A Look Back - The Game (1997)

Growing up in the 90’s I always caught this David Fincher classic on tv, but admittedly as a dimwitted child, I never quite grasped what was going on. Regardless, what never changed, no matter what age I came to, was the palpable tension instilled within me whenever I watched it. And if nothing else, that alone kept my interest time after time for subsequent viewings throughout my childhood. Fast forward to today and The Game returned to me like a haunting ghost from the depths of Netflix, beckoning me for another visit, for if nothing else, a chance to offer resolution to the all too puzzling mystery laid before me so many years ago. What was The Game?

This is the very question posed by wealthy banker, Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) when he’s presented with a peculiar gift from his brother on his 48th birthday. And what does someone get for a man that presumably already has everything? Is it fancy cakes? Extravagant trinkets? Forbidden contraband? No. It’s merely a simple certificate for a once in a lifetime experience, known simply as The Game, catered by a mysterious organization known as CRS.

Enticed, Nicholas investigates into the possibility of participating, completely unaware that by merely taking just the slightest interest that he has unknowingly began to play.

From start to finish, The Game will have you scratching your head, investigating every corner of your screen, throwing suspicion at every passerby, and laying your breath low if just to perk your ears to every last subtle sound chiming from your tv. So if you’re in for a tense, gripping, and mind bending thriller, then look no further than The Game. Because let me tell you, once the music hit and the first image came to the screen, I was 6 years old again, scratching my head and wading in intense, indefinite suspense to know the all too pestering question on everyone’s mind. What was the Game? And although I could never bring myself to spoil the experience, what I can say is that it is one you will never forget.

Levi Mock (August 2021)

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