DarkGame

Netflix practically begged me to watch this movie. It was relentless, like an overeager friend who won't stop texting you about their latest obsession. So, with expectations lower than a slug doing the limbo, I gave in.

Now, was the plot groundbreaking? Absolutely not. But then, BOOM, Ed Westwick appeared, smouldering like a human campfire and doing his best "I'm totally American" act. Did my rating get a little Westwick bump? I mean... who's to say? (Spoiler: It did.)

What I did like was the ensemble vibe. More characters, more dialogue. On the downside, the lighting crew must've called in sick, because in some scenes, I was squinting harder than someone reading the fine print on a New Year New Me 2025 gym membership. Game of Thrones Season 8 flashbacks, anyone?

Now, let's talk about the dark web subplot. Creepy as hell. My overactive brain instantly filed it under "probably happening IRL," like a mix of Taken and Hostel. And honestly? The film was disturbing without being a gore fest, which I appreciated. Sometimes implying horror is way more effective than splattering it everywhere. Let me do a little mental scarring on my own, thanks.

My golden rule: If a movie doesn't hook me in 15 minutes, I'm out. But this one passed the test. Why? The lack of slow, soul-draining silent scenes helped. So did the abundance of characters. Oh, and Ed Westwick. Did I mention Ed Westwick? Swoon.

Read reviews about 10 mins in ..agreed with most it looks amateurish but the actual game show was well done and the actor who played the host was watchable ..all the American accents were passable apart from the police officer with the grey beard it was all over the place ..it holds its own against saw and hostel and they had bigger budgets so hats off to all involved ..in what could easily have been a complete mess the direction was quite tight and and the acting was ok .....................I've seen far far worse films that have had rave reviews..I'll name one bloody Black phone lol ..like I said not ground reading but very watchable.

This isn't a bad film, the script is dreadful, the locations dreadful, cast dreadful, effects dreadful, but every now and then you can see the bones of something better.

The story and the twist ending seem very heavily influenced by Saw, but the movie itself is like the Saw you'd get if you ordered it on Temu or Wish.

Apart from some good lines here and there the dialogue is terrible and there is a whole sub-plot about an imprisoned tech genius serial killer that just doesn't go anywhere or serve any real purpose.

The single biggest thing holding this film back for me though is the villain, nothing about him works, he's not scary, not intelligent, there is no threat or menace when he's on screen, he's not Jigsaw, he's more 'Kiddies Safety Scissors'.

Like another reviewer said, a movie for me is either I'm in or I'm out, in the first 15 minutes. This one, I was in! Kept me entertained. I particularly rated Rick Yale playing the convict, acting wise. Shame he wasn't in it more. Yeah, the plot may not have been the most original, but not many films are now. Hard to come up with an idea that hasn't been done in some capacity, by now. This one touched on some bizarre big brother come Saw concept. What I expect from a netflix flick now is a good standard of acting, a decent dialogue and a storyline that can keep me entertained. Not expecting every film to be an earth shattering unique, block buster. This one I felt had good pace from the start, to draw me in, was entertaining and definitely delivered an overall good effort, though slightly predicatable twists. Character wise, gave a fair bit of personality and background to help with the storyline to the main characters. Looking forward to potentially a sequel!

Actually more than one game! So no pun intended! Yes if that sounds familiar ... you may have ... Saw in mind! You saw it coming anyway (the pun that is). You may be tired of all the movies trying to copy Saw - and I don't think this is able to reach the heights of it ... maybe not even some of its sequels power.

That said, the movie is more than fine .... especially the main bad guy. He is having so much fun with his role ... and it shows! Even if he covers his face - I assume there may be another movie in the works - or at least planned ... maybe prequel, maybe something or rather someone else than him taking over ... maybe him - depends on the end of the movie, doesn't it? That was rhetorical obviously.

Interesting horror with some horrifying effects ... not for the faint hearted for sure ... be wary if you are sensitive ... just saying.