Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Feature-Length Matrix Spoof to be Released Soon

Posted by Cliff on from the whatisthehelix dept.

CrazyMFW writes "'The Helix Loaded', a feature length spoof of the Matrix, has been unveiled to coincide with the general release of The Matrix Revolutions. At LA screenings of the third matrix installment, customers are being handed CD-ROMS shaped like a Red Pill or a Blue Pill. The CD-ROM includes a teaser trailer as a quicktime movie, and directs users to the web site for The Helix. The teaser trailers can also be downloaded from the site. No release date is mentioned for the film, but it does promise several further teaser installments at 2 week intervals - so we should learn more in the next couple of months. From the brief clips it looks like they've done a good job imitating the Matrix CGI on a low-budget."

49 of 326 comments (clear)

  1. There already exists a spoof of Matrix by Brahmastra · · Score: 5, Funny

    They're called Matrix reloaded and Matrix revolutions.

    1. Re:There already exists a spoof of Matrix by IthnkImParanoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually, they die several times (each), but it is never relevant to the plot. Sort of like Kenny in South Park.

      --
      It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
    2. Re:There already exists a spoof of Matrix by sik0fewl · · Score: 4, Funny

      They're called Matrix reloaded and Matrix revolutions.

      Yeah, but they were done pretty poorly, even for fan-made movies. I wonder if we'll get some real sequels.

      --
      I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
  2. Mod Parent Up by mekkab · · Score: 4, Funny

    bwhahahahahaha!

    Oh wait. You weren't kidding.

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
  3. If you only download one trailer by dtfinch · · Score: 4, Funny

    The blue pill trailer has less action, just to warn you all.

  4. This spoof is even funnier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    This spoof is funny - though I don't think it is supposed to be...

    www.themeatrix.com

  5. Matrix Moo-vie Spoof by pcp_ip · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Meattrix

    1. Re:Matrix Moo-vie Spoof by Del+Vach · · Score: 4, Funny

      If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?

    2. Re:Matrix Moo-vie Spoof by Randolpho · · Score: 2, Informative

      You mean The Mootrix.

      --
      "Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
      -Marilyn Manson
    3. Re:Matrix Moo-vie Spoof by Saeger · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Hey, if you *know* it's propaganda, and you don't agree with it, it can be even more amusing. Just shake your head and dismiss everything with a righteous scoff at the end. :)

      I, for one, don't empathize with lower-animals' simple brains operating on instinct (except puppies!), and find their flesh very tasty. Agribiz is a necessary evil which could be nicer to the environment; but there's no going back to family farming.

      I'm looking forward to lab-grown meat. I look forward even more to the day when we can molecularly scan a perfect steak (or anything) once, then freely distribute the "blueprint" and manufacture cheap copies by recyling local resources cheaply, easily, and cleanly. (dooo do dooo do ... twighlight zone right).

      --

      --
      Power to the Peaceful
  6. low budget indeed by WebMasterJoe · · Score: 4, Funny
    From the brief clips it looks like they've done a good job imitating the Matrix CGI on a low-budget.
    I'd guess they skimped on the web hosting.
    --
    I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
  7. Re:for Real? by millette · · Score: 2, Informative

    Real => Helix

    Guess that wasn't too obvious :)

  8. This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by Sheetrock · · Score: 2, Interesting
    But the third Matrix, while not quite a cinematic flop, finally broke any tie the series had with the mainstream. As with most anime, if you aren't a hardcore fan of the genre you're unlikely to mentally fill in enough the plot gaps to leave satisfied.

    Parodies only really work if the stuff is popular. But with the three episodes of the Matrix as well as that Animatrix DVD I think most people have had their fill already. It's no Star Wars.

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




    1. Re:This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by mbourgon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Um, or not. The third was simply a kick-ass Epic SciFi Action Flick. That's all. Nothing wrong with that at all, I loved it. Yes, I can be disappointed that they didn't answer the "layers" question, that it wasn't an utter mind fsck. But, the third movie was fun. It wrapped things up.

