Leofwine_draca If, like me, you're sick of the wealth of reality TV programming that has swamped television stations as of late - I'm talking about stuff like Big Brother and Survivor - then SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS acts as a pleasing satire of the shows, emphasising the ridiculous nature of over-the-top voice-over commentary, the exploitation of the weaknesses of the people involved and turning real people's lives into a slick, sick documentary. The film drags you into the lives of the six people and viewing does indeed become as gripping as the producers had intended. Be warned, though, that this production is not for all tastes and indeed it often does tread the line of good taste. The violence is hard and brutal (especially during a supermarket massacre) without being unnecessarily gory and adds to the strong realism of the production - imagine a drama in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT mould and you'll be halfway there.The strength of the film lies in the excellent acting involved from the entire cast, characters who really do embrace the roles they have and get under the skin to really understand them. Of particular interest are Brooke Smith, who's scarily believable as the heavily pregnant gun-toting Dawn, a veteran of the game show who doesn't think twice about shooting a fellow participant dead in cold blood; then there's Marylouise Burke who happens to be very frightening as the friendly-nurse-turned-angel-of-death. Glenn Fitzgerald also excels as the man dying of testicular cancer who has a complete character transformation as the film progresses. None of the actors are recognisable but a brief look at their resumes reveal that most are veterans in film. This is undoubtedly their finest hours to date and all come away with honours in my opinion.Elsewhere the film achieves a high standard of technical competence, and resembles the shows which it seeks to emulate very much so indeed. Razor-sharp editing and the smarmy, eager narration adds to the experience and of course the realism. Although the pacing of the second half is a little slow - my only complaint about the movie - things pick up for an ending which packs more twists in than most and finishes with an epilogue you won't see coming. Renters looking for a movie out of the mainstream and with a nice original concept for a change may find their curiosity rewarded with this amusing but often disturbing satire.

Neil Welch Series 7: The Contenders is the series finale (or, more accurately, the final 3 programmes of series 7 of the reality show The Contenders, in which half a dozen, er, contenders are pitched against each other. Each has a camera crew and a gun, last one alive wins. Current champ and favourite is 8 months pregnant, but all have backstories which become clear is the thing progresses.This film - which purports to be a horror film and a black comedy - is so accurately observed, and seasoned with the trimmings of a reality TV show, that anyone walking in while it is in progress may take some while to realise that they are not watching a genuine reality show based on murdering people.And that is both its strength and weakness. It is a scarily accurate satire, but it's not actually very funny, and the fictitious programme is not very entertaining, and filled with people who are unpleasant to be around (the cast do very well in performing unpleasant ordinary people on a reality show).I suppose it succeeds in being what it set out to be, but that's not really much of a recommendation in my view.

Benjamin Cox Think back to the early years of this century when reality TV was everywhere and all-consuming. "Big Brother" had aired in the summer of 2000 and dominated the tabloids while "Pop Idol" and "Survivor" both debuted the following year to equal success. But the backlash was already beginning and it started with this razor-sharp parody that took the genre to its logical conclusion. But this doesn't just illustrate the problems with reality TV - it shines a light on the depraved, fame-hungry individuals who will literally do anything in order to get on TV for their fifteen minutes of fame. Catching up with it again today, I was reminded not only of how far ahead of its time it was but also how scarily accurate it was. One suspects that it's only a matter of time before such a chilling scenario appears for real.The film is presented as a series-long broadcast of a show called "The Contenders" in which five randomly chosen people are each given a gun and thrown into a battle to the death with the sixth entry, the winner of the previous series. For this, the seventh series, current champion Dawn (Brooke Smith) is heavily pregnant and determined to be victorious again as her freedom is due once she wins. Returning to her hometown, she is pitched into battle with college student Lindsay (Merritt Wever), unemployed thug Tony (Michael Kaycheck), Christian nurse Connie (Marylouise Burke), paranoid conspiracy theorist Franklin (Richard Venture) and cancer patient Jeff (Glenn Fitzgerald). As the series progresses and the body count rises, each contestants secrets are revealed in front of the nation. Will Dawn survive for the sake of her unborn child or will another of the Contenders take her crown? "Series 7: The Contenders" is a spot-on parody of the countless shows of this nature that pollute our screens on a daily basis. Writer/director Daniel Minahan's use of graphics and narration (provided by Will Arnett) perfectly apes the genre so well that you have to remind yourself that it is a movie and not an actual show. The mostly unknown cast also add to the illusion that this is really happening - Smith's foul-mouthed mother-to-be is a brilliant character and you root for her throughout, even if her morals are somewhat twisted. But then again, this feels like a slightly different America - when she blows away an old guy at a cash desk, few of the other people present bat an eyelid because they see the TV cameras there and realise it's a show. And without meaning to, the movie also parodies those desperate souls who wish to partake in these ridiculous shows. No detail is too graphic and no secret is too big to be splashed in front of the cameras, all for the sake of entertainment. I loved the moment when the previously loyal Lindsay confronts her pushy parents and even stabs one of them and then, seconds later, she's expressing her undying love for them. The film reeks of hypocrisy, as it should. It leaves the same nauseating taste in your mouth that most reality shows do.There will be some who don't get the joke, probably those people who believe that the likes of "The Only Way Is Essex" and "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!" are documentaries. But I can't stand these reality shows which have about as much reality in them as a Mark Rothko exhibition. "Series 7: The Contenders" remains a solid and stark reflection on a subculture of TV and TV viewers that have abandoned reason and logic in the pursuit of audience numbers, even if it smashes the point home over and over again. The movie does have a very strong 'indie' feel to it (or 'low budget' if you're being unkind) and it's impossible to listen to Joy Division again without thinking of the movie. But I have a lot of respect for this movie and would recommend you try and watch it. And whatever you do, please keep telling yourself that it's just a movie...

mithnar Wow.If you can "suspend reality" well enough to wade through the goth/punk/Emo overtones then enjoy.This has been described as "action & adventure, Dark Comedy and Thriller". This is what happens when a posturing art/film goth punk with delusions of talent is given backing. "A mewling abomination" is the politest thing I can say about it.This movie is NOT a satire, dark comedy or any other posturing garbage that is spewed. I'd love to take any of the idiots responsible for this atrocity out into the real world for 2 weeks and give them a grand tour of the real world just to open their eyes but I don't think they'd learn.