Surviving the Game

Surviving the Game is a 1994 American action-adventure film directed by Ernest R. Dickerson. It is loosely based on the 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. The film stars Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, William McNamara, Gary Busey, and F. Murray Abraham.
==Plot==
Jack Mason, a homeless man from Seattle, Washington, loses his only friends—fellow homeless man Hanke and his pet dog—on the same day. Dejected, Mason attempts to commit suicide when a soup kitchen worker, Walter Cole, saves him. Cole refers him to businessman Thomas Burns, who offers Mason a job as a hunting guide. Despite his misgivings, Mason accepts.
Flying to a remote cabin surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods, Mason meets the rest of the hunting party, all of whom paid $50,000 for the privilege of being there. In addition to Burns and Cole, the party includes Doc Hawkins, the founder of the hunt and a psychiatrist, Texas "oil man" John Griffin, and wealthy Wall Street executive Derek Wolfe Sr. and his son Derek Wolfe Jr., the latter of whom is at first unaware of the true purposes of the hunt. On the first night, all the men are having dinner and chatting. Mason receives cigarettes from Hawkins and learns about his past. Hawkins relays a story from his childhood when his father forced him to fight and kill his dog as a lesson in being a man.
The following morning, Mason is awakened with a gun in his face by Cole, who explains that the men are not hunting any animals, but rather Mason himself. Mason is given a head start with only the time it takes the others to eat breakfast. Mason flees the area, but comes to a realization and turns back. The hunters finish their meal and go after him. Wolfe Jr. is horrified at the thought of killing a man, but is pushed into it by his father. The hunters race off into the forest, but by now Mason has returned to the cabin in search of weapons. He finds none, and instead makes the discovery of the hunters' trophy room behind a locked door: the preserved heads of the victims of previous hunts.
Mason decides to burn the cabin down using chemicals found outside the cabin. The hunters assume Mason's return to the cabin and return. Wolfe Sr. enters just as Mason lights up the cabin and engages in a fist fight with Hawkins out back, away from the others. Hawkins is knocked back into the cabin as the preserving agent explodes, killing him. Wolfe Jr. saves his father, and spots Mason fleeing in the process. The hunt resumes and Mason begins to use his wits to beat the hunters, luring them with lit cigarettes to lead them in the wrong way. Mason lures Griffin away from the others, and takes him hostage.
Over the night, Mason learns why Griffin is taking part in the hunt. Months ago, his daughter was killed by a homeless man and he is venting his rage, which was enhanced earlier when he asked Mason what happened to his family and Mason snarled "I killed them." However, Mason meant they died in an apartment fire and he could not save them. Griffin realizes that Mason blames himself for the tragedy. Griffin is freed by Mason, who returns to the group, having decided to not continue the hunting, but is murdered by Cole to prevent any future legal conflicts. Mason sabotages one of the remaining hunters' ATVs, causing it to explode. The explosion rips off most of Cole's lower body, mortally wounding him. Burns then uses his fingers to apply pressure to Cole's jugulars in order to mercy kill him. As they pursue Mason, Wolfe Jr. is killed by accident after falling in a ravine, and Wolfe Sr. vows revenge, furious.
The second night, Wolfe Sr. and Mason fight one on one with Mason the victor and Burns escaping to the city, knowing that Mason will most likely be searching for him. Days later, Burns is back in Seattle, preparing to leave his current identity, hoping to escape both Mason and the legal responsibilities resulting from the disastrous hunt. But Mason has escaped the forest, returned to the city, and tracked him down. A fight ensues where Mason beats up Burns and takes his gun. However, instead of shooting Burns, Mason leaves the gun and walks away. Burns picks up the gun, thinking Mason screwed up and prepares to shoot him. What he does not realize is Mason used a tip from Hank and messed with the barrel on Burns' gun; when Burns tries to kill Mason, the gun backfires and kills Burns instead. Mason walks off into the night.
==Cast==
* Ice-T as Jack Mason, a homeless man suffering from depression after the death of his wife and child.
* Rutger Hauer as Thomas Burns, a businessman that leads the hunting team.
* Charles S. Dutton as Walter Cole, Burns' partner who picks the "prey".
* Gary Busey as "Doc" Hawkins, a CIA psychologist and the founder of the hunting team.
* F. Murray Abraham as Derek Wolfe Sr., a Wall Street executive.
* John C. McGinley as John Griffin, an oil tycoon still grieving over the murder of his daughter.
* William McNamara as Derek Wolfe Jr., the son of Mr. Wolfe Sr. and the only one in the team oblivious to their game.
* Jeff Corey as Hank, another homeless man and Mason's best friend.
==References==
==External links==
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Category:1994 films
Category:1994 action films
Category:1994 drama films
Category:1990s action drama films
Category:1990s adventure films
Category:1990s American films
Category:1990s English-language films
Category:American action drama films
Category:American adventure films
Category:American chase films
Category:Films about homelessness
Category:Films based on The Most Dangerous Game
Category:Films directed by Ernest Dickerson
Category:Films scored by Stewart Copeland
Category:Films set in forests
Category:Films set in Seattle