      For better or worse, the mind fsck occured in the minds of the viewers, in the months between movies. There was just enough there to make us create our own idea of the third movie. It just didn't happen to be theirs. As for "The One"'s powers? It's part of their mythos - they built it, they set the rules. It doesn't have to sync with ours.

      --
      "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    2. Re:This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by extrarice · · Score: 3, Insightful

      [quote]
      As with most anime, if you aren't a hardcore fan of the genre you're unlikely to mentally fill in enough the plot gaps to leave satisfied.
      [/quote]

      I beg to differ. Badly written anime is just as craptastic as any other badly written medium. I like Japanese animation, but why does Anime have some mystical power here in Slashdot? Why is it regarded as the sacred cow? Why is such trash as Akira and NGE held in such high regard?

      (yeah, mod me down for flame bait because I DARED to profane NGE and Akira, instead of answering my legitemate question.)

      --
      "Jesus saves, but everyone else in a 10 foot radius takes full damage from the fireball."
    3. Re:This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by mblase · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, I can be disappointed that they didn't answer the "layers" question

      Oh, for Pete's sake... for the last time, people, the Oracle told us how Neo stopped the Sentinels. The One is powerful enough to connect to the Matrix, and through it the entire network of machines, without being physically plugged into it. She said it right on camera, with no distractions, so everyone could hear it. It was right in the goddamned movie.

      Whether you accept the explanation as sufficient depends on how much disbelief you're willing to suspend, but please keep in mind that while the Matrix movies are many things, hard sci-fi is not one of them.

    4. Re:This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The One is powerful enough to connect to the Matrix

      That's not an answer. "He's powerful enough to do that" is a response you can give to any question without providing actual information.

      Something like "He's got a nano-sized radio transmitter in his brain", "His willpower left a residual image inside the matrix to carry out his desires", or "We're all still inside a meta-matrix, and he's the only one who knows" would qualify as an explanation. "He's powerful enough" doesn't.

      She said it right on camera,

      A character onscreen may be lying. A movie only tells you something if the movie shows you something. (That is why, for example, the first movie didn't say humans provided electricity for machines. That was a line used by a character with no supporting evidence given. And the speaker had a huge motivation to lie.)

      hard sci-fi is not one of them.

      The first installment was hard scifi, which makes it all the more disappointing when the rest aren't.

    5. Re:This might've been better received after 1 or 2 by DeadScreenSky · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I like Japanese animation, but why does Anime have some mystical power here in Slashdot?

      You're right. It isn't like every freaking time anime is mentioned on Slashdot we have highly moderated comments slamming the art form, or occasionally a holier-than-thou "The popular anime ________ is trash!"

      (yeah, mod me down for flame bait because I DARED to profane NGE and Akira, instead of answering my legitemate question.)

      You should be modded down for flamebait because your comment offered nothing truly incisive, simply spewing a standard popular complaint that pretty much guaranteed you mod points. (The complaint that you will be modded down only boosts that, as we all know - everyone loves a badass rebel!)

      Regardless, your comment was strictly designed to encourage flames, because it is otherwise nonsensical. It isn't like Evangelion and Akira are only held in critical regard on Slashdot! Why pretend this fame is some kind of cultish Slashdot quirk?

      You also completely misunderstood the parent post's point. The quality of a specific anime has nothing to do with it - any film genre (or artform really) that is 'weird' to a viewer will probably fail to draw them in. Most people are severely close-minded about nearly everything new or unusual. You demonstrate this pretty well.

      --
      There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
  9. Where's the humor? by precogpunk · · Score: 5, Funny

    While it's cool to see what amatures can do on a low budget I haven't seen any fan spoofs of the matrix that are actually funny. Matrix ping pong got a laugh out of me though.

  10. Morpheus says... by freeze128 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Unfortunately, no one can be shown what the helix is.... Because the site has been slashdotted!"

