Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie

Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie is a 1995 American science-fiction/adventure/comedy short film written by Bob Gale and co-directed by Gale and Charles Croughwell.[1]

Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie
Directed byBob Gale,
Charles Croughwell
Produced byMark Franco II,
Jeremiah Samuels,
Holly Keenan II [1]
Written byBob Gale
StarringBilly Warlock,
Leslie Easterbrook,
Christopher Lloyd,
Bruce McGill,
Holly Fields II [1]
Distributed byInterfilm Technologies
Sony New Technologies
Release date
1995
Running time
approximately 20 to 30 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$241,000[2]

Designed as an interactive movie, it comprises slightly over two hours of footage, approximately 20 minutes of which is seen in each viewing.[3] It requires the audience to vote for various directions the story will take, using a joystick attached to the armrests of their seats.[4] Specially-equipped Laserdisc machines in the projection booth were designed to make instantaneous edits as the story unfolded.[5]

The film stars an android (Billy Warlock) who, in a number of possible storylines, takes action by humiliating or attacking people who have committed crimes or have done wrong in the past. Gale and Christopher Lloyd, who had previously worked on the Back to the Future trilogy, worked on this film as well, and the music was scored by Michael Tavera, who had composed the music for the animated Back to the Future series.

The movie billed itself as "the world's first interactive movie," but it was predated by 1992's I'm Your Man.[6]

Plot

Mr Payback is a vigilante android who takes action against multiple criminals, troublemakers, and general nuisances, all of whom are the focus of their respective scenes. Whenever Mr. Payback encounters a criminal, the film's audience votes on three different ways that he can humiliate or punish them. These include;

  • Upsetting a selfish "Car Jerk" by slowly disassembling his car. (For taking a handicapped parking space). [5]
  • Setting a bike thief's clothes on fire (For removing parts from another person's bike)[7]
  • Eating a gang member's knife (For belittling others)[8]

Cast

Critical reception

Mr. Payback received negative reviews from critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film a half-star out of a possible four, and called it "the kind of film where horrified parents might encourage the kids to shout at the screen, hoping the noise might drown out the flood of garbage."[9] He and Gene Siskel both commented that while the concept of combining film with interactivity has possibilities, they are not explored by Mr. Payback, which centers on bathroom humor and appeals to the audience's most sadistic urges.[10] Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly tagged the film with an "F" grade.[4]

References
  1. "Mr. Payback (1995)". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  2. http://fmvworld.com/mrpayback.html
  3. "The Real Interactive Movie". Next Generation. Imagine Media (4): 26. April 1995.
  4. Burr, Ty (March 10, 1995). "Vengeance Is Yours". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  5. "The Brady Bunch Movie, Just Cause, Billy Madison, Mr. Payback, 1995". Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  6. Grimes, William. "When the Film Audience Controls the Plot". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  7. "Two-Minutes Hate: Siskel & Ebert on Interactive Movies (1995)". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  8. "Mr Payback (1995)". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2019. Event occurs at 1:05-1:24.
  9. Ebert, Roger. "Mr. Payback". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  10. "The Brady Bunch Movie, Just Cause, Billy Madison, Mr. Payback, 1995". Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews. Retrieved 28 July 2019. Event occurs at 9:43-13:35.


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