Stay Alive (2006)

Director:

William Brent Bell

Writers (WGA):

William Brent Bell (written by) &
Matthew Peterman (written by)

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's the game of life and death....

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Blood Countess | Video Game | Tower | Hanging

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Feb. 14

9:00 AM

SYFY

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

USA:85 min | 100 min (Unrated Director's Cut) | Argentina:85 min | Germany:75 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:M | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:18SG | Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Finland:K-18 | Canada:14A | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:MA (director's cut) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:M18 (director's cut) | Germany:16 (director's cut) | Italy:T | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:16 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Esplanade Mall - 1401 West Esplanade, Kenner, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

Video game reference: The old-fashioned camera that Abigail uses in the film is a reference to the popular "Fatal Frame" (known as "Rei Zero" in it's native Japan, and as "Project Zero" in Europe) series of horror/survival games, upon which the "Stay Alive" concept is partially based.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the detective is killed in his truck, his head explodes, covering the entire windshield with blood. However, in the very next shot, which is a side-view shot of his truck sitting in the parking space, you can clearly see all the way through the now totally clean windshield to the other side.

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.

Movie Connections:

References Suchîmubôi (2004)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Dreams

Stay Alive

Stay Alive follows a group of twentysomethings as they uncover an evil video game, titled Stay Alive, that sends a nasty "Blood Countess" to kill its players in real life when they die within the game. The film isn't frequently scary, as most of the gore has obviously (and haphazardly) been hacked and edited down so that the film would receive a PG-13 rating. I still, to this day, will never understand why filmmakers allow their creations to be stripped and retooled for the sake of a rating. Much of the impact of what would have been the gruesome scenes in Stay Alive are diminished to brief flashes that don't even register as images. A bit of the language has been edited down as well, which is just plain ludicrous and silly. Guys and girls in their 20s don't exclaim "fudge" when they're scared. They just don't. The filmmakers must know this. Oddly enough, even through all of the negatives that the film has stacked up against it, I still enjoyed watching the film. While the supporting cast is not worth mentioning, the film's star, Jon Foster, from the short-lived television show Life as We Know It, shows real talent, which is good since he carries the entire film. The film also does a good job of not depending on it's video game content, while utilizing it very well to create atmosphere and mood. And yes, when the "Blood Countess" finally gets enough screen time to be creepy, and the film works towards its fairly potent climax, I was engrossed and happy. The film is deeply flawed, but entertaining nonetheless.