Stay Alive - Unrated Director's Cut (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Unmemorable
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A good premise
Disadvantages:	Poor execution

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Loomis Crowley loves to play computer games, one night he is sampling a brand new game yet to be released. Initially the game is like any zombie/ghost/horror/hack n slash style game; however Stay Alive is slightly different. Loomis revels in its realism, and jumps on numerous occasions as his character faces untold evil. Thinking he has the upper hand and he has reached the end of level baddie things turn badly wrong; a small child leaps up at his character causing him to fall through a railing and be hung on a chandelier. Loomis seems unable to establish why the game has frightened him so much, in order to pull himself around he contacts his good friend Hutch to explain this wonderful game. Having told Hutch about the game Loomis feels calmed by the discussion and promises to get a copy to Hutch as soon as he can. But Loomis's calmness is short lived he believes that out of the corner of his eye he has seen something. In an attempt to get clarification of what he has just seen Loomis decides to ask his room mate and girlfriend for some help; but having entered there room he finds them hideously butchered. As Loomis turns to flee something jumps up at him pushing through the railings where he becomes hung by a chandelier.

After Loomis's death Hutch comes into possession of the Stay Alive game; as a mark of respect Hutch and five friends gather at his home to play the game. A series of strange events occur in the life of the six people; and its not long before they realise that the game has entered there lives, as video game horror becomes reality this gang must fight for there lives...... If they die in the game, they die in real life.

Cast

Jon Foster .... Hutch O'Neill
Samaire Armstrong .... Abigail
Frankie Muniz .... Swink Sylvania
Jimmi Simpson .... Phineas Bantum
Wendell Pierce .... Detective Thibodeaux
Milo Ventimiglia .... Loomis Crowley
Sophia Bush .... October Bantum
Adam Goldberg .... Miller Banks
Billy Slaughter .... Rex
Nicole Opperman .... Sarah

Hollywood horror is kind of hit and miss at the moment, with every great horror comes five really nasty movies. When I discovered the premise behind Stay Alive I was in two minds as to what to expect, what I got was 50% pleasure and 50% pain.

No sooner has the movie begun than you realise your kind of in alien territory, California is knocked on the head in this movie in favour of disaster struck New Orleans. Part of the movies back plot was to raise people attention to the plight in New Orleans and develop funds for the area. As a result of this vision the movie takes us through derelict areas deserted due to flooding; we also see a lot of construction on already built property. The streets look down and dirty, but no reference is given to the flooding in the movie. This element of desertion and dereliction provides an element of unspoken horror in the movie. At the same time we are shown the slightly more affluent of New Orleans, which are clean and have obviously been returned to normal rather quickly.

Onto the story itself; the premise of the story is rather good, and the special effects are great. But what is obvious about the movie is that something rather hollow rests at its centre. That hollow area is created by lack of character development, poor acting by some cast members, and a seemingly hurried finish. Abigail (Samaire Armstrong) is kind of the centre of all this emptiness; there is something wrong with her, she seems a bit shady and perhaps a bit sinister. Fact of the matter being there is no way of telling what her issue is, because you don't know whether its bad character development or just flipping dreadful acting. The whole way through it you feel that she possibly has a secret; an involvement in the "bigger picture" whether she does or not I'm not saying. Its not just her that suffers, Hutch's sub story is never resolved; and Phineas strange behaviour and attitude is left secret too.

For those of you that like gaming, the game within the movie is not unlike House Of The Dead. The deaths of characters are rather imaginative but very much video game territory. This is the element that is not left short, the game and the sub plot surrounding the origins of the game are fully explored. As a result the bad guy or woman as the case is proven, a vicious killer known as the Blood Countess has the easy potential to be the next Freddy, Michael or Jason. Not only is the back story based in the movie on a real story, but in real life too.

One thing this movie does not offer is scares, a bit of gore maybe but no scares or thrills. That being said its not a bad movie, but neither is it a good one. Stay Alive is a very average movie, with a very average plot; however I do firmly expect to see sequels and possibly sooner than later. Stay Alive is bound to be a big hit, it has that trashy teen horror feel to it.

As if to add to my average feelings about this movie, I then felt obliged to watch The Directors Cut. As it stands its unknown to me which version the UK cinema audience are seeing. The variation is slight, in fact I think its an insult to offer a secondary release as they both have there flaws. The directors cut version has a bit less plot development, if that's possible. Part of Abigail's oddness is explained in the first version, as is Hutch's although the first version does give a little insight. Either way neither version gives you any reason to like any of the characters, they simply have no depth.

Stay Alive is at UK Cinemas now, neither version DVD (due for November release) has any special features; just a US theatrical trailer. My advice is wait till this comes out to rent or is shown on Sky. One positive thing I must say is that should the game itself be released in the UK it will be a smash hit without a doubt.