Stay Alive (2006)

Genre: horror/thriller

Writer: William Brent Bell & Matthew Peterman
Director: William Brent Bell

Cast:
John Foster - Hutch
Frankie Muniz - Swink
Somaire Armstrong - Abigail
Jimmi Simpson - Phineus
Sofia Bush - October
Adam Goldberg - Miller Banks
Wendell Pierce - Detective Thibodeaux

Plot:
A group of friends discover a realistic video game. After playing the game, the first friend that discovered it dies mysteriously. Soon a second and then a third of the friends dies. The remaining friends discover that all of their friends died in the same ways that they died in the video game. The friends discover that the game is based on the story of a 'Blood Countess', and they fear that she is the one behind the deaths. They vow to stop her before they become her next victims. Will they succeed, or will they too lose the game, and their lives?

My thoughts:
** may contain spoilers **
This is a below average to average movie at best. It's one of a number of movies that came out around the same time that had people dying after either watching a video, visiting a web site, receiving a phone call, or in this case playing a video game. However, the video game in this film is actually based on "The Blood Countess" Countess Elizabeth Bathory.
The Countess' story is interesting, which is more than can be said for this movie; it's unoriginal, predictable and clichéd.
I did like somewhat how the people in real life and the people in the game coincided and interacted.
The directing was decent enough provided the material there was to work with.
The cast is okay, but their performances are definitely subpar. They don't show nearly enough emotion or fear.
Although the movie would be considered financially successful because it made more money than it cost to produce, it was by no means a hit. And, the movie was generally panned by critics, with good reason.
Overall, this is a subpar movie with not much going for it. If you're looking for a good horror movie you can certainly and easily do better than this one. Unless you're a diehard horror fan with a goal of watching every horror movie ever made, I'd recommend skipping this one.