Series 7: The Contenders (2001)

70% of critics liked it
(80 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(5,591 ratings)

The "reality TV" craze is taken to its final, logical extreme as six people hunt each other down in a small town for the benefit of network TV cameras in this darkly comic satire. "The Contenders" is a top-rated television game show in which six contestants are set loose in the same Connecticut… More The "reality TV" craze is taken to its final, logical extreme as six people hunt each other down in a small town for the benefit of network TV cameras in this darkly comic satire. "The Contenders" is a top-rated television game show in which six contestants are set loose in the same Connecticut community, with orders to kill or be killed; the last of the six who is still alive is declared the winner. As "The Contenders" goes into its seventh season, Dawn (Brooke Smith) is a two-time champion who is hoping to hold on to her title, despite the fact that she's due to have a baby in a month. Dawn's rivals this time out are Tony (Michael Kaycheck), an unemployed blue-collar worker with a taste for violence; Connie (Marylouise Burke), a middle-aged nurse who doesn't like to hurt people but is an experienced hand with a syringe; Lindsay (Merritt Wever), an 18-year-old dance student whose parents are eager to see her compete; Franklin (Richard Venture), an elderly conspiracy theorist with a tenuous hold on reality; and Jeff (Glenn Fitzgerald), who is dying of testicular cancer -- and was Dawn's boyfriend years ago. Series 7: The Contenders marked the directorial debut for Daniel Minahan, who previously employed pop culture and America's obsession with violence as themes in his screenplay for I Shot Andy Warhol. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Daniel Minahan
Written By: Daniel Minahan
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: May 25, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Dec 18, 2001
Studio: USA Films

Critic Reviews

Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
The so-called jokes here have a cartoon stridency and drop with a thud. None of them is deep or lasting.
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
Clever.
Louis B. Parks, Houston Chronicle
Series 7 is clever, hip filmmaking, admirable for its tenacious faithfulness to the world it creates.
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic
'Reality' notwithstanding, the performances in this film are uniformly good, and Brooke Smith as Dawn is better than that.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It's as funny as you could reasonably expect without Christopher Guest being involved in the project.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
It seduces us until, damn our black hearts, we've come to really care who wins.
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
It really is the next logical step in reality TV . . . kill them all, and let the Nielsons sort 'em out.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...takes an intriguing topic but essentially beats it to death over the course of about 90 minutes...
Tom Grealis, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Frazzled and edgy, Smith invests Dawn with the required measure of world-weariness and, crucially, she never succumbs to the temptation to slide into flippant, mocking territory.
John Venable, Supercala.com
Absolutely relentless in its bashing of the American public and what we consider entertainment.
James Rocchi, Netflix
Kill-or-be-killed reality-TV satire is uneven -- and unforgettable.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
Suffers from the same problems that the "reality" television shows it satires suffer from.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Great idea but it could have been a lot better, maybe with a better cast and a bigger budget!
Keysha H

Hilarious! I love this film. They quicky push you to the edge of what Reality TV can be..then add a love story too. This film holds a mirror up to the American Culture..and reveals some pretty ugly things.
Gordon A

Little known biting satire on the horror of 'reality' TV which takes the format to its natural conclusion. Deserves a wide audience.
Emily A

A caustic and darkly funny jab at reality TV. It's amazing how much this looks like the real thing. Don't listen to the narrator- he lies to you. I love the way the final show seems to manifactured, that the truth almost seems irrelevant in the face of such perfect… More
A caustic and darkly funny jab at reality TV. It's amazing how much this looks like the real thing. Don't listen to the narrator- he lies to you. I love the way the final show seems to manifactured, that the truth almost seems irrelevant in the face of such perfect entertainment. This not only skewers reality TV, but phoniness in general. This is the best parody of reality TV I have ever seen.
Nate Z

