UFF 2024: Flesh Games

“Flesh Games” offers a wildly fun descent into madness that really delivers on the horror and pays tribute to what we loved about “Jackass”.

How far would you push yourself to gain notoriety?

Flesh Games is heavily inspired by Jackass and CKY, catapulting you back into the 90s, creating nostalgia for an era that seemed to be about nothing but dumb fun.

I grew up with stunt shows like Jackass and held them very close to my heart, even going as far as to start skateboarding — well, attempting to. For many, these shows of daring feats and fearlessness had quite a hold on them, even influencing some to recreate stunts and pranks despite clear warnings telling us, “Do not try this at home.”

It always seemed like the stars of these stunt shows were having the best time, and it’s natural to want to feel that joy in spite of the danger.

Flesh Games is a product of that desire.

Our unknown crew hails from the underground scene and consists of Mike, Jordan, Corey, and Ben, along with cameraman David. It starts innocently enough with simple pranks and some minor pain-inducing stunts, but nothing out of the ordinary.

With a killer soundtrack supporting this very real-feeling found-footage film, it doesn’t shy away from embracing its many influences.

As we watch the friends gathered around a table, bouncing ideas for new stunts off each other, we quickly begin to feel like part of the crew as viewers.

However, it becomes clear there is slight animosity between members. Some don’t want to do anything extreme, and others are pointing fingers behind the scenes, implying some aren’t pulling their weight.

The crew’s primary motivation is to gain notoriety through their stunts and, in turn, get all the women they want. Hyping each other up, this simple goal seems to be the only driving force behind getting the members to push themselves to the limit of pain they can withstand.

The barrier between genuine fun and outright danger becomes blurred, and before you know it, this film has totally gone off the rails.

With stunts like the Terrible Twister, including broken glass and some skateboard tricks, the high they all seem to be on soon comes crashing down. A serious injury rattles them into the harsh reality of what can go wrong, and it becomes crystal clear that some of the crew become way too committed to the film.

A downward spiral into the extreme lengths they are willing to go to, with a descent into madness, really delivers on the horror. With all-out gore that quite frankly made me sick to my stomach in the best way, I had a twisted smile on my face, loving every minute.

The ending had my jaw on the floor.

Throughout the film, I laughed continuously and winced at some of the stunts they performed. I really felt a part of this gang, for better or for worse.

I had a blast with Flesh Games, and I suspect any fans of Jackass and similar shows will as well, given how well this loving homage hits the nail on the head.