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

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Taglines:

Play It To Death.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | 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

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:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,726,406, 26 March 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$23,086,480

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,105,095, 12 July 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

This was Hollywood Pictures' first film in five years to be released and and It was also Disney's only slasher film.

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Goofs

When everyone first boots up the game and Swink puts on his gaming glove, he puts it on his right hand. Yet, when the group is customizing their characters, the camera switches to a close-up of his controller, and the glove is now on his left hand. In the following shot, the glove is back on his right hand.

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Quotes

Phineus Bantum: Miller, man, you in those tunnels again? All the doors are locked.
Miller Banks: Well, now they're open and I'm exploring, tearin' shit up... ownin' fools.
October Bantum: Ownin' fools?

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Connections

References Area 51 (2005)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Good Concept, Lazy Execution

Stay Alive is a new game in which you have to stay alive or suffer the consequences in real life, it's a pretty cool concept and one that could have been executed way better than it actually was.

Surprisingly the film is far less cheesy than i figured it would be, the cast are quite convincing, albeit as pretty shallow characters and the direction, editing and general production are adequate enough. What let it down was the way it sets out the rules and then picks which ones it will follow depending on what stage the story was at, contriving every step of the way to make it fit.

It was mildly entertaining to watch and there is a decent sense of tension throughout, although the scares were all a bit cheap and clichéd, and it definitely didn't need the twist at the end, i hope it's not a setup for a sequel.

5/10