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The Movie: Videogames have gotten more and more complex and detailed over the years, to the point where more people are considering them an art form and not just a toy. With online services, a player in Tokyo can face off against someone in New York City with ease. Movies based on video games haven't always been great, but future adaptations (like the Peter Jackson-produced "Halo") have potential. All that said, "Stay Alive", a movie about videogame fanatics (which happens to be a horror movie) does not exactly play well to the fanbase. The film is a blend of horror cliches and elements that seem like they were dreamed up by a 12-year-old (characters have names like Hutch, Fidget and Swink.) The movie opens with Loomis Crowley (Milo Ventimiglia) and his two roommates being swiftly dispatched after playing the new game, "Stay Alive". Afterwards, Hutch (Jon Foster) and his friends decide to try out the game for themselves. When the group starts getting taken out one-by-one in the same manner in which they were in the game, the rest of the group starts to realize that what's happening in the game is happening in reality, and that a 17th century killer is somehow coming after them. It takes them a while to figure it out and the police don't believe them when they do. The film is a prime example of how horror films lately are frequently brought down to a PG-13 to attract a wider audience. However, the films end up essentially seeming bland and free of any actual scares. Making matters worse here is the fact that the characters here are not particularly bright and that the acting is pretty dismal (although the fact that Frankie Muniz appears younger here than he did on the last seasons of "Malcolm in the Middle" is a little spooky.) While I don't think anyone could save some of the dreadful dialogue that's uttered in the film, the some of the performances (and these are actors who I've liked in other things) here just highlight how silly it is. Overall, "Stay Alive" isn't the worst horror film ever, but it's still a dull time, as the film's 101 minutes seems to take an awfully lot longer. The story isn't told in a particularly coherent way, the dialogue is lousy and the characters are barely one-dimensional. This "Unrated Director's Cut" does provide a few graphic moments that likely would have kept it from a PG-13, but nothing too noteworthy. The DVD VIDEO: I didn't see the film theatrically, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to look the way that it does here. The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen by Buena Vista, and doesn't look that hot. Sharpness and detail vary throughout the movie, but much of the film looks so dark (and not spooky dark, but dark dark) that detail is often a problem. Aside from the overly dark images, concerns included some minor edge enhancement and a few instances of slight artifacting. Colors largely looked subdued. SOUND: Although some fairly minimal shock sound effects and minor ambience were occasionally presented by the surrounds, this remained a pretty unambitious horror sound mix, with most of the audio coming from the front speakers. However, audio quality was fine, with crisp dialogue and effects. EXTRAS: Commentary from director William Brent Bell and co-writer Matthew Peterman and a short visual effects reel. Final Thoughts: Both horror fans and video game fans alike will probably not find much to like about "Stay Alive", a derivative and tired horror picture that seems a lot slower than its 101 minutes would indicate. The DVD presentation is average. 
Film Grade The Film D DVD Grades Video 84/B Audio: 86/B Extras: 80/B- |