Best to stay away

It's official. The video game industry has taken the entertainment industry by storm. Video games have always been successful by themselves, but now with the release of "Stay Alive," a film which revolves around one, it seems this fad is getting ridiculous.\nThe film is about an underground horror video game of the same name that causes one to die the same death as in the game. After the death of three friends, some fellow gamers decide to commemorate their friends' untimely deaths by playing the game they played right before they died. Unfortunately, they don't realize that the game might have been the reason for these deaths until after another friend's game was over. Now they have to come together to figure out why they are being taken down one by one and do whatever they can to prevent their possibly horrific demise. Whether they will be able to figure this out before they are all hunted down is another thing though.\nQuite frankly, when I saw the film's trailer it looked like one of the lamest and sorriest excuses for a movie I have seen in a long time. It appeared to just emphasize the fact that Hollywood is running out of unique story ideas. This said, "Stay Alive" is actually a pretty decent scary movie. It's nothing that will come out with fantastic reviews and rack up huge numbers at box offices across the nation, but it is a respectable movie.\nThe film is pretty exciting and will keep you interested, despite any previous thoughts derived by watching the trailer or reading the plot.\nAs in all horror movies, the acting was sub par at best. It is pretty much a no-name cast with the exception of Frankie Muniz ("Malcom In The Middle"), so if you were hoping to see a star-studded scary movie, then a trip to the video store might be the best choice.\nAll in all "Stay Alive" is not as terrible as its promotions might suggest. However, there are better movies out today than this cheap thrill. Audiences should look over their choices before jumping at the opportunity to see this film, but if it comes down to this film, it has enough chops to satisfy a boring evening.