The Game of Death

When I heard there was a film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club, I was immediately intrigued. Stevenson's short story set up an unusual and very dark premise but I felt the story too short, it's possibilities not quite fulfilled. Samuels' film version expands Stevenson's idea and takes it to the limit. Jonathan Pryce is wonderfully sinister as the mastermind behind a game of death. Literally, a card game. The story's hero, destroyed by the tragic demise of the woman he loves, craves nothing but death for himself. Lured into a macabre private club where death is dealt by Pryce as the Master of Ceremonies, Henry Joyce is eager to be dealt the one special black card. Because in this club, members kill each other, eliminating a charge of suicide - anathema in Victorian England. Then, Joyce meets the mysterious Sara - brilliantly played by Catheryn Siggins, also a club member and things begin to unravel for Joyce as he finds himself falling in love. Twists and turns and a surprise ending tops off this excellent film. Paul Bettany, Samuels' discovery, as Shaw is perfectly cast. I was so drawn in that I almost wanted to join the club. Beautifully shot in Ireland with authentic period details, Samuels has made a tour de force on a shoestring.

While not a complete departure from Corman's usual fare, this story-driven little film is a far cry from the usual shlocky monster breast-fests.

The story itself is compelling. It's the story of a man who no longer wants to live but can't get up the nerve to kill himself. Through a chance encounter, he discovers the Suicide Club, a group of people who play a "Russian Roulette" of sorts with an interesting wrinkle --whoever draws the ace of spades gets to die, but whoever draws the ace of clubs must be the killer. The protagonist thinks this is the solution to his problems until he meets a female member and rediscovers his will to live. Despite occasionally slow pacing, the story is compelling enough to keep you drawn in.

The plot and characters are based on Robert Louis Stevenson's short stories and, while the film does play a bit loosely with the plot, it's understandable given that Stevenson's stories were fairly disconnected and very short. It'd be difficult to make a completely faithful version. Thankfully, the movie manages to keep Stevenson's best scenes.

The budget is small, and it shows in places, but the movie makes up for it with a couple of outstanding performances. Notable is Jonathan Pryce who is charmingly sinister as the president of the club.

In short, this is a nice surprise from the Corman camp.

I'd read rave reviews about this, and bought it on DVD as I'm a big fan of David Morrissey's work. While it wasn't bad, I felt it lacked depth or emotional involvement. I just didn't care about the characters, and found the plot too implausible. Not a memorable film.

This movie isn't too bad. Although it does maintain a certain boring level to it. It isn't that engaging either. But top notch acting manages to force this movie into the position to shine. But I thought the ending to be rather rushed. And if you listen to the directors commentary on the dvd. It was filmed in a half hour. For someone to actually admit this is rather brave. I think they may have spent too much money on this movie though. But it's up to the viewer to figure that out.

6/10

Quality: 4/10 Entertainment: 9/10 Replayable: 7/10

yes, he takes a story from Robert Louis Stevenson and because its so old no one actually owns the rights, he is able to actually rewrite it to look nothing like the original story.

Still, this is a lot better than most of Roger's output. Nice portrayals, interesting characters, and so on. And it keeps you engaged for most of the run, so not that bad.

An officer whose wife dies has no desire to live, so he joins the suicide club and plays along with them even after they kill his friend. He falls in love with another client, there's a bunch of scenes...and well, it's fun to watch.