This work was surprisingly well done, in various ways. Some of the other reviews I have read tend to make note of how unusual it might be that a young fellow would become "fatally attracted" (that's not a spoiler) as it were to a virtual entity in cyber space, to the point of abandoning his current girlfriend in the real world.
Actually, that aspect has more parallels in the real world than some may realize. Having been acquainted with the virtual reality / cyber space avatar development domain for well over a decade (I was one of the early "residents" in Alpha World), and looking at examples such as 2nd Life currently, there are real examples of people who become completely consumed with their virtual existence, to the point of losing connection with the real world.
This is not entirely unusual, so it was not that much of a stretch to identify with the story portrayed here in Black Heaven.
The interesting twist is how the "Sam" avatar character had her live counterpart in the real world, and she would ensnare real people into committing, well, let's just say, extreme acts of devotion . . . and I won't say much more than that . . . which translated into and through consequences in her avatar world.
It's a good story, very unique and well portrayed. It's not a flashy special effects extravaganza, though the virtual reality scenes are nicely done, but it is definitely a thinking person's film. I thoroughly recommend it as an interesting example of this genre'.
Actually, that aspect has more parallels in the real world than some may realize. Having been acquainted with the virtual reality / cyber space avatar development domain for well over a decade (I was one of the early "residents" in Alpha World), and looking at examples such as 2nd Life currently, there are real examples of people who become completely consumed with their virtual existence, to the point of losing connection with the real world.
This is not entirely unusual, so it was not that much of a stretch to identify with the story portrayed here in Black Heaven.
The interesting twist is how the "Sam" avatar character had her live counterpart in the real world, and she would ensnare real people into committing, well, let's just say, extreme acts of devotion . . . and I won't say much more than that . . . which translated into and through consequences in her avatar world.
It's a good story, very unique and well portrayed. It's not a flashy special effects extravaganza, though the virtual reality scenes are nicely done, but it is definitely a thinking person's film. I thoroughly recommend it as an interesting example of this genre'.