Truth or Dare

Starring: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Hayden Szeto, Sophia Ali, Nolan Gerard Funk, Landon Liboiron, Sam Lerner, Tom Choi
Directed by: Jeff Wadlow
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Thriller
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A game of truth or dare turns deadly when a supernatural entity begins forcing the participants to engage in increasingly dangerous dares.

Review:

Tim: Truth or Dare might actually be a fairly decently made horror movie, but it's saddled with an absurd premise. As much as Jeff Wadlow tries to convince us the movie is worth watching, I couldn't get past the ridiculous set up. I know horror movies are working hard to find new twists to keep the genre alive. That's a good thing, because so many horror movies feel stale and generic. A great example was Happy Death Day, which rode its Groundhog Day premise to great results. A similar attempt is made here, but with much less effective results.

The biggest problem is that this is a horror movie about a game of truth or dare. Let that sink in for a moment. This isn't like a Ouija board (although those movies weren't great). That "game" has inherently evil tendencies. This is a horror movie about a deadly game of truth or dare. I'm rolling my eyes pretty hard at this moment. There might have been a more feasible way to do this, but the movie goes the supernatural force route. So, what we're asked to believe is that a malevolent evil force is set free, somehow manages to learn the rules of truth or dare, and decides to use the parameters of the game to seek their revenge. Why would a demonic force do that? There's so many better ways to go about it. The "rules" make no sense. It feels like there is a big, convenient gap in the game after the initial set up. Why would the demonic force do that? It certainly plays the rounds much quicker towards the end of the film. The whole thing is so stupid. Some ideas are great and some don't work and this one was not believable. I appreciate the film trying for a different twist, but it fails here. That is a real shame, because Wadlow actually did some worthwhile things in this film. However, those strengths never make up for the silly premise.

I thought the characters were slightly better than the average horror movie. I can't say I really liked any of the characters or felt much of an emotional attachment, but it felt like we did get to know them more than usual. Too many horror movies introduce their young cast simply as fodder to be killed. That's actually what happens here, but the movie invests slightly more time into their stories. The key is the relationship dynamics between the three leads- Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, and Violett Beane. First off, I don't want you to think that any of them were particularly great. They weren't. Hale gives the best performance of the film and is the one cast member you believe could have a lengthy Hollywood career. Posey was fine in his role, but he was far too boring. I didn't care about his character much at all. Beane was decent. She had a number of scenes where her acting was cringe-worthy, but she had a few nice moments with Hale. The complicated relationship between Hale and Beane's characters is one of the big pluses in the film. Hayden Szeto gave a particularly strong performance. He rivaled Hale with his supporting turn. Sophia Ali was okay. The cast as a whole was fine, but they needed to be better.

Besides the insanity of the truth or dare idea, the story was decent. There's some worthwhile mystery elements as the kids track the source of the demonic force. The way the dares get progressively more gruesome was entertaining. There's an especially effective sequence of one of the characters walking on the edge of a roof while drinking heavily. That was definitely a standout, nerve-racking scene. The ending of the film is quite interesting. I'm not sure I would call it a "twist", but it's an unexpected conclusion. Part of me went, "Oh that's super cool!" and part of me groaned audibly. It doesn't quite work, but it was somewhat unique.

I certainly didn't hate Truth or Dare. It actually has some solid moments. I nearly considered it a decent horror movie, but if you spend any time thinking about the mechanics of the evil entity playing truth or dare, it all starts to crumble under its own stupidity. This is an okay movie, but it's one that can't escape the bad idea at its center.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Happy Death Day