Surviving the Game (1994)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writer (WGA):

Eric Bernt (written by)

Release Date:

15 April 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Jack Mason knows he's going to die someday. But today he's not in the mood.

Plot:

Mason, who lives on the streets, wants to cease his life when on the same day his two best friends die:...

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Blood | Washington State | Man Hunt | Fire

Cast

Ice-T	...	Jack Mason
Rutger Hauer	...	Thomas Burns
Charles S. Dutton	...	Walter Cole (as Charles Dutton)
Gary Busey	...	Doc Hawkins
F. Murray Abraham	...	Wolfe Sr.
John C. McGinley	...	John Griffin
William McNamara	...	Derek Wolfe Jr
Jeff Corey	...	Hank
Bob Minor	...	Security Guard
Lawrence C. McCoy	...	Hotel Clerk
George Fisher	...	Taxi Driver
Jacqui Dickerson	...	Taxi Passenger
Victor Morris	...	Homeless Father
Frederic Collins Jr.	...	Homeless Child
Steven King	...	Mercedes Driver

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | Canada:R (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Entiat, Washington, USA

Company:

David Permut Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: After Mason jumps in the river and swims downstream, he discovers his cigarettes are still dry. This despite the fact he was completely submerged and his clothing was drenched.

Quotes:

Cole: Stevie Wonder could follow these tracks!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Seen it all before, but we still want MORE!

The "manhunt" action/suspense premise may perhaps be nearly as old as cinema itself, but it's also one that practically always guarantees a bloody good time! I've seen several film versions of the hunting-humans concept and loved them all; except for one (the abominable 60's bore "Bloodlust!"). Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack's original 30's classic "The Most Dangerous Game" undoubtedly remains the greatest version, but I particularly love how there exist numerous variations on the theme, like an excessively violent one set on a futuristic prison island ("Blood Camp Thatcher") or a super-sleazy one where they exclusively hunt scarcely dressed girls (Eddie Romero's "The Woman Hunt"). "Surviving the Game" is a rather rudimentary re-working of the premise, but nonetheless a very effective one with a downright awesome cast listing and a handful of genuine shocks. Jack Mason is an embittered and suicidal homeless man who loses his last will to live when both his dog and best friend in one day. The sly businessman Thomas Burns lures Mason to the wilderness with a false job promise, but instead he and his maniacal rich friends simply intend to hunt down Mason like an animal and kill him for sports. Mason may be suicidal, but he still wants to decide for himself when he dies, and so he successfully fights back. "Surviving the Game" is quite a gruesome and nihilistic-toned film; definitely not for people with vulnerable stomachs. The violence is pretty gratuitous and served without any form of morality, but what else do you expect from a B-movie. As indicated above, the film's main trump is the cast and particularly because each and every cool actor depicts a marvelously eccentric character. I can't even pick a favorite performance between F. Murray Abraham (as a sinister Wall Street big shot), Gary Busey (as an out-and-out deranged FBI psychiatrist), the overacting John C. McGinley (as a frustrated hunter with a vengeance) or of course Rutger Hauer as the mega-bastard. Ernest Dickerson – formerly a skilled cinematographer – does an admirable job directing his first long feature and he went on making the vastly entertaining Tales from the Crypt movie "Demon Knight". The forestry filming locations are impressive, the story doesn't contain any dull or unnecessary padding sequences and the level of suspense is continuously kept high. I don't know about you but that's everything I look for in an action movie.