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In the 1980s, an RPG named 13 Daemons has been banned and
destroyed after its players have started to kill people for real,
apparently under influence of the game - but that's of course considered
an urban legend nowadays, and when 3 nerdy friends (Stephen Grey, Michael
Cunningham, Daniel E. Falicki) find maybe the last copy of the game in an
antique store for cheap, they buy it and start playing it, of course only
for fun at first and under heavy influence of drugs and weed. Thing is,
once started, they can't stop anymore until their mission is fulfilled (to
kill the 13 demons threatening the realm), to a point where they even
sleep over the game. Plus the game gives them weird visions of them
killing the demons for real, visions that only grow stronger when they
stop doing drugs and booze - and eventually they are so sucked into the
game that they actually "become" their characters. Problem is,
their "demon killings" are real, but rather murders of innocent
people, including little children. But once sucked into the game, it seems
there's no way out until their mission is fulfilled, or they die trying
... A very dark satire of RPG-obsession packaged as a horror
thriller, this is a very entertaining genre piece that gets most of its
tension of a tight script, sharp dialogue, and strong performances. It's
really three people talking in a room for most of the time, with even the
murder scenes either only hinted at or shown in a rather allegoric way
(with exceptions though). And with that said, the film is built up quite
cleverly to a rather unique climax as well that's not without its
(fittingly) odd note. Not your usual thriller, but definitely worth a
watch!
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