  11. The "Don't Pirate" movie ad by cdipierr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slightly offtopic, but funny and certainly applicable to this message board...

    Last night when I went to see Matrix Revolutions, they aired the typical "please don't pirate movies" ad, but it was upside down and played in reverse (including the sound). All the rest of the ads were normal, so it's obvious that someone that worked at the theater was making a point.

    The audience was about 1/2 full and just about everyone was high school senior (or maybe college) crowd excepting a few of us 30-somethings. But everyone was laughing and found it highly amusing (perhaps more so than the movie itself).

    1. Re:The "Don't Pirate" movie ad by Saeger · · Score: 2, Funny
      I, being a cheap-labor conservative, am shocked and outraged that some film-monkey projectionist would dare subvert his masters carefully crafted propaganda!

      Those expensive projectionists will be replaced by our new AUTO-PROJECTOR 3000 next year anyway. I got in early and bought 10,000 shares. To use the slang of the colored proles: "Mo' money! Mo' money!"

      --

      --
      Power to the Peaceful
    2. Re:The "Don't Pirate" movie ad by Chmcginn · · Score: 3, Funny

      We (well, my wife and the people I was there with) were pretty amused when the "please don't pirate movies" ad was followed by the coke ad where the couple is watching the movies in the apartment building next to theirs through the telescope.

      --
      Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
  12. The perfect parody already exists by isomeme · · Score: 2, Informative

    No need for this, when Computer Boy has been out for several years. ("Eat gun!")

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a skull.
  13. What CGI Graphics? by Qweezle · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Done a good job of imitating the CGI Graphics of the Matrix on a low budget? Maybe the original Matrix was superb, but look at the second one--for example, the fight scene involving Neo rising up with many Agent Smiths around him--this is one of the (many) scenes in Reloaded where they actually used modified graphics from the video game, and thus the graphics were terrible in some parts of the movie.

    I certainly hope that they'll do better CGI work in Revolutions which I haven't seen, because it seems like they rushed it to market just to take advantage of the first two's success.

    And, I bet you, these Waichovski, or whatever they are, these guys are in it to make moolah--soon we will be hearing about "The Matrix Beginnings" and some story will come out to precede the original story of the Matrix. Just watch, it'll happen. They're doing it with LOTR, the Hobbit will be released after the Trilogy is complete, and then from there they may release further titles, and even I've heard rumors of fan-fiction based movies being released.

    Same thing will happen to the Matrix saga, and it will become a giant, commercialized, consumerist-mushy mess.

    1. Re:What CGI Graphics? by FreonTrip · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can't say I noticed modified graphics from the video game anywhere in the film, and also don't remember being particularly floored by Teh Ugly. It looked a little bit plasticine, but most all CG effects still do to my eyes.

      On another note, there wasn't much rushing; Revolutions was filmed simultaneously with Reloaded, so their six month separation was mostly an invention of the studio / publicity machine / primary profit-motivated entity. Note too that it doesn't hurt to keep them out of most of The Return of the King's way.

      Ultimately what the Wachowskis (and any cohorts of theirs) do with The Matrix is their business. Given the moderately cerebral nature of the films on some levels and their decision / gumption to not dumb down those aspects to ensure broad market appeal, profit doesn't seem to be at the very forefront of their minds. The Animatrix covered the pre-film age rather thoroughly; consequently, any future cash grabs will very likely be focused on future hijinks.

      The point of my rambling is this: if it stops being special to you, then it's perfectly all right to disregard that which would ruin your appreciation of the universe. Enjoy the good, disregard the bad. There's no sense in fetishistically deriding and railing against something that no one forced you to keep on your mind in the first place.

      P.S. What's wrong with making a film of The Hobbit?

  14. Re:cd-rom havoc by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who will buy me a new cdrom-drive when these "oval, pill shaped CD-ROMS" destroy my current one?

