Deadly Game

Yet another adaptation of The Most Dangerous Game (1932), we see yet another twist on the heavily overplayed tale and it's not entirely awful.

This time we see a host of people invited to claim grants from a mysterious benefactor only to discover they've been fooled and forced into playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

I won't lie I'm a tad burnt out on this story, but here at least the twist is fairly interesting. Starring the likes of Roddy McDowall and Mitchell Ryan, the high quality cast certainly assists it.

The further into the movie it goes the more you realize it's a fairly clever little film and not the mindless action flick you'd assume. It fends off being cheesy like most of the adaptations that came before it but isn't without its flaws.

Certain elements come across a tad silly, the camerawork could have been better and the score was so generic I barely noticed it was there.

Regardless this is a very watchable version of the timeless tale and though I'd not say its a good film I won't say its a bad one either.

The Good:

Some great cast members

Some interesting ideas

The Bad:

Weak score

Has its fair share of flaws

I am sure some will disagree but I thought this film was entertaining. It kept my interest in that I continuously found myself wanting to know who was behind the "game". The acting is good, yeah some of the dialog is cheesy, but the actors in the film are not. There is suspense as well. I do have to admit I really like Jenny Seagrove. She was GREAT in "The Guardian" and I had not seen her in anything since and when I saw her name on the jacket I rented it. Also, you can always count on Marc Singer and Roddy McDowell. If you enjoyed the movie "Surviving the Game" you will enjoy this. Actually I think this is even better then surviving the game because there is more character involvement. If you get a chance it is worth the watch.

I saw this one rented at one of the B-movies-night me and some friends from time to time have, and "Deadly Game" was the winner of the evening in that it was by far the worst, and on every field. The plot: seven strangers wind up on an island and have to run for their lives. While they are chased by bounty-hunters, they "coincidentially" run into items which cause ridiculous flashbacks tot one of the group, and every time they just seem to find the time to chat, as if the hunters give them a little time to figure out the clues. This is about as unconvincing and predictable at the same time as a plot may get, and the dialogues, which are so unnatural that it is hard to imagine that they weren't composed so with that intent, only add tot the feeling to be watching something completely unearthly. A feeling, I must say, that is further elaborated by the truly laughable acting by all the actors, which perhaps is no wonder, as they all have to give form to beings with a hilarious psychological depth, if that word can still be used.

In conclusion: this is a real hard one to finish. Even I, an ardent lover of movie-trash if the mood is right, had to force my endurance to watch this horrendous pic to the end. In short: let the dust where it belongs, on top of this movie

Man you guys were harsh. First off, this is a USA original movie, so you have to put it on a sliding scale. Compared to say, "Shawshank Redemption", "Godfather", or any of the other "IMDB top 100" films, the best ever USA original movie would rate a D-. But, you have to compare it to its peers, i.e. the other USA originals, plus TNT, TBS, PAX, etc. And in that respect, Deadly Game is pretty good. It's "10 Little Indians" retold for the 60 zillionth time, sure, but with a fairly decent surprise ending (again, for a USA original movie), has Marc Singer doing something besides time traveling, and even has Halloween 6's Dr. Wynn! If it's on, I say give it a fair chance. Or get it as a free rental on 2 for 1 Tuesdays or something. USA can only make so much money airing Con Air and Die Hard over and over and over again, cut them some slack.

If you want a GOOD movie watch "The Most Dangerous Game (1932). If you want a so-so loose remake watch "Bloodlust! (1961)" This 'Deadly Game (1991)' is nothing more than an awful and loose version of the awesome classic "The Most Dangerous Game (1932)". "Bloodlust! '61" falls in-between the two.

This version is too busy trying to get graphic with the kills and give us a 1980s B-action look and feel. The only 3 wonderful actors in this pitiful movie: Marc Singer, Michael Beck, and Roddy McDowell - not one of them could save this flick. The guy playing Osiris is terrible, just terrible... the rest not mentioned needed acting lessons as well.

If I want a poor man's version of "The Most Dangerous Game" then I'll watch "Bloodlust!" over this 1991 tripe. Such a shame, I wanted another film in the same vein to enjoy and because of the 3 actors that are in this one. But it is not this film.

3 Stars for 3 Stars: Singer, Beck and McDowell.

3/10