Hackers (1995)
Hilarious Effects Fact: The “hacking”-sequences - the scenes where you see the “inside” of a computer - are mostly motion-controlled models, because director Iain Softley thought that actual computer graphics would look too artificial.
Interesting Word Origin: William Gibson “invented” the term “Cyberspace” in 1982 for his book, Neuromancer.
Real Hacker Influence: “ARF! ARF! GOTCHA”, which appears near the end, when the Gibson is about to crash, is a reference to one of the earliest Trojan horse programs, EGABTR from 1985. Disguised as a graphics utility, EGABTR spread by email, wiped out everything on a victim’s hard disk, and left only the message, “Arf, arf, Gotcha!” on the screen. “ARF” may also serve double duty as a reference to the German hacker group “Asoziale Randgruppe Frankfurt”.
ESE: 125/100
50 +5 for tiny Dade’s super hacker skills +5 for the first encounter with Acid Burn +10 for Angelina Jolie +5 for Phreak’s wardrobe +10 for Matthew Lillard +5 for Cyberdelia +5 for the “pool on the roof springing a leak” -10 for Dade’s constant bombarding of lame “revenge” -10 for Joey’s very stupid accidents +5 for Laurence Mason +10 for Hack the Planet! +5 for Fisher Stevens +10 for titties +10 for the hassling of Richard Gill +10 for Phreak being READY for those FBI dudes -10 for the arrest of Dade’s group +10 for Dade’s mom +10 for Cereal’s Hack the Planet broadcast -10 for Eugene’s cowardice