    Pick the blue CD-ROM. When you insert it into your PC, your system will reboot into Microsoft Windows and you won't remember ever changing your system configuration.

    If you pick the red one, your chair will pull itself out from under your butt and you'll find yourself in the storm sewer. But at least you won't be running Windows.

    [ObReality: If these shaped CDs haven't torn up anyone's reader, you should be safe with a simple oval.]

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  15. Computer Boy! by captaineo · · Score: 4, Interesting
    If you are a Matrix fan then "Computer Boy" is a must-see:

    http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=115368
    the main site: http://www.geocities.com/cobweb_films/

    It's a bit lengthy but the humor is precious.

    "Do you know who this is, Neo?"
    "Mom?"
    "Guess again Neo."
    "... Mom?"

    "Can you drive that thing?"
    "Not yet... Operator! I need a program for an '82 Subaru Swift!"

    1. Re:Computer Boy! by frohike · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, but did your company actually spend a "company lunch" ignoring incoming phone calls to watch Computer Boy? Yeeaaauuh dotcom :)

      Am I the only one who burned that Oom-pa-pa song to CD and played it in the car? The artist used to have it on his mp3.com page, but apparently it got removed... there's apparently a "remix" here.

      "It's ... Swedish..."

      --
      Cryptic Allusion - New Mac and Dreamcast Games!
  16. Matrix Unravelled parody trailer by DaggerWare · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Another recently released parody trailer is Matrix Unravelled. Some nice special effects shots, and the performance by "Bill" the Architect is just spot-on.

  17. You think THAT is going to cause problems? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Most PC users will just give up trying to watch the trailer after Quicktime crashes on them over and over, but the Mac users that slide the pill-shaped CDs into their slot load drives are the ones who are really going to have a fit.

    They can read "The Helix has you" in nice, blurry, anti-aliased text, as the CD goes "ker plunk" and plugs up the CD drive.

  18. Re:Hi Chris by SiliconBateman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I do not understand why this was modded OT as it is an excellent example of kitsch and nihilism. Isn't that what 'The Matrix' was all about, and isn't a spoof of The Matrix an excellent example of kitsch and nihilism that existed in the original 'The MAtrix'... and aren't the poor sequels of 'The Matrix' the ultimate example of kitsch and nihilism?

    --
    -- Alchohol is a hard drug. Cannabis is a soft drug.
  19. Re:CGI?! Jesus Christ!!! by Xeger · · Score: 5, Informative

    Once upon a time, in the early 90s, the term *was* CGI: Computer Generated Images, or Computer Generated Imagery. Only circa 1996 did I start hearing people refer to computer graphics for movies as "CG."

    I knew of CGI as a movie acronym long before I knew of CGI as a Web programming acronym -- and I was writing CGI guestbook applications in 1995, using C and printf/getenv. So I think the Common Gateway Interface would lose in any sort of chronological pissing contest.

  20. Torrent of one Trailer by ldspartan · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've got a torrent up of one of the trailers (blue pill) in quicktime.

    http://shithole.penix.net/~spartan/blue_pill_web_f inal.mov.torrent

    Have fun.

    --
    lds

    1. Re:Torrent of one Trailer by bogie · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yea like I'm going to download something from shithole.penix...

      Somebody else can be the test dummy.

      --
      If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
  21. Re:CGI?! Jesus Christ!!! by ultramk · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's Computer Generated Imagery. That what it's always meant. Always. Even back when SGI hardware was doing most of the CGI.

