Surviving the Game

Surviving the Game
Surviving the Game
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ernest R. Dickerson
Written by	Eric Bernt
Produced by	David Permut
Starring	Ice-T; Rutger Hauer; Charles S. Dutton; John C. McGinley; William McNamara; Gary Busey; F. Murray Abraham;
Cinematography	Bojan Bazelli
Edited by	Samuel D. Pollard
Music by	Stewart Copeland
Production; companies	New Line Cinema; David Permut Productions;
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	April 15, 1994;
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7.4 million
Box office	$7,727,256

Surviving the Game is a 1994 American action-adventure film directed by Ernest R. Dickerson and written by Eric Bernt. It is loosely based on the 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. The film stars Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, William McNamara, Gary Busey, and F. Murray Abraham.

Surviving the Game was released in the United States on April 15, 1994, by New Line Cinema. The film received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $7.7 million against a production budget of $7.4 million (not including advertisement and distribution costs).

Plot

Jack Mason, a homeless man from Seattle, Washington, loses his only friends—fellow homeless man Hank and his pet dog within a day of each other. Dejected, Mason attempts to commit suicide when a soup kitchen worker, Walter Cole, saves him. Cole refers him to businessman Thomas Burns, who offers Mason a job as a hunting guide. Despite his misgivings, Mason accepts.

Flying to a remote cabin surrounded by acres of woods, Mason meets the rest of the hunting party, all of whom paid $50,000 for the privilege of being there. In addition to Burns and Cole, the party includes Doc Hawkins, the founder of the hunt and a psychiatrist, Texas "oil man" John Griffin, and wealthy Wall Street executive Derek Wolfe Sr. and his son Derek Wolfe Jr.. On the first night, all the men are having dinner and chatting. Mason receives cigarettes from Hawkins, who relays a story from his childhood when his father forced him to fight and kill his dog as a lesson in being a man.

The following morning, Mason is awakened with a gun in his face by Cole, who explains that the men are not hunting any animals, but rather Mason himself. Mason is given a head start with only the time it takes the others to eat breakfast. Mason flees the area, but comes to a realization and turns back. The hunters finish their meal and go after him. Wolfe Jr. is horrified at the thought of committing murder, but is pushed into it by his father. The hunters race off into the forest, but by now Mason has returned to the cabin in search of weapons. He finds none, and instead makes the discovery of the hunters' secret trophy room: the preserved heads of victims from previous hunts.

Mason decides to burn the cabin down using chemicals found outside the cabin. The hunters assume Mason's return to the cabin and return. Wolfe Sr. enters just as Mason lights up the cabin and engages in a fist fight with Hawkins out back, away from the others. Hawkins is knocked back into the cabin as the preserving agent explodes, killing him. Wolfe Jr. saves his father, and spots Mason fleeing. The hunt resumes and Mason begins to use his wits to beat the hunters, luring them with lit cigarettes to lead them in the wrong way. Mason lures Griffin away from the others, and takes him hostage.

Over the night, Mason learns why Griffin is taking part in the hunt. Months before, his daughter was killed by a homeless man and he is venting his rage, which was enhanced earlier when Mason joked about killing his own family. However, Mason meant they died in an apartment fire and he could not save them. Griffin realizes that Mason blames himself for the tragedy. Griffin is freed by Mason, and returns to the group, having decided to not continue the hunting, but is murdered by Cole to prevent any future legal conflicts. Mason sabotages one of the hunters' ATVs, causing it to explode. The explosion rips off most of Cole's lower body, mortally wounding him. Burns then uses his fingers to apply pressure to Cole's jugulars to mercy kill him. As they pursue Mason, Wolfe Jr. is killed by accident after falling in a ravine, and Wolfe Sr. vows revenge.

The second night, Wolfe Sr. and Mason fight one on one. Mason wins and Burns escapes to the city. Days later, Burns is back in Seattle, preparing to leave his current identity, hoping to escape both Mason and the legal responsibilities resulting from the failed hunt. But Mason has escaped the forest, and tracked him down. A fight ensues where Mason beats up Burns and takes his gun. However, instead of shooting Burns, Mason leaves the gun and walks away. Burns picks up the gun, thinking Mason screwed up and prepares to shoot him. Unbeknownst to him, Mason used a tip from Hank and messed with the barrel on Burns' gun; when Burns tries to kill Mason, the gun backfires and kills Burns instead.

Cast

Ice-T as Jack Mason, a homeless man suffering from depression after the death of his wife and child.
Rutger Hauer as Thomas Burns, a businessman that leads the hunting team.
Charles S. Dutton as Walter Cole, Burns' partner who picks the "prey".
Gary Busey as "Doc" Hawkins, a CIA psychologist and the founder of the hunting team.
F. Murray Abraham as Derek Wolfe Sr., a Wall Street executive.
John C. McGinley as John Griffin, an oil tycoon still grieving over the murder of his daughter.
William McNamara as Derek Wolfe Jr., the son of Mr. Wolfe Sr. and the only one in the team oblivious to their game.
Jeff Corey as Hank, another homeless man and Mason's best friend.

Filming locations

The film's city scenes are set in Seattle, Washington. However, in some shots, the skyline of Philadelphia is used. The outdoor scenes are supposed to take place across the Oregon border, in the U.S. Northwest. However, they were filmed in locations of Entiat and Wenatchee, Washington. Lake Wenatchee and Wenatchee National Forest are both featured in the film.^[1]

Reception

Surviving the Game received mostly negative reviews. It currently holds a 32% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10.^[2]

Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman called the film "Cliffhanger with one third the firepower," saying that Dickerson does little to differentiate from other films in the genre. He did give praise to the cinematography and the efforts of the main cast, singling out Ice-T for having on-screen charisma but being a bit unconvincing as an action star, concluding that: "Still, for a few moments there, the movie gives Robert Bly just what he deserves."^[3] Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle was critical of the script's characters and overall message as being "out-of-whack and sophomoric" but gave credit to the actors portraying them and the production team for being a vital element in Dickerson's filmmaking, saying: "He has a definite flair for action pictures but the stunning contributions from cinematographer Bojan Bazelli add immeasurably to the movie."^[4] Gene Siskel gave it a thumbs-up review on his TV show, but while Roger Ebert thought it had a lot of good elements (especially Ice-T's performance) he could not recommend the film. Siskel beseeched Ebert to reconsider, noting Roger's longstanding championing of "B" movies, but Ebert said conclusively he wouldn't change his mind.