The Most Dangerous Game

As the classic short story, of shipwrecked sailors being hunted by a crazed tracker, became copyright free in 2019, it was only a matter of time before a low budget effort hit the screens. Sadly, this one is too low in budget and just doesn't have the ability to get the suspense onto the screen.

In this version of the story, men in a room, tell you they are on a ship (because it's not obvious), then wake up on a beach and discuss how their ship must have exploded and they've been swept ashore. There wasn't even the budget for a CGI or model ship. Seriously, they said, "We're on a ship," then we cut to them on a beach and they say, "our ship must have exploded." - That should tell you everything you need to know.

Overall, the acting is on the poor end and the thrills of the original story are completely absent here. However, the one stand out feature is Casper van Dien who is surprisingly charismatic. It's a hammy kind of role requiring a hammy kind of acting and he seems to understand what is expected; as a result he manages to carry the film whenever he's onscreen, (which isn't enough). I would not call it "good acting", but at least he manages to inject some life and personality into it.