Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (partially found interactive science-fiction comedy short film; 1995)

Poster for the film.

Status: Partially Found

Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie is an interactive science-fiction adventure comedy short film written and directed by Bob Gale (co-writer and co-producer of the Back to the Future trilogy) that was released by Interfilm Technologies and Sony New Technologies on February 17th, 1995. The film is a rare example of an interactive film, with audiences being allowed to choose between various options at different points throughout the plot to influence the direction the story will take.

Plot

The film stars Billy Warlock as Mr. Payback (real name Payton Bach), a half-human half-cyborg vigilante who takes cases on behalf of people seeking vengeance against those who have wronged them, including a female college student who has been the victim of repeated sexual harassment at the hands of her dean, a Latino man who was cheated out of his home and his land by a city politician, and a black businessman who was framed at work and illegitimately fired by his racist boss. Mr. Payback would arrange meetings with one of these alleged miscreants to judge their character for himself before initiating payback, while also encountering various other criminals and evildoers along the way, such as a bike thief, a mugger, and various threatening gang members.

As the title would imply, the main gimmick of the film was its interactivity, with audiences getting to vote between three different paths the story could take at various point throughout the film using a joystick attached to the armrests of their seats, with the option that received the most votes being the one that was selected. For example, when coming across an able-bodied man who has illegitimately parked in a disabled parking space, audiences can vote between the options of "Move It", in which Mr. Payback tears the man's car apart with his bare hand, "Good Excuse", in which Mr. Payback uses darts to deflate all of the car's tyres, or "Make It Legal", in which Mr. Payback shoots the man with a dart that paralyses his legs, thereby legitimising his use of the disabled space. Many such instances of interactivity occur throughout Mr. Payback, with at least twenty-four viewings of the film being required to see every possible scenario. For this reason, each purchase of a ticket for Mr. Payback actually entitled viewers to two showings of the film, one after the other, allowing them the opportunity to see first-hand another one of the many paths the story could take.

The film concludes with a gameshow segment titled Payback Time, in which three of the villains faced throughout the film are brought back before the people they wronged to face a final humiliation. As before, audiences can vote between the various punishments the wrongdoers would face (such as the college dean either being covered in human waste or dressed in S&M doggy bondage gear and led around on a leash, or the racist boss being forced to wear a French maid outfit whilst in blackface), while also getting to choose whether Paul Anka or Ice-T among others make an appearance on the show as a celebrity guest. Depending on the choices made throughout the film, an epilogue scene would also be included in which Mr. Payback and his assistant Holly celebrate a successful operation by going to the movies, where they take revenge against a pair of teenagers who refuse to stop talking.

Cast

• Billy Warlock - Payton Bach (Mr. Payback)
• Holly Fields - Gwen
• Bruce McGill - James Konklin
• Christopher Lloyd - Ed Jarvis
• Leslie Easterbrook - Diane Wyatt
• David Correia - Raoul Alvarez
• Victor Love - Lloyd Braxton
• Carol-Ann Merrill - Cara Cook (as Carol-Ann Plante)
• Michael Talbott - Car Jerk
• Brendan Ford - Park Vandal
• Gilbert Rosales - Bike Thief
• Robby Sutton - Moe
• Sasha Jenson - Larry
• Joseph D. Reitman - Dick
• Barbara Anne Klein - Waitress
• Jan Eddy - Rocco
• Art Evans - Jackie The Butler
• David Rowden - Gunther
• Eddie Deezen - Phil The Guard
• Don Calfa - City Hall Guard
• Thomas Rosales Jr. - Hoops (as Tom Rosales)
• Deborah Harmon - Medical Center Woman
• Raquel Gardner - Katie Beatty
• Greg Natale - Pizza Man
• Lorna Scott - Pizza Woman
• Wendie Jo Sperber - Woman With Kitten
• Marvin Katzoff - Man With Kitten
• Elizabeth Meads - Vibrating Woman
• Paul Roache - Vibrating Man
• John McKinley Robertson - Workman #1
• Daniel O'Callaghan - Workman #2
• Tracey Ross - Jarvis' Motel Hooker
• Joe Ochman - Candy Man
• Marji Martin - Candy Woman
• Elizabeth Ochsner - College Girl
• Orly Sitowitz - Movie Talker Brunette
• Donna Eskra - Movie Talker Blonde
• Ruby Davis - Wheelchair Woman
• Patrick Pinney - Narrator (voice)
• Ice-T - Self
• Eadie Del Rubio - Self
• Elena Del Rubio - Self
• Milly Del Rubio - Self
• Robert Englund - Self
• Cheech Marin - Self
• Frank Gorshin - Self
• Paul Anka - Self
• Eric Paul Erickson - Restaurant Patron (uncredited)

Reception

Mr. Payback would receive an overwhelmingly negative from critics upon its release, with noted film critic Roger Ebert giving the film his lowest possible rating of a half-star out of 4, describing it as "so offensive and yokel-brained that being raised in a barn might almost be required of its audiences," and stating that it was "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." Ebert would later expand on these criticisms in an episode of his television series Siskel & Ebert, where he and fellow film critic Gene Siskel both agreed that the film failed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the idea of interactive filmmaking, with Ebert subsequently declaring the film to be his least favourite of 1995 in a later episode. Other critics felt similarly, with Entertainment Weekly's Ty Burr tagging the film with an "F" grade while declaring it to be "horribly written, dreadfully acted, and cretinously plotted".

Despite its modest budget of $1.6 million, the film would ultimately prove to be a financial failure as well, only managing to gross $241,000 throughout the entirety of its theatrical run. This low box office return likely came about as a result of the film's extremely limited release, with only 25 theatres throughout America showing the film due to the $50,000+ each theatre would have to spend to upgrade their screens with the necessary interactive equipment.

Availability

While other examples of interactive filmmaking such as 1992's I'm Your Man have been released on home media in the years following their cinematic debut, Mr. Payback would never be shown again following its initial theatrical run, presumably owing to its critical and financial failure and the dissolution of Interfilm in the late 1990s, with the majority of the film remaining unavailable to be seen publicly as a result. To date, a brief selection of clips, a trailer, and various segments discussing the film on programs like Sci-Fi Buzz and Siskel & Ebert are all that has surfaced from it.

Gallery

Selection of clips from the film.

Trailer for the film

Sci-Fi Buzz segment about the film.

Siskel & Ebert episode featuring their initial review of Mr. Payback (9:42-13:34).

Siskel & Ebert's "Worst of '95" special, in which Mr. Payback is further discussed (16:38-18:23).

External Links

• Wikipedia page for the film.
• IMDB page for the film.