YMMV / Surviving the Game

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is the story Doc tells about his abusive father true, or is it simple mind games to mess with his future prey and/or convince the other hunters to embrace his claim that A Real Man Is a Killer?
  • Does Wolfe Sr. nearly attack Burns and Cole because they killed fellow hunter Griffen for trying to quit, because they hit his son for showing horrror at that, or both?
• Cliché Storm: Feels like checking boxes on the list of all possible plot devices, archetypes and cliches to make the Hunting the Most Dangerous Game scenario. Doesn't mean it's bad per se, but still schematic.
• Complete Monster: Doc Hawkins is the one member of the Hell's Canyon hunting party lacking anything resembling a redeeming quality or anything but a naked urge to kill. A Psycho Psychologist with a hunting license and a preference for human prey, Hawkins is the one who founded the hunting party on the first place, and for years he and his friends have been hunting unlucky vagrants for sport before taking their heads as twisted trophies.
• Cult Classic: Terrible reviews, general indifference of movie goers... and almost fanatical fandom.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: Mason might have survived, but he's back at square one with little to no signs of his life improving. To make matters worse, there's a strong possibility he could experience some psychological problems over the trauma he experienced.
• He's Just Hiding: Considering how Derek Jr. is the Token Good Teammate of the hunters and isn't shown hitting the ground after falling off the log bridge, it can be nice to hope that he might have somehow survived, as people have survived falls that high on very rare occasions.