Modern technology has been blamed for rotting our brains. The new horror flick "Stay Alive" takes this concept a step further by proving that videogames can actually result in death.
William Brett Bell co-writes and directs his major motion picture debut "Stay Alive." An underappreciated cast consisting of Jon Foster ("The Door in the Floor"), Sophia Bush ("One Tree Hill"), Samaire Armstrong ("The O.C"), and Frankie Muniz ("Malcolm in the Middle") deliver faithful performances that will effectively have viewers putting their Playstations up for auction on eBay.
"Stay Alive" begins when Hutch (Foster) learns of the homicide of his close friend. After his funeral, the family gives Hutch a sack full of his friend's videogames, knowing that Hutch is a hardcore gamer. Included in the sack is a mysterious-looking game on which "Stay Alive" is scrawled.
Since it was the final game his friend played before he was murdered, Hutch and his friends pop in the videogame and play in honor of their fallen friend. The gamers embark on a new adventure in a game moderately comparable to the grisly "Resident Evil" series, "Silent Hill," and other survival horror games of the breed.
Fans of those games and the horror/thriller genre might find "Stay Alive" delectable. As the friends play the game, they are slain in the same fashion as their game characters. As the deaths continue, they discover that the game may be the cause of the deaths.
The movie contains some glitches, ranging from a few minor holes in the story to an absurd scene featuring a fully clothed stripper. Constant cutaways from victims about to be slashed by gardening scissors leave viewers wanting more.
Horror films, by nature, depend on gore and elaborate ways of killing off the dwindling cast. "Stay Alive" is limited by its PG-13 rating and the over-the-top violence employed in horror flicks such as "Final Destination" and "Saw" is notably and sadly absent.
Despite the setbacks, one of the film's credible accomplishments is the integration of videogames with reality. Videogame graphics of the unrelenting un-dead servant girls and the Blood Countess become real and threatening.
The game "Stay Alive" is loosely inspired by stories of Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Legend claims that Bathory murdered over 600 innocent virgin servant girls in order to drink and bathe in their blood to remain young and beautiful for eternity.
Scenes of the actual story of Bathory would have suited the film, but the viewers get spoken dialogue instead of the graphic slaying of virgin girls to complement it.
Overall, the film is effective in building tension and mustering up terror. A horror flick from a rookie director and a minor cast had many critics writing this movie off before it even hit theaters, but "Stay Alive" manages to be a legitimate thriller.
In the shadow of a PG-13 rating, "Stay Alive" keeps up with most R-rated films, compensating for gore with creative twists. Here's hoping for an uncut version when it is released on DVD.
Photo: Courtesy of Mitchell Kish
