Stay Alive
Year: 2006
Buena Vista

Written by: William Brent Bell
                  Matthew Peterman
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Starring:

• Jon Foster as Hutch MacNeil
• Frankie Muniz as Swink Sylvania
• Sophia Bush as October Bantum
• Samaire Armstrong as Abigail
• Jimmi Simpson as Phineus Bantum
• Adam Goldberg as Miller Banks
• Alice Krige as the Author
• Maria Kalinina as Elizabeth Bathory
• Milo Ventimiglia as Loomis Crowley

I had originally decided that I would watch and review "Puppet Master" today, a film I had previously watched before. Sadly, the DVD was refusing to work in the player so I gave up with that idea. Instead I decided to check out "Stay Alive", a film that I have had for years but just never had any motivation to watch. Plus, people bash the film quite a bit. But nonetheless I watched it anyway.

The film starts with a college student (I'm guessing) playing a beta for a new video game called "Stay Alive". The game seems heavily influenced by Resident Evil/House of the Dead type games. After being killed he decides to call it a night. He hears a noise downstairs and goes to investigate. It seems somebody or something has broken into the house. He is soon killed off, as well as the two other people sharing the house, all in the same manner they were killed in the game.  His friend, Hutch (Foster), after hearing the news of his friends passing goes to the funeral and is handed a rucksack full of video games by the deceased younger sister. Hutch begins to investigate the video game with a group of friends (one being Frankie Muniz from Malcolm in the Middle fame) after seeing similarities between the way his friends in game character died and how his friend was killed in real life.

The film itself was pretty good, but my only real criticisms would be that I would have liked to have seen a bit more gore, as the deaths were pretty vague. Also, the story came across a bit too much like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" what with the "If you die in the game, you die for real" theme. Thinking about it, it lends a lot too "Ringu" as well, a cursed video game as opposed to a cursed video tape. Would I recommend it? Yes, but don't go into it expecting a whole lot. It is what it is.

Obscure Video gives this: 5.5/10