The Horror Show
Truth or Dare
by Jeff Wadlow
In Truth or Dare, group of college kids get themselves into trouble after unleashing a demonic force that terrorizes them in the form of the classic game… did you guess what it was? Yep, truth or dare. As is the case in recent Blumhouse releases, the story focuses on our main character Olivia. We watch as she races against the clock to save her friends before her next turn and fails miserably time after time. Not that I’m knocking Blumhouse, I love Blumhouse, however, I’m just maybe getting a little bored with the college girl in trouble plotline.
With what actually is a fun premise, Truth or Dare starts off entertaining enough. But, just as with the game it’s named for, it quickly becomes repetitive and predictable. The acting is decent and the actors were fine in their respective roles, it’s just that the roles have all been played before. Echoes of films before it come in to play throughout, The Ring particularly comes to mind, and so the story just brought nothing new to the table and I found myself growing bored quite early on.
I will say there are some positive notes to mention, as the film is not a total snoozefest. There were a few creative death and thrill scenes as well as enjoyable special effects. I enjoyed the way the characters’ faces transformed as the demon would take over them, it was as creepy as it was amusing. However, was it enough to save the film for me? Not really, no.
While I can say that it wasn’t a complete waste of time, I wasn’t impressed by the dramatic fillers injected into the story and sometimes the plot even became a bit perplexing. Was I supposed to focus on the history of the cursed game or the love triangle? Should I have been paying attention to the repercussions of alcohol abuse or the strained relationship between a man and his father? I understand that these small side plots were important in how the choices of “truth” played out, they just didn’t need such a strong emphasis. The film wasn’t meant to be a drama, I think if Truth or Dare had stuck to the path of “mindless kill-fest” it would have been just fine. It didn’t need to try and be deep at any point.
As I said earlier, the film borrowed a lot of elements from The Ring in my opinion. Not that that’s such a bad thing, that movie rocked. I will say the ending, though predictable and nothing new, was still entertaining and applied to the modern social media obsessed age we are living in.
Mediocrity in mind, Truth or Dare is a film to be watched with the understanding that it’s not going to be on any “Best of” lists at the end of the year.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
The Horror Show Menu.