Blu-ray Review – Games of Survival

For his directorial debut, Armand Gazarian attempts to participate in the home video gold rush of the 1980s, assembling "Games of Survival" (titled "Game of Survival" on the Blu-ray packaging), which presents low-fi action for evenings of VHS rental roulette. Gazarian doesn't come armed with a major budget, locations, and actors, getting by on the bare minimum of technical achievements, electing to shoot the endeavor on 8mm, giving it the general atmosphere of a student production. "Games of Survival" doesn't aim high when it comes to dramatic engagement, but Gazarian is looking to land a basic actioner with sci-fi touches, trying his hardest to make some B-movie magic with grungy cinematography and modest fight choreography. There's a mild sense of appealing lunacy in play, but there's nothing here that's too challenging for genre fans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com