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:

Play It To Death.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although they portray brother and sister of almost the same age in the movie Jimmi Simpson who portrays Phineaus is actually 7 years older then Sophia Bush who portrays his sister October in real life.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, the mansion is shown with Loomis playing. Later when the rest of the group plays, the layout of the mansion is completely different. Towards the end of the movie, the actual mansion Hutch and Abigail are in and the mansion Swink plays in the game are different from the others. The layout of the game mansion and the live mansion never match the previous.

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Quotes

[last lines]
October Bantum: Go fuck yourself!

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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

Incredibly tame.

OK, so you know this movie is going to be cheesy before you even go see it. It's about a game that kills you if you die in it. I already knew that, but I was hoping to be at least entertained. First off, most of the acting was actually pretty good. Some of it was terrible, but I blame the script more than the actors, some of those lines were impossible to deliver realistically. The plot was ehh, well you already know the plot. It was not the strong point of the movie, to say the least. The thing that really bothered me was the fact that the movie cut away right before everyone got killed. I guess that's what happens when you make a PG-13 horror movie. I get the feeling this movie would have been a LOT better if they had just let it get an R rating, and include all of the violence. Violence doesn't necessarily make a good movie, but in this case, what else would you watch this movie for? It doesn't build tension very well, and is generally not very scary. The makeup for the countess looks pretty good, she is a creepy looking woman.

All together the movie wasn't terrible. It was at least entertaining to some extent. Don't expect to be scared unless you are a 14 year old girl. 4/10 stars.

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