GAME OVER! | Offscreen
Every last Friday of the month in Cinematek, Offscreen presents a double-bill of genre films, exploitation, B-movies and cult cinema on vintage 35mm, sourced from the Belgian film archives. This month's B-Z is inspired by the "Game On!" module.
A few decades ago no-one could ever have imagined that games could match the visual splendours of the Hollywood blockbuster, yet here we are. But the history of cinema's video game subgenre is littered with now almost forgotten films that pushed visual boundaries by tempering their practical effects with early use of CGI before vanishing into the mists of history. One such example is "The Last Starfighter", a "Star Wars" rip-off which also now offers us a nostalgic look at 80s game culture. "Resident Evil: Extinction" is the third part of the "Milla Jovovich vs Zombies" franchise inspired by the popular shoot-em-up video game. This entry was directed by Russell Mulcahy ("Highlander") and is greatly enhanced by his flair for pulp spectacle.
THE LAST STARFIGHTER
Alex, a trailer-park teen with superior arcade game skills, is recruited by an alien defence force to help them fight back against evil invaders. After "Tron", this cheerful "Star Wars" knock-off was one of the first films to use CGI, and also features Hollywood veteran Robert Preston as an alien inventor.
RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION
Russell Mulcahy directed the second and best sequel inspired by the popular zombie shoot-em-up. Milla Jovovich, in post-apocalyptic garter-belt, uses her bio-organic superskills to help a busload of refugees get from the Nevada desert to Alaska in orgy of zombie madness, slo-mo action and naked Milla clones.