watch it with.