[font=Arial][color=darkred]Anyway here's a quick look at some recent rentals of mine and the thoughts that they provoked and the feelings I wanted to either scream about or just scream period.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Training Day - Denzel Washington won an… More
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Anyway here's a quick look at some recent rentals of mine and the thoughts that they provoked and the feelings I wanted to either scream about or just scream period.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Training Day - Denzel Washington won an Oscar for this? Instead of Malcolm X? For THIS?! Yes he gets to huff and puff as he plays against type as a dirty cop, but is this reason alone to give an Academy Award to such a forgettable and collectively implausible film? Ethan Hawk, his co-star, is actually better in the film than Denzel! All I can say is right actor, wrong movie. It's like rewarding Kevin Spacey for Pay It Forward over the other screamingly better movies. It doesn't make sense. There are plenty of hip-hop stars making cameos or small roles (Dr. Dre, Snoop, Macy Gray) but most of the time Training Day feels like tired and dead air especially as the contrivances begin to pile onto one another the longer this day goes. And Denzel is huffing and puffing but the house still stands. Man, the voters must really have not wanted Russell Crowe to win.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Serendipity - There's a universe somewhere populated entirely with down-on-their-luck lovable sweethearts and good-hearted friendly buffoons operated under the physics of romantic comedies. In this universe there is no such thing as chance, even if one leaves it up to it, and in this place what would seem like frustratingly idiotic behavior seems romantic. So is Serendipity revolving in this universe. Kate Beckinsale is a gal that leaves everything to fate, possibly even her taxes, and John Cusack is the smitten man running all over the place trying to find this mad woman. In our world Beckinsale would seem foolish or even mean-spirited, but because the two will definitely end up in each other's arms before the credits roll we allow her to continue her ridiculous behavior. She puts Cusack in a seemingly cruel obstacle course of chance to win her heart. These people operate outside of our known world. Eugene Levy has a brief and funny part in the movie but otherwise Serendipity takes itself as being much cuter and smarter than it is.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C-[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Sexy Beast - Never, under any circumstances, do you want to piss off Gandhi. Sexy Beast is a British crime story where the ferocious mad dog Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is trying to recruit a retired hand (Ray Winstone) into one last job back in London. Winstone is enjoying the sun of California with his middle-aged ex-porn star wife who he loves dearly. But Don does not take "no" for an answer. Kingsley is the true focal point of the film and is astounding and brutally terrifying as the wound up gangster. He gives an electrifying performance that is the polar opposite of India's non-violent leader. When Kingsley vanishes from the screen Sexy Beast suffers and becomes a variation of the old crime film, except a very short one at that being under 90 minutes of running time. Video director Jonathon Glazer has done a fine job for his debut but there isn't much to this tale without Kingsley's memorable efforts.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Series 7: The Contenders - A scathing satire of our media and bloodthirsty society wanting something always pushing the boundaries. Writer-director Daniel Minahan has created a future where the most popular TV show is called "The Contenders" and selects five strangers at random in the same town as contestants. The problem is that these five people, including the winner of the previous season, are now on a manhunt in a kill-or-be-killed situation where the only prize of this game show is one's own life. Series 7 is skillfully made to be indistinguishable from other reality TV shows except for the bursts of language and violence. If you were playing this and a friend walked into the room they would be convinced it was a TV show. The film gets a little soap operish toward the end with its characters dealing with haunted love but the film is a fast and entertaining warning piece that might provoke as many thoughts as cries for blood.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B+[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Audition - Ever seen a sick joke made into a movie? A Japanese movie? Well rest assured that you now can. The crux of this film centers around a widowed father raising his teenage son who suggests that dad begins to find a new wife so they can once again have a family. His friend comes up with the idea for an audition where they bring in hundreds of candidates and they can see which can ignite sparks. Sounds like an intriguing premise to a promising and cute foreign romantic comedy? Can you picture the fun and charming moments in your head as this premise plays out? Well now erase all that and replace it with a sudden violent shift into second-rate Cronenberg territory. The special one that the father picks ends up having a mysterious past that involves sexual mutilation by a frisky uncle who is now leg-less. Guess who did that? And then it gets even darker as the gal seems to hobble those around her for permanent company and slices and dices those she feels do not love her anymore. Where the hell did all this stuff come from? And that's the point: it comes from nowhere! The shift is so jarring that it happens like you're locked in a drag race. The horror is so over the top and inane that what seemed promising now turns into a great conversation piece with friends. "Hey, there was this movie that seemed like it would be fun and romantic and then suddenly..."[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: D+ [/color][/font]
August S

I think one of the things that this film can boast is its realism. It was well-acted so my question is: Where the heck does these actors went now? It felt very real, it is not lacking in dark humor . . . and just, good.
Sylvester K

Nearly a masterpiece, it's so wickedly funny I just can't help myself but laugh all the way through. It's low budget yet surprisingly fresh and original. The characters were interestingly enough to keep me going, the acting was great too, very realistic. I really enjoy… More
Nearly a masterpiece, it's so wickedly funny I just can't help myself but laugh all the way through. It's low budget yet surprisingly fresh and original. The characters were interestingly enough to keep me going, the acting was great too, very realistic. I really enjoy the tv show-like editing and narration.
Christopher B

Decent Canadian film about a television show whose goal is for the contenders to kill off one another. Unfortunately it becomes too comedic by the end, but all in all it's a decent watch.
Anthony V

Not as good as it should have been.
Wu C

Reality TV show ala Battle Royale, but a fun watch.