Film Reviews

Series 7: The Contenders

• Rating:
• Director: Daniel Minahan.
• Starring: Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Mary Louise Burke, Richard Venture, Michael Kaycheck, Merritt Wever.
• Details: US / 87 minutes / (18.)

Set around an imaginary US game show with the highest ratings on television, Series 7: The Contenders follows the six latest candidates, chosen by a government lottery to participate. The aim of the six wildly disparate people is simple - they are forced, with a camera man in tow filming their every move, to find their opponents and kill them for the benefit of the enjoyment of the watching public. Filmed in faux documentary style - think Big Brother by way of The Running Man - Series 7: The Contenders is a dark yet extremely funny satire on the nature of the media and the public which feeds it. Although necessary, some will find that the obtrusive voice over and constant summarization of events hampers the flow of proceedings somewhat, nonetheless Series 7 still impresses with its, albeit harsh, view of what compels us to watch extreme TV.

Review by Garreth Murphy