Interesting, intense, off the wall little obscurity plays as if it could have been written for the stage, involving three main characters and sticking to mostly one set. Seymour Cassel is George Manning, a man whose wife and children are away for his 40th birthday. He makes what will turn out to be a fateful decision: letting two strangers, attractive young women, into his home. They start out as friendly and seemingly normal, and before too long George and the gals - Jackson (Sondra Locke) and Donna (Colleen Camp) - are having a threesome. Soon after that the girls reveal their true colours, making themselves at home, refusing to leave, and playing all sorts of twisted games - psychological and sexual - with the hapless George. Reportedly Cassel, ordinarily a very reliable actor, was so unhappy making this that he declined participating in the post production process, so his dialogue is dubbed by another actor - all too obviously. Still, by the end of this thing, you can't help but *really* feel sorry for this guy. The story turns into an unrelenting streak of insanity, mean-spiritedness, and kinkiness that will undoubtedly turn some viewers off while intriguing others. When it's all over, it's hard to be sure what the point of it all is, but helping to keep it watchable are two very vivid performances by Locke and Camp, who make for a memorable pair of crazed antagonists, playing dress up, helping themselves to Georges' wifes' wardrobe (not to mention the food in the house), tying George up, dumping food on him, engaging in some carnal relations, etc. Director Peter Traynors' direction isn't the most skillful - overall, this is pretty crude - but "Death Game" still has an odd fascination about it that prevents it from being a waste of time; it doesn't hurt that Locke and Camp are so uninhibited and show off the goods regularly. (They claim at one point to be no more than 17 and 15 years old, but one senses that this is all just part of the game.) But people shouldn't worry that there's no consequences for the gals in the end; the last second resolution is so shocking, yet so silly, that it's likely to make a fair amount of people burst out laughing. Repeated use of one very goofy ditty titled "Dear Old Dad" (music by Jimmie Haskell) is likewise good for some chuckles. Trivia item: the production design is by Jack Fisk, and two of the set dressers are none other than Sissy Spacek (Fisks' wife) and Bill Paxton! Six out of 10.
Review of Death Game
