With The Hunger Games making all kinds of money right now, I thought I'd shine a little light on a great, unnoticed film with the same subject matter.
Series 7: The Contenders is about a group of six people, five of which are randomly chosen to be on a survival reality show where the last one standing wins. Every one of the contenders is given a gun and is forced to play regardless if they want to or not since the other contestants are hunting them down. The film's main focus is on the winner of the last show, Dawn Largarto (Brooke Smith of Silence of the Lambs fame) who is eight months pregnant. After already winning two games, Dawn just has to win this last one before finally winning her freedom.
The five other contestants include Connie - a 57-year old emergency room nurse, Tony - an unemployed father of three, Franklin - a retired man who lives in a trailer park, Lindsay - an 18-year old student and Jeff - an artist who has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and is Dawn's old high school sweetheart.
The film starts off with the pregnant Dawn entering a convenience store and shooting a male customer in the head. She then proceeds to ask the clerk for a certain food she's craving. The plot of the film is revealed in a narration and montage in the beginning of the film. After that we are introduced to each of the contenders and given little back stories on each. The majority of the film focuses on Dawn and Jeff's relationship. The two were a couple in high school and broke up after Dawn got pregnant and had an abortion while Jeff, believed he was gay. Now married to a woman, Jeff is suffering through his illness and wants to die. He even offers that Dawn be the one to kill him.
Throughout the film each contender tries their best to kill each other and some interesting situations arise which is why I have to cut this plot description even shorter than usual this time.
The beauty of this film is the way it handles its dark comedic elements. The beginning of the film starts off as if it were a real television show and then after a few minutes you might find yourself laughing at it because the idea sounds so ridiculous but then like a warm bath, you sink in and get connected with the characters. There are some instances where the viewer's suspension of disbelief may be challenged but as long as you're able to look past that, I can guarantee a positive viewing experience.
Brooke Smith plays Dawn as a mother on the edge who will do whatever it takes, including killing for her baby. I find it intriguing that years before Dawn had aborted a baby she was going to have with someone she truly loved but is willing to fight for a baby that she can't even remember who fathered it. There are times where Brooke's performance can be too over the top but there are also a lot of moments where you sincerely believe in her and want her to win. The film does a good job of flushing out her character arc and later, gives you more to deal with when you find out more about her and Jeff.
There are also some good moments between the minor characters in this film. For example: each character comes in contact with Dawn and their humanity is tested due to her pregnancy. To the viewer, Dawn's unborn baby seems to make her invincible at times. I especially liked the interaction between Dawn and Jeff who give the viewer something to relate to, especially if you've ever felt alone and ostracized. Of the supporting characters, I especially liked the over-the-top teenage girl, Lindsay, who, like all teenagers, takes this contest way too seriously. She and Franklin, the old man, have a great running competition that ends with funny but bad consequences. There's also a good sub-plot with Tony who has been pushed too far. What happens can only seem reasonable to someone under the duress of losing his job, while trying to provide for his family and involuntarily participating in a game like this.
Besides some hammy acting by some of the supporting cast, the look of the film may be its only shining downside. I can't seem to find any technical specs online but I'm assuming this film was shot on digital video and converted to 35mm. It seems as if it were intended to give the film a TV show appearance but ends up reminding me of early to mid 1990s sci-fi shows. One must also realize that this was shot back in 2000 when reality TV was still in it's infancy (compared to the cesspool it has mutated into now).
On the upside, I did enjoy how the film was treated like a TV show with recaps of past events we just witnessed and "Coming up on Series 7" narrations. Personally, I would have filmed some fake commercials to scatter throughout, making it feel more realistic. Now, this isn't to say that the filming techniques make the film unrealistic, it's just something the viewer has to deal with and get over, or otherwise you won't end up seeing the film's merits.
Now, I haven't seen The Hunger Games and I have no intention of seeing it in the immediate future. While I do enjoy this type of sub-genre, it doesn't seem too interesting to me, however, I believe Battle Royale (2000) is the champion among them all. For everyone who thinks The Hunger Games ripped off Battle Royale, there are plenty of films and books which deal with the subject of hunting humans. The short story, "The Hounds of Zaroff" (1924 - Richard Connell) and film, The Most Dangerous Game (1932) come to mind. Some others are the films, Surviving the Game with Ice-T and Rutger Hauer, The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the novel written by Richard Bachman A.K.A. Stephen King.
All in all, Series 7: The Contenders is a fun film that is modest in its presentation and acknowledges its faults while making you laugh at things you think you shouldn't be laughing at. It's a film that you shouldn't take too seriously, although some of the character's own personal struggles might soon seep into your brain, making you care more about them, while possibly reflecting on your own life.
3 1/2 Lottery Balls (Out of 5)
Check Out the Trailer Before You Get Chosen Yourself:
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