Survival/Horror Games Inspire Clever Movie -- Full Stay Alive Review

by Louis Bedigian

Funny and entertaining, with loads of game references and cool surprises.

I approached my desk, sat down my keys and wondered, "Should I leave the ticket stub?" Is it tainted? I had just come from the first public showing of Stay Alive, a horror flick that plays on the dangerous results of playing video games. Not the crazy, psychological hyperbole the pessimistic media feeds us. Games have been proven, several times over, to be good for us. 

(See our article: Are Video Games Good For Your Health?)

The danger Stay Alive plays on – or rather, the danger it fabricates to instill fear in everyone who likes survival/horror games – is that if you play this game and lose, you die.

It all starts when a young man gets a hold of a beta copy of a new video game. The game, which shares the name of the movie, is a third- and first-person survival/horror adventure. Top-notch, next-gen effects; dynamic camera angles; unparalleled sound effects – even detailed voice activation! It’s dark, creepy, and everyone wants to play it…not knowing that this game could be their last.

Anyone who’s seen a horror flick knows what happens next: the words “Game Over” appear. He lost the game. Now he’s about to lose his life.

His best friend, Hutch MacNeil (played by Jon Foster) is devastated by his friend’s death. At the funeral he meets Abigail (Samaire Armstrong, best known for her appearances in The O.C. and Entourage), a young woman obsessed with taking pictures. This is one of many subtle (but very clever) references to the world of survival/horror games.

Hutch befriends Abigail after she takes his picture, saying that there were a lot of sad faces at the funeral but his looked the saddest. Meanwhile, he receives a bag of video games that belonged to his best friend before his tragic death. His parents hated violent games and were going to throw them out, so his sister felt that Hutch should have them.

Unaware of the hazard that resides in that bag, Hutch takes it to the cyber cafe his friend October (One Tree Hill’s Sophia Bush) works at. Her brother, Phineus (Jimmi Simpson) is a geeky hardcore gamer who can’t wait to delve in. The first game he pulls out is none other than the game that killed Hutch’s best friend – Stay Alive. The box was clearly a mockup, intriguing Phineus, who is dying to play the game after learning it isn’t even on store shelves yet.

The four friends return home to play. Hutch brings Abigail, who is looked at as the new girl, and connects online with his boss, Miller (Adam Goldberg), who loves to game but lacks the skills necessary to succeed.

You know what happens next. Just like in The Ring, where watching the tape meant you’d die seven days later, when you play Stay Alive, you’re doomed. First you die only after dying in the game. Your death mirrors the events of the game, from being hung to being stabbed several times with a rusty pair of scissors. Creepy, yes, and filled with just as much cheesiness as our favorite survival/horror games. 

The movie follows this path with a couple of interesting turns, entertaining the viewer with high-quality video game style visuals and a ton of great references to the genre as a whole, not just one particular game. This is going to sound crazy, but I even thought it was cool seeing the words “voice-over” in the credits. You don’t see that too often outside of video games.

Stay Alive’s introduction is a fun sequence that every gamer must see. Even more impressive is the ending, which cleverly wraps up the story and leaves the plot wide open for a sequel.

As far as storytelling goes Stay Alive is not at the top of its game. It’s acceptable in the game world, where acting is generally crap. But these are decent actors, and their dialogue isn’t always cheesy. It’s a mixed, fluctuating bag that will likely turn off anyone who isn’t a gamer. Those who are, however, will appreciate the way the movie links our world to the game world. There are a lot of surprises in store, all of which were created for game players.

That right there is where Stay Alive draws most of its strength. It has more to do with video games than films like Tomb Raider and Resident Evil, which were based on existing game properties. The pace of the film, the camera angles, the transition from game to reality – it’s all very effective. Imperfect, but effective.

Stay Alive also draws strength from its amazing score. I had high hopes, but I really didn’t see this coming. The direction composer John Frizzell took with his music is incredible. Throughout the entire film he uses this loud, blistering sound that reminds me of rap music being cranked through a car stereo (hence John’s comparison to hip-hop). It’s stifled, unusually haunting, and comes from an unexpected source. Once again the movie plays on our love of playing games.

GZ Interview With Composer John Frizzell 

One of the areas where Stay Alive didn’t quite hit the bull’s eye is violence and gore. This is a PG-13 flick about an M-rated game. Whenever a bloody good sequence was about to take place, the camera cut to something else. I know you can’t show too much gore with a PG-13 rating, so why not go higher? Most survival/horror gamers are adults. I’ve got a 14-year-old cousin who has no desire to play them or to see this movie. Why not gear the film toward the proper audience?

I felt kind of gypped not getting the same content as my M-rated games, though I’m guessing an un-rated version of the DVD will change that (not confirmed, but knowing Hollywood trends it is very likely).

Overall Stay Alive is a good, if a little shallow, horror film that was written specifically for hardcore gamers. That alone gives you reason to see it. The fact that some of what they were trying to accomplish actually works is reason enough to see it as soon as possible.