| Plot:After the brutal death of a friend, a group of | | | | and when the first of the gamers dies at the |
| friends find themselves in possession of a | | | | hands of the games countess, Sophia Bush's |
| video-game called 'Stay-Alive', a blood-curdling true | | | | character begins to draw conclusions connecting |
| story of a 17th century noblewoman known as | | | | the eerie circumstances surrounding his death, to |
| 'The Blood Countess'. However, after playing the | | | | that of past incident involving a few murdered |
| game when they know they shouldn't, the friends | | | | local girls. "Stay Alive" slinks on blood, guts, and |
| realize that once they die in the game - they die | | | | other related nastiness, and instead relies on it's |
| for real. As their numbers begin dropping and as | | | | strong solid mystery aspect. It is after all a pg-13 |
| they begin dying in the ways they died in the | | | | flick, and while some horror fans might be turned |
| game, the remaining friends realize they must | | | | off to the fact that the film is shy with it's |
| defeat the Blood Countess or accept their | | | | graphicness, the mystery of what is occuring is |
| fates.Cast: Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, | | | | so engaging, it acts as a distraction from the fact |
| Frankie Muniz, Sophia Bush, Jimmi Simpson, Adam | | | | we aren't seeing people chopped to pieces on |
| Goldberg, Milo Ventimiglia.My Thoughts:What it | | | | screen. "Stay Alive" also manages to keep Ms. |
| lacks in style when it comes to the kills, it makes | | | | Bathory well hidden most of the way, not fully |
| up for with an original story.Review:Movies like | | | | showing the countess until near the middle of the |
| "Stay Alive" usually have me leaving the theater | | | | movie...where one female character in peril utters |
| going "what the hell was that?". But oddly enough, | | | | a pretty bad ass one liner before she's offed, in |
| that's not the way I felt about "Stay Alive" after | | | | what is about the only graphic or semi-graphic |
| seeing it. While the movie did have it's problems | | | | death scene in the whole movie. The countess |
| from the standpoint of being a balls to the wall | | | | character is pretty creepy looking, and makes for |
| horror movie, it works really well as a dark | | | | a fantastic villain, especially because she sports a |
| mystery with horror elements sprinkled in. The | | | | pair of rusty hedgeclipper like weapons in one |
| jist of "Stay Alive" centers around a weird video | | | | hand when she pops up on screen...and has a |
| game that someone created and found a way to | | | | very demented twisted look to her. Bell does |
| send out into the world. The bad part of the | | | | show a weakness in his writing though when his |
| game is, if you die in it, you die for real, and | | | | story nears the end, which is where the remaining |
| weirdest of all, you die in real life the way you | | | | gamers after discovering a way to destroy the |
| died in the game. I admit this movie would've | | | | blood countess, visit the house of their dead |
| been hella lame if the game started frying people | | | | friend to do so. Many things take place in the final |
| or killing them in freak accidents ala "Final | | | | act that don't make sense and work to create |
| Destination", but writer William Brent Bell is smart | | | | more questions while giving little to no answers. |
| enough to give us a villain or should I say villainess | | | | That doesn't do much for the story since there |
| that we can identify with, in the legendary | | | | were already many unanswered questions from |
| countess Elizibeth Bathory. For those of you not | | | | act 1 and 2 that had yet to be answered - and |
| familiar with this historical ghoulstess, she killed | | | | for those who didn't pick up on it early on in the |
| countless young women back in the dark ages | | | | movie or who just weren't paying attention, the |
| and bathed in their blood, believing that doing so | | | | films ending manages to square away one of |
| would grant her eternal youth. The dark aspect of | | | | "Stay Alive"'s biggest mysteries for you all. |
| the movie makes it's presence felt early on | | | | Despite it's story-flawed final act, "Stay Alive" |
| because when victims number 1,2, and 3 are | | | | manages to "Stay Alive" (no pun intended) with |
| claimed, it's by the countess character that | | | | an interesting and intriguing story and a pretty |
| appears in the game as it's boss villainess, if you | | | | creepy looking and viciously wicked villainess, |
| will. The mystery and burden of one of the first | | | | which manages to ensure that the viewer will be |
| victims death falls upon his avid gamer friends | | | | able to "Stay Awake".Pros: A very Dark,sinister, |
| Hutch (Jon Foster), Abigail (Samaire Armstrong), | | | | intriguing, and interesting story. Pretty good acting, |
| Phineus Bantum (Jimmi Simpson), his sister | | | | great villainess, and nice sceneries especially in the |
| October (Sophia Bush), Miller (Adam Goldberg), | | | | movies climax which shifts locations from a large |
| and Swink (Frankie Muniz). Bell manages to keep | | | | house, to a cemetary, to a forest. The ending |
| the mystery of the film fresh, dark, and intriguing | | | | was also a total curveball.Cons:Again the story is |
| as the gamers soon start playing the game in | | | | too open ended and alot of questions about the |
| honor of their deceased buddy, and begin to | | | | countess are left unanswered at the conclusion. |
| unlock it's dark secrets. One of the biggest ones | | | | Another graphic death or two would've helped as |
| being about countess Bathory, and just how the | | | | well, too many cut aways.Overall:I liked it alot |
| heck can she be back as a video game | | | | more than I though I would, and I think you might |
| character? Although this all sounds pretty cheesy | | | | too. It's not a splatterfest, but in terms of it's |
| in some ways, watching it all play out on screen | | | | strong story, it's a movie that will leave you |
| with these particular actors is quite entertaining | | | | thinking after it's all over, and is mostly for the |
| and creepy in alot of ways. Alot is revealed about | | | | horror fan that can appreciate a good mystery |
| the countess such as how she killed her victims, | | | | with strong horror elements included.Mr. |