“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” an on-screen snippet tells us at the beginning of Stupid Games. It’s a phrase that’s been attributed to any number of people – Tom Clancy to Taylor Swift – but probably predates them all.
“Stupid is as stupid does,” is another one, and is particularly apt in the case of Jaxon and Rex, a pair of horny young men heading to an apartment for a night with three young women and their “games with boys”. “Boys” is not exactly how Jaxon and Rex would describe themselves, but it’s probably OK with Stanley, the speccy guy they pick up en route to make up the numbers.
Jaxon, Rex and Stanley are in for a night of being relentlessly outchiefed by the young women and in this strange chamber horror movie start to look increasingly like victims at the mercy of ringleader Celeste, minxy Riley and the much more sensible Mia. Are these attractive young people going to get down to it? Or is it going to be more a case of extreme flirtation while playing board games, followed by god knows what? Co-directors Nicolas Wendl and Dani Abraham keep us guessing and also keep their powder dry. So dry and for so long that the end credits are almost coming over the hill before the fireworks finally start.
It is obvious it’s going to be a horror film from the start, though. From the “whoah what was that?” moment on the highway en route to the building where the spooky stuff will happen, to the animal skull (goat?) on the wall of Celeste’s bedroom, to the indeterminate blur in the corner now and again, to the almost subsonic guttural noises emanating from somewhere off-screen, not to mention the “there’s something we’re not telling you” looks shared by Celeste, Riley and Mia. And the wine they’re drinking, it’s called Diabolique.
Increasingly, and gratifyingly, it also starts to look like a giallo horror, somehow conjured from the most basic physical effects (wires, magnets and so on). Shot in a handful of days mostly in one apartment, its micro-budget makes ingenious use of space and manages to work up quite an atmosphere… eventually. This film does take a bit of time to get going, and it’s noticeable how much better the performances suddenly get when it does. Darren Wonnacott’s score really helps, dipping into the synthscapes of 1970s giallo here and there and providing the woos where they’re needed.
“Giallo” means “yellow” in Italian and warm colours usually predominate. It’s mostly orange here. Other genre-appropriate elements include sexy girls looking like they might be getting into porn poses any minute and guys who look like they’re drawing straws to be the next victim. But most vital of all is the increasing sense that things aren’t just supernatural, they’re a little unhinged. All present and correct.
Let’s name the actors – Saad Rolando and Gage Robinson as the two dickish bros Jaxon and Rex, Grant Terzakis as the more likeable, diffident Spencer, Alyssa Tortomasi as bosslady Celeste, Cass Huckabay as the hot-to-trot Riley and Ashwini Gunpule as fairly sweet, fairly normal Mia. Tanner Adams, meanwhile, plays a character called the Djinn – I’ll say no more. He also wrote the screenplay.
There are better horror movies, for sure, but Wendl and Abraham have learned something vital from Friedkin’s The Exorcist – don’t rush, build atmosphere and the dénouement will take care of itself. And so, though the acting wobbles and the dialogue sometimes goes on a bit, it does finally gel and Stupid Games turns out to be not quite so stupid after all.
Stupid Games – Watch it/buy it at Amazon
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© Steve Morrissey 2025
