Day 7: Stay Alive.

Day 7: Stay Alive (2006, Dir, William Brent Bell)

This film is dark. Really dark. Unfortunately its not really the content of the film I’m talking about here but the picture itself. I actually had to turn the brightness up on my TV so I could make out what was going on half the time. And it is this sort of lazy production which brings this quirky idea of a horror film down to a bargain bin dud.

Horror is here dealt with the subtly and nuance of a sledge hammer. Every time there is something slightly scary going on the screen gets plunged into darkness and the spooky soundtrack gets turned up to 11. Don’t get me wrong cheap horror can be fun! I’ve seen countless cheap monster films, gorefests, crap zombie films and the like, but here it just feels like a lot of wasted potential. There are a moments that work, such as the gothic backstory and imagery plus the quick pace keeps you interested in who is going to die next, but the scares are just a bit too far between. Apparently there is a Directors cut version of this film in America, which is meant to be a bit more brutal, but I doubt I’m missing much.

The thing is watching over people playing on video games isn’t fun. And whilst the premises of a Video Game coming to life is a good one, just chucking in some cliques, tech babble and in game cut-scenes together isn’t going to sustain a film. The video gaming logic in this film is flawed too, and as a video game fan this flawed aspect can’t help but pull you out of the narrative.

The concept for this film is quite an entertaining one and you do get some thrills and scares along the way if you switch off and accept this film for what it is. However you’ll keep finding yourself looking at your watch waiting for GAME OVER.

3.5/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441796/

Extra: Malcolm in the Middle is in this film. Which is weird…