Stay Alive is an interesting little time killer, but I had problems with the plot that caused me to end up not liking the show. Though it could be okay if you turn off your brain.
Loomis Crowley (Milo Ventimiglia) is at home playing a first person shooter video game called Stay Alive. His character ends up dying in the game so he shuts down his PC and goes to the kitchen to get a snack. The audience (and eventually Loomis) realizes that there’s something hiding in the shadows.
This presence kills Loomis in the same way that he died in the game (after he discovers that his fellow game players and houseguests have been killed in a similar fashion). His best buddy Hutch O’Neill (Jon Foster) is shocked to learn of his friend’s death, but is given a bag of Loomis’ things by his sister at the funeral.
Amongst the items are Loomis’ video games (since Loomis’ parents never liked them to begin with) and the deadly Stay Alive game. Hutch invites over a bunch of his cronies to play the unheard of video game. They include Phineas “Phin” Bantum (Jimmi Simpson), October Bantum (Sophia Bush), Swink Sylvania (Frankie Muniz), and Hutch’s new friend Abigail (Samaire Armstrong). The friends decide to play Stay Alive. Hutch’s boss Miller Banks (Adam Goldberg) is also present but is joining them in game play via Internet and is really back at the office.
They boot up the game, but have to read a “prayer” before it will allow them to play. The game is set on a gloomy plantation where the Blood Countess stalks them (as well as some zombies). They like the game, but decide to quit after Miller’s character is killed. You guessed it – Miller is killed at the office in just the same way that his character was killed in the game.
Stay Alive has friends playing a deadly video game not watching a deadly video
Soon the friends discover that they’re all to suffer the same fate at the hands of the Blood Countess and pausing the game is not an option since it takes on a life of its own. They’ll have to figure out who or what is behind the sinister game or they’ll all end up on the Countess’ kill sheet.
Stay Alive is a film that might’ve been interesting to me if they didn’t decide to screw around with some plot points that caused me to lose interest. It will also draw comparison to 2002’s The Ring (which was a remake of 1998’s Ringu) thanks to a similar plot that has a ghost like creature hunting you after playing/watching a deadly game/video. Stay Alive does break enough new ground to not be a carbon copy of The Ring, but horror fans will easily see the connections.
I liked the whole aspect of a haunted video game that if you died in the game that you would be stalked and killed by a character in real life – score one for the filmmakers. What I didn’t like is that they decided to tie it all into Countess Elizabeth Bathory and that Lizzie made the trek from Romania to Naw’lins (New Orleans for the uninitiated, but I don’t think that they actually said this is where the action is taking place, but the plantations were definitely supposed to give off a Southern vibe).
I think the movie would’ve benefited from making the baddie a more homegrown villainess (Marie Laveau or a completely fictional Southern/New Orleans entity). The whole Bathory connection left me shaking my head in disappointment. The aspect of the games inventor/designer Jonathan Malkus (James Haven) is not really fleshed out and we’re left wondering just how involved he truly was in the Countess’ plans.
He’s played with creepy perfection by Haven. He creeped me out mostly because he’s Angelina Jolie’s brother and they had behaved oddly at an awards show. The game actually seemed entertaining and looked like one that I wouldn’t mind playing. The movie started off intriguing, but by the end of the movie my interest had waned.
I should mention that this is the unrated director’s cut and runs 100 minutes and is rated R where the theatrical version runs 85 minutes and was PG-13ized. The movie is well shot and acted, but I just couldn’t get over the plot. I definitely would not have connected Elizabeth Bathory to the game in the movie, that seemed silly to me (not that the whole idea of a haunted video game wouldn’t seem silly to some).
Stay Alive is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by director William Brent Bell and co-writer/producer Matthew Peterman. There’s also a 2-minute highlight reel for the CGI effects. Finally, you can design a character by choosing the character’s clothing and weapon from the main menu.
The film is interesting, but loses momentum towards the end
Stay Alive starts off good and ends up sucking by the end (at least in my opinion). They even have a groan inducing “look the game is being sold in stores” finale. However, if you turn off your brain and are in the right frame of mind, the show might be a good way to kill an evening (perhaps even throwing insults at the screen with friends). I can imagine that the much-abbreviated theatrical cut was even worse.
Stay Alive - Unrated Director’s Cut is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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