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Series 7: The Contenders
USA Films


8.8

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong violent content and language

Starring Marylouise Burke, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael Kaycheck, Brooke Smith, Richard Venture, and Merritt Wever

Portrays the highlights of the seventh season of a reality-based TV show in which six contestants are given guns with the objective to be the last person standing.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Daniel Minahan
DIRECTED BY:	Daniel Minahan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 18, 2001 Video: December 18, 2001 Theatrical: March 2, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	86 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Wide-eyed, deadpan and, more often than not, note-perfect.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The most devastating spoof of reality TV since Albert Brooks' 1978 "Real Life."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A satisfyingly nasty piece of work so black and cruel it's often more sick than funny.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Minahan wants us to see ourselves in the dark mirror of this outrageously funny satire. He's built the laughs wisely so they stick in our throats.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Smith and Fitzgerald are funny, feisty, poignant, and altogether realistic. Will they end up lovers, friends, side-by-side corpses? Their sharp performances make Series 7 as frighteningly addictive as crack, or even "Survivor."

Newsweek Devin Gordon

Whether Series 7, filmed on digital video for less than $1 million, is reactive or prescient doesn’t change the fact that it’s a dead-on parody of the form.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Ferocious satire.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A gritty, immediate, down-and-dirty satire with a down-and-dirty look.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Unpretentious and brashly exploitative.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

As entertainment, such dark material can only stretch so far, and Series 7 comes awfully close to being as numbing as the genre it mocks. But its power can't be denied.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The murder as entertainment premise of Series 7 is proof that even the blackest of humor is no longer particularly outrageous.

Chicago Tribune Robert Elder

Series 7 does exactly what independent cinema should -- challenge audiences while it entertains.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

This gory parody hits television where it hurts -- and draws blood. It will bring joy to the heart of anyone who hates TV.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The movie's mimicry of reality TV clichés is eerie, from the use of re-creations and supplemental footage (especially the experimental video Dawn and Jeff made together for a high school art project) to the smarmy commentary.

Film.com Sean Means

Smith puts the soul in the machine of Series 7, producing an emotional power too real for reality-TV to handle.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The suspense may be fraudulently manufactured but it captivates us nevertheless, and by the end we're reduced to the bloodlusting anonymity of the true culprits in all this jaded junk, and that is the TV audience.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Series 7 could have turned out as ugly as the second season of "Survivor," were it not for the pleasure Minahan takes in melodrama.

Slate David Edelstein

It's only fitting that we emerge from Series 7 feeling both entertained and implicated.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

As Series 7 speeds toward its inevitable conclusion, at least the contenders make this downward spiral something to savor.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

There's no avoiding the fact that it's a one-joke movie, 86 minutes in the telling, and without any serious social underpinnings, it grows old pretty fast.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It's not the idea that people will kill each other for entertainment that makes Series 7 jolting. What the movie correctly perceives is that somewhere along the line we've lost all sense of shame in our society.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

An exceptionally glib satire about reality TV, by writer-director Daniel Minahan, that puts most of its effort into looking as much as is possible like a real TV show.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The result is heavy and humorless, despite a smart, skillful performance by Brooke Smith.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Seems stranded in that nowhereland between irony and sarcasm.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

As with "The Blair Witch Project," one must swallow one's irritation at paying yet again for big-screen video -- but even so, the spectacle of an America falling apart is acutely and hilariously embodied by Dawn.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Getting progressively less involving as it goes along, the strongest feeling Series 7 creates is the passionate desire to change the channel and move on.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

There's less here than meets the eye or ear: We're a long way from Jonathan Swift, and any old episode of "Cops" is bound to be more engrossing, not to mention "real."

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

I felt like dropping to my knees in the theater and praying for this smug, irritating fake-reality-TV show to go away, leaving these three terrific actors (and characters) in something resembling a real movie.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The movie's bright touches belong primarily to Brooke Smith.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

William G. gave it a9:
Even more relevant now than when it was released back in 2001, SERIES 7 is a satire chock-full of realistic violence and a wicked sense of humor. Each character is a fascinating one, from Marylouise Burke as a elderly nurse to Brooke Smith as the pregnant mother and reigning champion. Everything about the show itself is a spot-on parody of reality television. Your reaction to this review will determine whether or not SERIES 7 is your cup of tea. Those disgusted by the plot have been warned. Those mildly intrigued, at the very least, should seek out SERIES 7.

Pål A. gave it a 10:
This movie is very cool, and i really liked it, but its not good for young people to watch this, and get influed by killing....

Mike D. gave it a 9:
An all too real parody of reality TV. Leaves the question begging: is this where our corporate land of late capitalism is leading us? How soon will taboo be overridden by senseless demand? A film that develops thought & leaves a smile on our faces.

Johnny M. gave it a 9:
A superb peice of film making. Good plot, acting, script and directing. One of those films which leaves you a little sheel shocked - a sign of a film trying to convey a message and succeeding. Also interestingly produced by film four, channel four being the home of the most popular reality tv in britain, big brother. Superb film, watch it if u haven't already.

Jim K. gave it a 9:
This movie is very well thought out and presented. I was impressed with it, and then I watched the extras on the DVD, and when you find out what really happened in the theatre at the end, it all pulls into place. It constantly pulls you into its reality while critiquing that reality at the same time. I really want to see the script of this film.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
Amazing.

Marc D. gave it a 7:
As a reality show junkie, I was pretty fired up to see this film. It definitely has its hillarious moments, although the "story" is a little more contrived than I thought it would be, even for a parody. The "Dawn of the Dead" fan in me enjoyed it more than the "Survivor" fan, though. A little morbid...in only the best of ways, of course!

Series 7: The Contenders USA Films

Series 7: The Contenders
USA Films