Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 17+
Extremely violent and gory horror is a torturous watch.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Plot revolves around a murderous game broadcast online. Character tied up and traumatized, beheaded with a chainsaw. Blood spray but no gore. Others are shot and killed in gunfights and by self-inflicted gunshots. One is branded with red hot iron. Flesh shown burned and bloody. Another is forcefully injected with sedative and fed corrosive substances. Vomited blood. One dies by hanging. Character held down and beaten with weapons. Character contemplates suicide with handgun. Bloody fistfight where combatants are forced to take part against their will. Some discussion of whether violent crimes are motivated by sexual frustration.
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Language
a lot
Language used includes "f---ing," "s--t," "f--k," "bastards," "bitches," "motherf----r," and "whores."
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Kissing.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
Characters drink alcohol drunk in moderation.
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Diverse Representations
a little
Main character, along with the movie's primary villain, are White males. Some gender and ethnic diversity across the cast, including international nationalities. All-male writing and directing team. Some depictions of trauma, discussion of overcoming adversity and abuse.
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Positive Messages
very little
Helping others, stopping those who do harm. However, the movie revolves around an illegal online game where victims are abducted, tortured, and traumatized.
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Positive Role Models
very little
Detective Ben Jacobs is gruff and direct, but cares about helping others. Katia strives to rebuild her life and provide for her loved ones, as well as attempting to escape a deadly game. The Presenter runs an illegal online torture game that takes monetary bids from its audience members to choose murder weapons for the victims to fight each other with.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that DarkGame is a violent and grisly movie that revolves around a deadly illegal online gameshow where its victims are abducted and executed for a paying audience. Traumatized police detective Ben (Ed Westwick, Gossip Girl) leads the team tasked with catching and stopping its creators. The movie utilizes familiar horror and thriller cliches, including a psychotic villain, The Presenter (Andrew P. Stephen), who hides behind a mask and a fake name, and a convicted killer, Larch (Rick Yale), who profiles The Presenter from behind bars. Its tone is bleak, tense, and unforgiving. Violence is constant, sadistic, and bloody, with characters meeting a range of orchestrated deaths, from which The Presenter and some audience members derive pleasure. A character takes their own life. The language is infrequent but strong, with multiple variants of "f--k" and "s--t" used throughout, including "motherf----r." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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DarkGame
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What's the Story?
DARKGAME pits police detective Ben Jacobs (Ed Westwick) against The Presenter (Andrew P. Stephen), the psychotic host of a deadly online game show.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated Rate movie
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This tedious knock-off of popular horror flick Saw and its many sequels is delivered on a micro-budget with no new ideas. Somehow it took DarkGame three writers to fail to channel any of the inventiveness and shock value that gained those movies commercial success and a loyal following. The film proves to be little more than a collection of cliches and jarring casting choices, partly down to the makers' attempt to pass off what appears to be the United Kingdom as Portland. Everything comes dimly lit and shot in shallow focus, but the script's lack of momentum makes its killer-takes-all gameshow about as tense as being trapped in a stuck elevator. Not content with pilfering one famous horror movie's ideas, there's also an imprisoned criminal advising on how to profile a psychopath, which might count as a neat twist if you haven't gotten around to watching Silence of the Lambs yet. With grim predictability, the ending sets the stage for some potential sequels, which, with the bar set as low as this, are difficult to get excited about.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in DarkGame. Did you think it felt over the top, or do you expect lots of gore in films like this? Did you find the violence scary? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
Discuss the strong language used in the movie. What did it contribute to the movie? Is a certain kind of language expected in a movie like this?
Did this film remind you of any others you might have seen? What do you think is the appeal of these types of movies?
Movie Details
- In theaters: February 20, 2024
- On DVD or streaming: February 20, 2024
- Cast: Ed Westwick, Andrew P. Stephen, Natalya Tsvetkova
- Director: Howard J. Ford
- Studio: Gravitas Ventures
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 100 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: October 7, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
DarkGame
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