Bullet Points: Game of Survival
In this edition of Bullet Points, I will take a look back at an obscure film released back in 1989, the Armand Gazarian directed, Game of Survival…
- I Want to Break Free: We are introduced to our hero, Zane (played by Nick Hill of Fists of Iron fame, credited in this one as Nikki Hill), as he and a fellow compatriot are looking to escape the tyrannical government that controls their planet. Just when they think they have found the light at the end of the tunnel, Zane and his friend have really just find trouble in the form of a dune buggy riding guard who picked them up on his scanner… Zane’s friend ends up dead and Zane ends up thrown in a pit of a prison.
- Lizard Like Features: Cut to outer space where a lizard man alien is holding court with some of his fellow lizard men to witness a sporting spectacle he has put together. Seven intergalactic prisoners have been selected to compete in a game of strength, in a game of skill… in a game of survival! The competition will take place over 60 hours, the seven combatants will be sent to Los Angeles to look for the prized spiked ball. Each competitor will be given a non-firing weapon and a tracker to find the location of the spiked ball. The last man standing with the spiked ball at the end of the 60 hours will be declared the winner and will be granted his freedom. The others, if they are still alive, will be terminated. All seven competitors of varying shapes and sizes are introduced starting with Skullblaster, who gets a big build up and introduction and ending with Zane… I wonder if they will be the two to make it to the end!?
- Let the Games Begin: Los Angeles proved to be the perfect place to beam down seven wildly dressed intergalactic prisoners… they look like the average person walking the streets of Lalaland! When the spike mohawked Zooloj finds the spiked ball at a liquor store, the clerk thinks nothing of it. Being the first to find the ball pretty much guaranteed that Zooloj was going to be the first competitor eliminated… and the Captain Caveman club carrying Baarg soon has the spiked ball. That is until he squares off with the sword wielding Zane in an open field and one impaling later, Zane has the ball… There’s more trouble for Zane after he takes a snooze on a park bench and has a cop after him, then even more when he pops into a bar and the remaining competitors all show up for a good old fashioned action movie bar fight!
- Enter the Cindy: It’s after the bar fight that Zane “recruits” Cindy to help him… he hides out at her place and I couldn’t help but think these two crazy kids may just fall in love before this whole thing is over. That is IF Cindy survives because by helping Zane, Cindy has put herself in harm’s way and it isn’t long before she is captured and Zane gets the call… he gives up the spiked ball, he gets Cindy back. Zane and Cindy are reunited and they find themselves out in the great outdoors. Which will become the backdrop for the final battle between Zane and Skullcrusher (go figure!) and maybe more importantly the clock because the 60 hour time limit is ticking away! Will love conquer all?
Game of Survival had a quality concept, but not what I would call quality execution. This is thanks in great part to what I am sure was a meager budget at best. I feel like Game of Survival was a step above another low budget Nikki Hill action romp I watched a few years back, Alien Private Eye, but that could be due to the poor quality that I saw Alien Private Eye in. Both of these obscure films are available in the highest quality with all kinds of bells and whistles thanks to the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome if you are a serious bad movie lover.
I have some Bonus Bullet Points now available right here on Bulletproof Action…
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a woman cook a frozen pizza for an appreciative Nick Hill, then Game of Survival is the movie for you.
- AKA: Game of Survival is also listed as Games of Survival on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and other sites for reasons unknown.
- Sad Ending: Rod Koontz, a bodybuilder from the Golden Era of Bodybuilding who was a former Mr. America, played the club carrying Baarg. Sadly, Koontz was homeless the last 15 years of his life and died of cancer in 2015.
