Death Game

1977 "The object is to stay alive."
5.6| 1h27m| R| en
Details

George Manning is a well-to-do businessman, husband, and father. While his family is away on his birthday, he invites a pair of rain-soaked young women into his house to wait out an evening thunderstorm. The two girls seduce Manning and ultimately kidnap and torture him in his own home.

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First American Films

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Reviews

VividSimon Simply Perfect
Console best movie i've ever seen.
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
asgbeat IMDb contributer johnmorghen does a scholarly job of breaking down the cinematic nuts-n-jolts of "Death Game" (a.k.a. "Mr. Manning's Weekend"), so I'll just share my memories of watching it.Like my IMDb sister rachelcronin, I saw this for the first time late one night on L.A.'s early '80s SelecTV subscription system. The set-up definitely grabbed my pubescent attention: Man minding own business in his San Francisco home...slightly lonely and sincerely blue because The Wife and kid are unable to return home in time to celebrate his 40th birthday. Clearly cultured and successful, Man makes due during a dark and stormy night with a roaring fire and a high-end Marantz stereo to reacquaint himself with an old familiar jazz chanteuse (Maxine Weldon then who would be Sade today). Suddenly, there's a bustling at the door which Man opens to find two shivering young girls begging for reprieve from the rain. With decency at heart, Man takes pity and allows the soaked-through strangers into his plush abode. One thing leads to another and Man makes the mistake of giving in to a temptation even someone happily married might be hard-pressed to resist: a menage a trois with all the amenities of home (hot tub, mellow groove on the box, top-shelf cognac, favorite neighborhood pizza and the PERFECT excuse of The Wife being away on YOUR "special day" - the nerve). Like all that is overly idyllic in nature, this scenario proves too good to be true. For his fleeting hour of fantasy bliss, Man is subjected to 48 more hours of tandem temper tantrum torture at the whims of some psycho nookie from Hell - wicked "women-chiles" who begin to reveal their true colors at the breakfast table the morning after.When I was 15, this was WAY lurid and riveting. Years later, viewing a VHS rental, I found the second half to drag. "Death Game" could have been much better if the girls weren't just demented for crazy's sake and had a specific "she-woman man haters" motivation for what they wind up doing to poor "George" (Seymour Cassel with an uncredited actor dubbing his voice, giving the movie that "imported" schlock foreign feel). The Man just helped himself to some birthday ass, for chrissake! For thrillers like this, I like things twisted and gratuitous, but director Peter Traynor only hints at undertones of incestuousness as a possibility for what made these chicks 'set it off' on a dude old enough to be their "Good Old Dad" (thus the vaudevillian ditty that recurs ad nauseum). One wonders whether writers Anthony Overman and Michael Ronald Ross couldn't decide whether to play this out as a comedy or a suspense thriller, were intentionally shooting for some strange hybrid of both, or just coke'd out of their minds when they hatched this plot fresh out of some sordid fever dream. I must confess that all was forgiven when that out-of-left-field ending smacked me upside the head, though. Let's just say every dog has his day and these bitches received their comeuppance in spades. While much has been written here about how annoying the "Good Old Dad" song is (which it really is but, I believe, to the director's desired effect), I found the other moody jazz piece "We're Home," arranged by Jimmie Haskell, to be quite exceptional. The line "The sky tells us..." haunted me long after the film had finished. To this day, I imagine pulling that treasured Maxine Weldon 78 down from a shelf, blowing the dust off, gingerly setting the needle down and having it comfort me in the throes of some dark and stormy night...a night I'd gaze longingly into the fireplace, nursing a Makers Mark until - suddenly - there's a knock at my door, which I open to find a '70s-era Pam Grier (in the ringleader Sondra Locke role) and Vonetta McGee (in the doe-eyed Colleen Camp role) - inexplicably in halters, hot pants and flip-flops - shivering and in need of shelter from the storm.Men...
The_Void It's actually a real shame that this film wasn't better, as it features a story line that does a good job of turning the tables on the common exploitation theme of men brutalising women, and it's also quite scary if you put yourself in the position of the lead character! The basic plot revolves around George; a 'happily married' man who picks up two young girls and seduces them at his house. However, after giving him some information that he REALLY didn't want to hear, George finds himself at the girls' mercy. The film has just three central performers, and while many other films work well from this sort of base; this one doesn't, or at least; not really. Director Peter S. Traynor doesn't really have enough ideas to keep the film entertaining throughout; but luckily, The Seducers does have its moments. The majority of the film is suitably sick and twisted, and the two central women are nasty enough to make the film a nightmare for most men. The Seducers is nowhere near as malicious as many similar seventies thrillers; but its decent enough entertainment for fans of this sort of thing. Unfortunately, the stretched plot ultimately lets it down - but it's an interesting film at least, and I somewhat enjoyed it. Just a word of warning, though – you'll have trouble getting the theme song out of your head!
Celluloid_Vince How bad is this Turkey? Let me count the ways! First off, I'd like to agree with another poster that there isn't much to spoil! Second, Sondra Locke must have forgotten to destroy at least one copy of this film because I think Clint Eastwood finally realized he'd been taken for a ride by this no talent loser.I had to apologize to a friend of mine for wasting their time showing it. This is a waste of celluloid.Seymour Cassell, if you're reading this, find the rest of the copies and destroy it! I have to disagree with only the last part of what another poster said that this teaches you to lock the doors, don't answer the phone and don't answer the door if 2 beautiful blonde girls show up. Don't rent a movie with Sondra Locke! Colleen Camp made up for her sin, Seymour Cassell has rebounded. This woman (Locke) can't act. Neither can I but I don't call myself an actor.
JoeKarlosi A really twisted film where two psychotic young lesbians (Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp) turn a middle-aged man's life upside down when they invade his home and harass him while his wife and kids are out of town. This starts off very much like the ultimate male sexual fantasy at first, but ultimately turns into a demented nightmare.Amidst all the ensuing mayhem and insanity, this could have used more sexual depravity and titillation to make it more effective. As it stands, these teenagers are more irritating than anything else. Yet this is still one bizarre experience and certainly a sight to see, at least once. I've never seen Sondra Locke show so much range, at least not in any of the movies I've seen her in up to this point. Colleen Camp has some good moments of lunacy.I kind of liked that goofy theme song about "My Good Old Dad" which pops in and out during the course of the wackiness. And in my opinion, the ending is perfect.