Darkdrive (1997)

A different way of telling a story

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Yeah yeah, I know, it isn't supposed to be in my collection but like many reviewers I bought it for Julie Benz. I have seen her perform in quite a bit of movies and of course in Dexter. Over here in the genre she's well sought after due Dexter and due her appearance at European conventions were I have met her. Why it shouldn't be in my collection is that it isn't a horror but a SF flick. But as a collector I have seen a lot of crap, from top class to Z-movies. It's a phenomena that is regular in horror to have some real turkeys. I would say that I would classify it under a straight-to-video B-flick. The effects used are typical 80's stuff like flashing lights and flashbulbs tearing down persons. They surely have watched Terminator and Blade Runner to come up with something but sometimes the acting is really wooden. The story itself is hard to follow but for many it's the scene with the 21 year old Julie that makes the film worth watching. She's seen in frontal nudity here a thing she never did again, except for Dexter and Eating Las Vegas, a parody on Leaving Las Vegas, but she shows the most in this flick. If you are into B-movies than you surely can watch this. A few years later The Matrix showed how it should be done.

I agree that the plot is incomprehensible, but it takes you on a weird trip that can be fun. The music is worth the price of admission. The love theme was inspired, as was the entire score, by Eraserhead. It's a bit of a cross between Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalimente. Hey, I'm not even Italian; I just love those guys. I put on the soundtrack around the house sometimes just to get into a trippy vibe. The later at night the better. I wrote this music right after Distorted Reality (composer tool) came out, and the score is a showcase of the DR samples. The true gem here is the vocal by Giancarlo. We had a great time writing and recording that song. Honestly, this is the best music I ever wrote for a film. Check it out!

When I saw the name of Julie Benz on the cover of this VHS, I have decided to see the movie since I am a great fan of her character Darla, in Angel series. Further, she has one of the most beautiful faces of the cinema industry. However, this movie is such a mess, that is almost impossible to understand the plot and write a summary of the story. The intention of this confused screenplay might be a noir version of `The Matrix', but it never works. The characters are not well developed and it is almost impossible to the viewer understand their motives. For example, who is the girl showed in the end of the story? Why Julie Falcon dies many times? In the end, the unique worthwhile scene along the whole film is when Julie Benz is showed naked, unfortunately with the presence of her husband Falcon. My vote is one.Title (Brazil): `Fuga Alucinante' (Hallucinated Escape')

A weird tale of a guy sent into a virtual reality penal colony, where he finds his dead wife singing in a night club, fights Alti from Xena, and tries and fails miserably to be a noir matrix wanna be, without the plot, special effects, or acting. One bright note is an appearance of pre-Buffy The Vampire Slayer Julie Benz, who gets killed several times and has a love scene, and a unexplained kid by the end. So it's a lot like her character of Darla. We even get to see Julie totally topless for her love scene, but sadly they voice over exposition while she sings in the night club. I'd have prefered to hear her sing.