The Game (1997)

The Game parents guide

Nothing past what an R promises: some innuendo or implied sex and some violence.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

Several

More than a couple of sudden jolts.

Gore

No gore

Violence

Some violence

Some fighting or peril.

Sex and nudity

Mild

Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Game scary?

Only a little. The Game has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is The Game?

No gore and some violence. Squeamish viewers are fine here.

What is The Game rated, and is it OK for kids?

Some strong language and several jump scares. The R is earned, so not for kids.

What is The Game about?

In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.

Cast and crew

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The Game is on our Stressful, 1990s, Thriller and Mystery lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “a horror movie that's actually scary”
• “scary but not gory”

Lists with the same feel: Edge of your seat and Late night.