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List Price: $6.99 | | Label: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 32554
Released: April 8, 2008 |
| Our Price: $2.25 |
| Used Price: $0.23 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Millions witnessed Philip Markham's (Edward Furlong, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) public humiliation when he got dumped by Catherine, the beautiful star (Jaime Pressly, TV's My Name Is Earl) of a popular dating show, and now--several years and reality series later--he wants revenge. After taking Catherine captive, he lures nine unsuspecting co-eds to her luxurious mansion in the middle of nowhere, trapping the contestants in his own sick version of reality TV--where the challenges are bizarre, the danger is real and death is just a competition away.
Cruel World Reviews:
He Wants You To Feel His Pain 
2009-06-29 - Phillip (Edward Furlong) is a little unstable since he was rejected on live T.V. on some dumb dating show. He's waited years to get his revenge on the girl (Jaime Pressly) who humiliated him and after murdering her he moves into her mansion where he lures nine unsuspecting people to participate in his own twisted reality show. Thinking they are appearing on a "Survivor for College Kids" type show where they can win a cool $1 million, the kids have no idea the danger that lays ahead. Like any actual reality show the kids all fit stereotypes: the Southern guy is a hick farmer, the Southern gal is the most promiscuous, the Gay guy is the cattiest, the Asian is skilled in karate, and the Latina curses out her competitors in Spanish. The stud (sleazed to perfection by Andrew Keegan) actually tells the girls that he's the guy their mothers warned them about. The challenges include locking themselves in coffin like crates and fumbling around in green goo until they can unlock themselves from the inside. Those who lose are "sent home". Things go from gross to gory as challenges grow to include carving raw, bloody meat from a hanging cow carcass and then eating it. The movie's pretty gross but it's also a lot of fun. There are three really hot girls (Laura Ramsey, Sanoe Lake, and Aimee Garcia) and Keegan is debauched perfection. Furlong is hilarious and Daniel Franzese, who plays Phillip's slow brother Claude, is wonderfully weird. These two make the movie worth a watch. The film ends on a cliffhanger that sets up the possibility of a sequel but I doubt that's gonna happen any time soon. Worth a watch whenever it's on late night cable.
EDWARD FURLONG HAS EXCELLENT ACTING ABILITIES! 
2009-03-22 - THE GUY WHO WAS REJECTED STARTED HIS OWN REALITY SHOW.A FEW OF THE THINGS HE MADE THM DO WAS MAKE THEM GO INTO THIS COFFIN BOX FULL OF ROTTON WATER AND ROTTON THINGS IN IT.THEN THE DOOR WAS LOCKED.THE ONLY WAY OUT WAS TO FIND THE KEY INSIDE.ANOTHER THING WAS THEY HAD TO JUMP IN THE POOL CARRYING A HEAVY BALL AROUND WITH THEM WHILE THEIR FEET WERE IN SHACKLES.ANOTHER THING THEY HAD TO DO WAS IN ORDER TO EAT-THEY HAD TO CUT OPEN THIS DEAD COW,AND CUT THE PART OUT THAT THEY WANTED TO EAT-BUT NO BLOOD COULD BE SPILLED.NOBODY SAW THIS-BUT THERE WAS A HUMAN HEAD INSIDE THE COW.IT WAS THE HEAD OF THE HUSBAND OF THE WOMAN WHO REJECTED HIM.WHEN PEOPLE WERE ELIMINATED-THEY REALLY WERE KILLED.THIS IS REALLY A GOOD MOVIE.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.IT WASN'T SCARY.IT WAS INTERESTING.IT KEPT YOUR CURIOUSITY UP.THERE WAS SOME SUSPENSE.IT WAS EXCITING.NOT TOO GORY.THIS MOVIE'S MUCH BETTER THAN I CAN EXPLAIN.
Great idea, love the actors, but... 
2009-02-18 - honestly i bought this movie because the concept sounded different and the actors although not "popular" per say are some of my faves (andrew keegan!!!) as a previous post stated the execution of the movie could have been better yet it is still an original idea about a reality show loser who retaliates by creating his own reality show where the voted off members actually get killed off. if you like the actors edward furlong, andrew keegan then buy this but if your looking for an "awesome" movie that your going to watch over and over again this is not that movie. also jamie pressly pulls a drew barrymore (think scream). they make her seem like the star but shes gone within the first ten minutes.
Disappointing and Misleading
2008-04-19 - Good idea - lousy execution. Also, please note that the movie description is misleading. Jaime Pressly does not play one of the participants in the "fake" reality TV show that the killer is filming. She is dead about ten minutes into the movie, before the "reality show" gets started.
This isn't the worst horror movie of the year. The actors and actresses are easy on the eyes. The death scenes aren't the worst you'll see in a direct to video horror movie. Although not great, the acting isn't that bad (for a direct to video release.) But what about the story . . .
A group of college students are locked in a compound in the desert and participate in "Survivor" style challenges in order to win a million dollars. What they don't know is that the losers are being killed off.
A reality show where contestants get killed off is a great hook for a horror movie. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't do much with that hook. It does a lousy job of developing the characters (and yes, even a horror film should have some kind of character development or at least some decent back-stories) For example, we have the self-described "goofy guy" who seems like a decent enough sort. Before anyone know that the people who get voted off the show are being killed and that all the participants are in danger, he almost kills another participant to win an immunity challenge. Later, it becomes apparent to him and everyone else that people are "really" being killed.
So, after he knows that the show is "real" and that people are dieing, why does he "literally" stab another participant in the back to win an immunity challenge? Is he that afraid of dieing? Does he feel guilt? Do the other participants resent him murdering one of their own? Do they worry that he might kill one of them next? Who knows, the movie doesn't get around to telling us.
Similarly, there are some great angles that this film fails to explore. In this "reality show" the participants vote to have participants kicked "off" the show each night. That leads to some drama and tension between characters even before they know that the "losers" are getting killed. How cool would a scene have been where they are "forced" to vote a person "off" the show (and to a certain death) "after" they know what is really going on? Just another missed opportunity for this movie. (The largest probably being when they decide to kill off the only "name" actress in the first scene . . .)
Save yourself some time and don't buy or rent this movie.
Original thriller not really scary horror movie 
2008-04-04 - Cruel World is a low budget scary thriller more than horror movie that works. Not much titillation (just skimpy bathing suits), not much gore and splatter, but an original story and a competent cast that make this DVD a good watch.
Creepy guy is cheesed off at having been rejected on a Jane Millionaire show and sets up his own real reality show where a contestant is voted off and then offed.
The story has a new twist or two, the movie is well-made, and, unlike many of the genre, does not waste a lot of time or the viewer's time.
