Stay Alive (2006)

For a group of teens, the answer to the mysterious death of their old friend lies within the world of an online video game based on the true story of an ancient noblewoman known as the Blood Countess.

Director:

William Brent Bell

Writers:

William Brent Bell, Matthew Peterman

Stars:

Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Foster	...	Hutch
Samaire Armstrong	...	Abigail
Frankie Muniz	...	Swink
Jimmi Simpson	...	Phineus
Wendell Pierce	...	Detective Thibodeaux
Milo Ventimiglia	...	Loomis Crowley
Sophia Bush	...	October
Adam Goldberg	...	Miller Banks
Billy Slaughter	...	Rex
Nicole Oppermann	...	Sarah
Monica Monica	...	Mrs. Crowley
Rio Hackford	...	Detective King
Billy Louviere	...	Fidget
J. Richey Nash	...	Young Rookie (as Richey Nash)
Maria Kalinina	...	Countess

Storyline

Loomis Crowley is testing the underground game Stay Alive with his friends Sarah and Rex. When the game is over, Loomis finds Rex and Sarah dead in their room, and he is pushed by a shadow from the staircase, breaking the banister and hanging the same way he died in the game. Loomis' sister, Emma, gives his game to his best friend, Hutch. They, and his friends Miller, Phineus with his sister October, Swink and Abigail play the game together. When Miller and Phineus die the same way they died in the game, the survivors disclose that the game is based on the life of the evil Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She was buried alive in the tower of her real state in the Geronge Plantation. With the police chasing them, and after the death of October, the survivors reach the house and try to find the corpse of the Countess to destroy her fiend.

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Plot Keywords:

countess | blood | blood countess | group of friends | corpse | 

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Taglines:

You Die In The Game - You Die For Real

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for horror violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexual and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Touchstone Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Game

Filming Locations:

Fort Pike, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,726,406 (USA) (24 March 2006)

Gross:

$23,078,294 (USA) (23 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Endgame Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 100 min (Unrated Director's Cut) 75 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Foster was going to play the role of Hutch O'Neill, but gave the role to his brother Jon Foster instead because he thought it was better suited for him.

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Goofs

When Fin is playing the game on the couch, Swink, Abigail, Hutch and October go stand to his right. Swink is standing in front of Abigail slightly to the right, and in the next shot he's right behind Fin (unless you watch the Director's Cut which shows Swink moving to behind Fin as he smokes a bong).

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Quotes

[Phineus licks Swink's controller and hands it to him]
Swink Sylvania: Dude...
Phineus Bantum: Put your hands on it.
Swink Sylvania: That's disgusting...
Phineus Bantum: Touch it.

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Connections

References Q*bert (1982)

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Soundtracks

Sweet Dreams
Written by Graham Russell
Produced by John Frizzell and Frederik Wiedmann
Performed by Jess Harnell

User Reviews

Unique storyline

I seem to have a greater opinion of this movie then most people, since I really enjoyed this film. One of the main reasons I enjoyed this is because of the unique storyline. Some people have referred to "The Ring" to compare it to however, I don't see much of a comparison in the two. The only similarity is that the "demon/ghost" is activated by an electronic device. The special effects are quite good, and the acting though could be better was convincing enough to make this an enjoyable movie. I'm a horror buff so I've seen almost every horror movie out there and this would be one of the better horror movies I've seen in a while. Perhaps why I particularly enjoyed this movie is because I knew nothing of it so expected nothing special, just an average movie. I was pleasantly surprised it turned out to be good.