    You might want to look things up before you post... but then, this is /.

    m-

    --
    You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas
  22. Here's the red pill torrent too: by AIX-Hood · · Score: 4, Informative

    Red pill torrent: http://www.filerush.com/torrents/red_pill_web_fina l.mov.torrent

  23. Red Pill torrent link: by AIX-Hood · · Score: 5, Informative

    Red Pill Torrent link: http://www.filerush.com/torrents/red_pill_web_fina l.mov.torrent

  24. Matrix Bastardization by baudilus · · Score: 3, Informative

    Incidentally, the funniest "spoof" I've seen of the Matrix is the bastardization that resides on detonate.net. Very funny but the humour is a bit nerdy so don't go pasting that link to all of your "normal" (read: not computer nerd) friends - they won't laugh. I know, I've tried. I got a lot of "Why is this one funny?" type questions.

  25. Irony... by Cyno01 · · Score: 3, Funny

    iro.ny \'i--r*-ne-\ n [L ironia, fr. Gk eiro-nia, fr. eiro-n dissembler] : A cow wearing a presumably leather trenchcoat...

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
  26. Check out The Meatrix too... by cardozo · · Score: 2, Informative
    MEAT YOUR MAKER
    New Movie Takes Down Factory Farms

    You know the scene: Life seems basically normal until, one day, a mysterious stranger contacts you and tells you your whole existence is a lie. You have two options: red pill or blue pill. Sound familiar? That's right, it's the plot of "The Meatrix" (no, that's not a typo), in which moopheus the cow shows Leo, the pig protagonist (think Keanu Reeves with a curlier tail), that idyllic life on the family farm is a sham. The stark reality involves factory farms, massive pollution, high doses of antibiotics, and a few rebel farm animals in trench coats. Catch the latest short eco-flick by Free Range Graphics, on the Grist Magazine website.

  27. Blue Pill torrent link: by AIX-Hood · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here's the blue pill torrent link: http://www.filerush.com/torrents/blue_pill_web_fin al.mov.torrent

  28. Re:CGI?! Jesus Christ!!! by Jaeger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is one of the times I wished Slashdot had a (-1: Stupid) or (-1: Wrong) moderation. I'll leave it to the other comments to explain why.

  29. Re:CGI?! Jesus Christ!!! by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "There, had to say it."

    No, you didn't. What you had to say was "What's the I in CGI stand for?

  30. Of course... by Psychic+Burrito · · Score: 2, Funny

    If it doesn't contain a dying scene directed so terribly slow and boring that the whole audience goes "just die for christsakes!", it isn't a good spoof! :-) (You have to see Revolutions to get this. On the other hand, please don't!)

  31. Re:CGI?! Jesus Christ!!! by anagama · · Score: 3, Funny


    Actually, I think it should be (+5: Stupid) or (+5: wrong) - that way, people will get to see these. if it's -1, they'd dissapear and we'd lose a few laughs.

    --
    What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
  32. Re:You could not be further from the truth. by tunah · · Score: 2, Insightful
    For those of you who have not seen Reloaded or Revolutions.. or both.. please go into the movie knowing that is a continuation of the story, NOT a god damn sequel.

    sequel (plural sequels), noun
    1. continuation of a story: a movie, novel, or play that continues a story begun in a previous movie, novel, or play

    They are sequels. They are not the same movie, just like two towers wasn't the same movie as fellowship. I really liked them both, but I know people who didn't like the second as much. That's a perfectly valid opinion.

    You could claim that Matrix/Reloaded/Revolutions were equally good (I haven't found anyone who would), but to claim they HAVE to be because they share a common world is idiotic.

    --
    Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
  33. use the ad for comedic purpose... by jeeryg_flashaccess · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...wait through the entire heartfelt add..then...when the theatre is in shock and silenced from the horrible truths that are exposed a message will fill the screen:

    "Stop Pirates"

    At that point, in your best pirate voice say, "Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

    Good times.

    --
    Life is like pants... fit in or you don't fit in.
  34. Nice idea, but ... by mike_lynn · · Score: 3, Informative

    Having worked at a movie theater before and having spliced film at said theater before, I can tell you that the more likely cause was that they didn't screen/run it through first. There are 4 different ways you can splice the film together, only 1 of them is correct.

    Funny that it should happen to that trailer, but by no means consider it intentional.