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Shot using state of the art 3D motion picture technology, we've come a long way since those red and blue glasses. 3-D MANIA! features all-digital technology that puts up to 37 layers of images in a scene to literally jump out of the screen and into your lap.
However, it seems plot development hasn't kept up with technological advances, and 3-D MANIA!'s story (oddball professor (Stuart Pankin) tries to bring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark into 3D-land in order for her to perform an awful song she wrote five long years ago) is sad, to say the least.
Still, it's safe to say that no one is going to go to a movie called 3-D MANIA! for the story. This is little more than a thrill ride in an IMAX theater.
Surprisingly, 3-D MANIA! does have some interesting moments when it tours the audience through the historical origins and more recent developments of 3D technology. The learning-is-fun aspect of the movie is far more enjoyable than the goofy and lame attempts at humor. Even Elvira's miniscule appearance is hardly worth getting excited over.
As for the thrills of the 3D experience, if you're not going on a virtual roller coaster ride, something is blowing up in your face. At a scant 40 minutes in length, this is still enough to make you nauseous enough to stumble your way out of the theater afterwards.
And depending on your state of mind, that can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Elvira vamps in three dimensions.
