Let's play a death game
I have no interest in slasher or torture porn or demonic horror films-- For a long time I thought I didn't like horror and I was suspicious of anyone who did. Why would you just want to watch people slowly get picked off one-by-one in gruesome ways? Also why are these characters so stupid? Most horror movie victims in those kind of films are so dumb. They have to be. It's harder to kill smart people.
But then I found death game horror and single room horror. Some of these films play with the torture porn line and I find those are also the least developed types of death games. They have to be extra violent because the story and characters aren't interesting. A good death game has me on my toes, especially if it's single room/ one location. Maybe it's because it reminds me of a play? Maybe I like the contained feeling? Maybe some part of me know this was harder to write in one space and admire that?
The best death game films right now are Japanese or Chinese, but I think America will catch on. Kaiji, King's Game, and Battle Royale are absolutely brilliant. I also liked Death Bell and As the Gods Will (though this one is legit bonkers). Alice in Borderland and Judge just came out and are also at the top of my list.
On the American side, I love Exam, the Belko Experiment, Circle, and Cube. I wanted to like Would You Rather, Escape Room, and Platform (Spanish) but both leaned a little too far into late era Saw torture porn for my taste. And while Hush and You're Next aren't strictly death game films, I'd put them in that category because it's about out-smarting and surviving against the odds.
Swiss Family Robinson was one of my favorite films growing up and in re-watching it, I realized it's a death game-- if a PG one. I think the thing that I like about death game films is that the characters are smart, not canon fodder. I like thinking that people can escape death. I don't think that if I was in a death game I'd win. Given my personality, I'm definitely the meat-shield/ testing traps person. But the people I love most in this world would survive. And I think that's what I like. A situation they could win.
But then I found death game horror and single room horror. Some of these films play with the torture porn line and I find those are also the least developed types of death games. They have to be extra violent because the story and characters aren't interesting. A good death game has me on my toes, especially if it's single room/ one location. Maybe it's because it reminds me of a play? Maybe I like the contained feeling? Maybe some part of me know this was harder to write in one space and admire that?
The best death game films right now are Japanese or Chinese, but I think America will catch on. Kaiji, King's Game, and Battle Royale are absolutely brilliant. I also liked Death Bell and As the Gods Will (though this one is legit bonkers). Alice in Borderland and Judge just came out and are also at the top of my list.
On the American side, I love Exam, the Belko Experiment, Circle, and Cube. I wanted to like Would You Rather, Escape Room, and Platform (Spanish) but both leaned a little too far into late era Saw torture porn for my taste. And while Hush and You're Next aren't strictly death game films, I'd put them in that category because it's about out-smarting and surviving against the odds.
Swiss Family Robinson was one of my favorite films growing up and in re-watching it, I realized it's a death game-- if a PG one. I think the thing that I like about death game films is that the characters are smart, not canon fodder. I like thinking that people can escape death. I don't think that if I was in a death game I'd win. Given my personality, I'm definitely the meat-shield/ testing traps person. But the people I love most in this world would survive. And I think that's what I like. A situation they could win.