Stay Alive is formula
teen-horror at it's most typical. I liked it.
Stay Alive is low on character
development and is a good example of cookie-cutter teen horror. Still,
I liked it in spite of myself. Read why...
Review by: BMH Editor Don
Sumner September 24, 2006
Release:
2006 Directed by: William Brent Bell Written
by: William Brent Bell and Gary Barber
Starring: Jon Foster as Hutch O'Neill Samaire
Armstrong as Abigail Frankie Muniz
as Swink Sylvania Jimmi Simpson as Phineas
Bantum Wendell Pierce as Detective
Thibodeaux
Online gaming is here to stay, and the gamer profile has shifted from
the old stereotype of ultra-intelligent shut-ins to the new that
includes people from all walks of life. This certainly explains the
high frequency of video game to movie efforts, and speaks directly to
the existence of Stay Alive.
The story in Stay Alive is both simple
and ridiculous, just as the background stories of many
computer games are. Loomis (Milo Ventimiglia) gets his hands on a
horror computer game that is particularly scary. If you falter in the
game your online death is both horrible and dramatic. Well, he does die
in the game and immediately afterward he begins seeing strange shadows
and hearing noises around the house. Then he is killed by a darting
freak in precisely the same way that his character died in
the game.
This theme
continues through the movie as Loomis’ friends find a copy of
the game and play it themselves.
Behind it all is a strange tale of an evil witch
that bathed in the blood of young girls 100 years ago to maintain her
youth. Computer game and real life merge as our heroes Hutch and
Abigail (Foster and Armstrong) try to unravel the witches tale and
discover how to put her soul to rest once and for
all.
Stay Alive is boiler-plate teen horror at
it’s most typical. The characters are wafer-thin, the story
unfolds with odd and implausible realizations and
the kids in Stay Alive do stupid things (wandering
into old buildings alone to investigate a spectral appearing, for
example) that make you hope for their demise just so that there is one
less idiot in the world. Well, the one exception to this is Phineas
(Jimmi Simpson) who’s character is so over-the-top rude
and ridiculous that he is actually pretty funny. I
didn’t like it when he died.
All this said, I have a confession to make. I thought it was fun.
I
know…that is kind of like admitting to your buddies at the
pool hall that the CD in your truck’s player is Britney
Spears’ Greatest Hits, but what can I say? My
horror movie sensibility is very in tune with incredible film making,
ingenious technique and story telling, rich characters, believable
acting and original concepts. But sometimes a movie like Stay
Alive will merely entertain me, and that is enough.
I have a hard time recommending this movie to
all of you Horror Freaks and Fright Aficionados out
there…because ultimately it is a high-formula poorly-acted
surprise-free addition to the horror space. But I liked it, so there.
If you have anything to say about it then you and I can step
outside...to the parking lot by my truck. Oops, I did it
again… Questions
or comments about Stay Alive? Contact us!
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This theme
continues through the movie as Loomis’ friends find a copy of
the game and play it themselves.
