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
April Wood	...	Loretta
Monica Monica	...	Mrs. Crowley
Rio Hackford	...	Detective King
Billy Louviere	...	Fidget
J. Richey Nash	...	Young Rookie (as Richey Nash)

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 | group of friends | tower | ghost | game reality crossover | 

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Taglines:

You Die In The Game - You Die For Real

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although 'Entertainment Weekly' issued a D- rating for the theatrical release of Stay Alive, the Director's Cut garnered a respectable C+ rating.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 7 mins) When Hutch shoves Abigail into the crypt and closes the door, there is no artificial light source. After Hutch fends off the phantom carriage and enters the crypt, there is still no artificial light source. Upon pushing the lid of the sarcophagus open, there is still no artificial light source. When the camera pans back out to them pushing the lid, a lantern appears out of nowhere and is lit.

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Quotes

Miller Banks: [snorting cocaine] Ooh, fuck, that burns!

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Alternate Versions

DVD is 100 min Unrated Director's Cut, versus the theatrical 85 min release. This alternate version includes a new character and subplot. It also features graphic nudity and more gore.

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Connections

Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Stay Alive Phelous (2010)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

fun movie with great graphics and scary scenes

Overall the movie is well done, the ghost are scary without having to show a lot and the acting are generally OK. What really gets me is the script. How they always manage to make the characters so stupid is beyond me. It one thing watching a char die because of the circumstance but watching a char die because of his/her own stupidity is another. It just makes the audience feel cheated and resentful to the characters. Its a shame that horror flick cannot be more intelligent. 'The Ring' was great and it looks like a great beginning for the new age of scary, intelligent movies but this movie push the genre back a few notches.

Basically there should be 2 types of scary movie, 1) intelligent ones and 2) stupid but with lot of T&A. This movie is stupid without the T&A (replaced by really nicely rendered video game scenes). guess that is not enough to please the audience.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Touchstone Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stay Alive

Filming Locations:

Fort Pike, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,726,406, 26 March 2006

Gross USA:

$23,086,480

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,298,695

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