Family Pack – Plugged In

Conclusion

When I was little, I really liked the original Jumanji and Zathura movies. In fact, I even had the Zathura: Adventure Is Waiting board game. Compared to the movie? Well, let’s just say there was more than a little disappointment when my house didn’t fly into space (probably because of its strong foundation). Based on the 4.5/10 rating on BoardGameGeekmany others felt the same as me.

But as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one intrigued by the concept of a board game that would whisk its players into a live-action game until they completed it—because the “genre” lives on in the 2024 French film Family Packwhich recently reached No. 5 on Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched movies in the U.S.

This modern release takes on social deduction games and is most notably inspired by The Werewolves of Millers Hollowa French card game based on Mafia. And like many modern movies, it comes with some modern ideas, too.

Most notably, some scenes deal with homosexuality as well as others which hint at gender identity issues and abortion.

As far as violence goes, blood is kept to a minimum. However, some people do die, including a teenager and a child (though the latter is revived). And in terms of other issues, a few sexual quips are made referencing male genitalia and a sexual encounter.

Family Pack whisks its players into a game of social deduction, but some of its rules may not be ones viewers will want to abide by.