Truth Or Dare Movie Review

2/10

If there was a truth or dare question posed to me about this film, I’d respond back with the choice of truth and say that I hated this movie.

Much like the film’s silly title, I despised almost everything about Truth or Dare. It was just yet another series of silly horror comedies that dealt with stupid teenagers doing stupid things and getting into stupid scenarios.

Everything about this movie was dumb. There was not a single clever thing about it and I don’t know why people are trying to make these types of movies anymore. Blumhouse Productions can you stop doing this, because, by this point, it is downright laughable. When you have a film that is based on a game called truth or dare and you’re trying to make that somehow scary and a serious horror film, we need to stop. We need to be better as mankind and we need to start funding films that are actually genuinely scary or trying to be scary, and at least somewhat intelligent.

So for those that don’t know what the game truth or dare is about, in case you’ve been living under a rock. The game essentially follows the idea that you’re asked a question, which is truth or dare (duh), and you have to answer back with one of the two choices. If you choose truth, you have to answer something honestly. But if you choose dare, you’ll have to commit to doing anything that the person requests from you. This terrible movie takes this idea and tries to commit to a feature-length plot by taking it to another level.

It tries to do this by taking things to the supernatural and introducing the consequence that if you don’t answer honestly or don’t complete the dare, all of a sudden you are going to die. Which might be done in a weird or kind of scary way and is meant to be creepy. But before I go into spoiler talk, let’s just bring up why some of the other characteristics of this film aren’t that great. Apart from the dumb plot that this whole film follows there is also the downright unlikeable characters. Everything that you see is just this fake formulated plot and I don’t really find any of the characters enjoyable or believable enough for me to care about.

Each one was a cookie cutter type of character for a horror film. You’ve got this kind of mean guy, a jealous type best friend and so forth. Just all these little things are something you should get in a B-grade type of movie and not in a serious Hollywood horror production. I can barely remember the names of these characters because they’re all very much unmemorable and it doesn’t help the care factor I have for whenever I see them die on screen.

Putting those two major aspects at the forefront of a movie, I’m probably going to have a bad time watching this movie. And I did.

Thankfully, I could somehow convert some of the terrible aspects into laughs because it often had moments where it was so bad it was good. But to be honest, I still felt like I had wasted my time watching this movie and I’m inclined to say that you will probably also be wasting your time. Especially when there are other great films that are out right now and that I watched, like Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, which was great. Because holy crap, that first frame from Isle of Dogs is just so much better than this whole movie and you can tell which one was made with a skilled team behind it. In comparison, Truth or Dare’s opening scene was incredibly boring and so poorly made, not just because it wasn’t done in stop-motion animation like Isle of Dogs, but because it actually had terrible production quality and a silly story behind it. I kid you not, the first 10 minutes include 80% of shots filmed on handheld mobile phones because it is trying to mimic what the “youngin’s” are doing these days when they’re out on Spring Break.

My problem isn’t with the medium because I know that iPhone’s can make films look pretty great still when it’s done correctly or with purpose. Tangerine did exactly that because it was actually going for a trashy looking style and it was far better shot than how Truth or Dare was. It genuinely felt like the producers or director gave the actors instructions to go out on holiday and just shoot a couple of selfie video diaries and then they’ll put it together later on. Like, don’t worry about the script, what to say or how you shoot it. Just go out and shoot some shit and we’ll put it together.

But then they still go back and actually film scenes with proper movie cameras and throw that in the mix of the montage as well! What is going on? It just looks terrible. I hate it. I hate this movie. I don’t why they released this film in the month of April and not in October when it’s Halloween. Probably because it’s shit and it’s not even scary and in most ways, it feels like an April fools joke.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if Blumhouse Production later made a film that was actually called April Fools, and it was about people getting pranked but somehow dying because it’s not really a prank. It’s just a social experiment bro. But oh wait, you’re dead.

Anyway, there’s so much wrong with this movie and I don’t recommend anyone seeing this unless you want to laugh at how dumb these characters and the story is. But be warned.

SPOILER TALK

Here are some of the standouts of dumb things that happen in this movie.

#1

One of the opening scenes deals with the main character being coerced into going with her friends to Spring Break. She’s there filming a YouTube vlog for her wildlife or environmental volunteering group or whatever, something like that because this film is just that unmemorable. And her best friend walks in and is like “Oh come on you have to come to Spring Break. It’s our last chance before life, you know, tears us apart and I want you to be there with me as my best friend.”

I’m paraphrasing but you get the gist. She responds back saying she can’t because she’s going to be busy helping out with this volunteering group that she’s the team leader for. They’re going away for a few weeks and helping to build some shit or whatever. Again. I forget the details exactly.

But oh no. The best friend turns around and says, nope. “You don’t have to go anymore because I just told them that you can’t make it because you’ve got the shingles”.

AND THE FRIEND DOESN’T EVEN MISS A BEAT!

Like what the fuck?!

If I was in her shoes and my so-called best friend did that, I would turn around and smack them in the head. I would be like, “what are you fucking talking about? You told them I had the shingles and said I couldn’t go? Do you not realize that this is something that I genuinely care about and want to do as a serious part of my life because why else would I be the fucking trip leader for it?!”.

But nope. She doesn’t miss a fucking beat and effectively just accepts that she can’t do anything else but go on this last trip for Spring Break with her friends. Oh my God, shut the hell up.

#2

Later on the trip for Spring Break, they travel to some place in Mexico. Like yes, fucking Mexico. Apparently, a lot of young American adults go to Mexico to celebrate Spring Break but OK, maybe this might be a cultural aspect that I’m unaware of. Whatever.

But they’re at this party on the final night of their Mexican getaway which speaking of, is filled with a lot of white people. I’m not trying to come to conclusions but again, do a lot of young American adults go to the same place when they go to Mexico for Springbreak? Like at least at the party, there should be more than just typical American tourists there. Right? Whatever.

At the party, our main character goes to grab a drink and is met with one of the annoying people that she goes to school with who tries to hit on her. He is then promptly interrupted by the typical “calm cool and collected handsome hunk” on the other side of the table, who obviously ends up talking to her and she quickly begins to swoon.

So much so that at the end of the party, some her friend’s catchup with her and are wondering if there are any other bars open still because they want the party to continue on. Our new handsome hunk, who only the main character knows and I mean barely, because they’ve been talking just for a few hours that night, tells them that he knows a place.

Her best friend opposes the idea and says “Na, let’s just go back to the dorm”. But our main character, of course, is obviously in love with this new handsome hunk and tells her best friend “But come on. It’s our last Spring Break. You know before life tears us apart, remember”.

WOW. NICE FORESHADOWING.

So of course, the friends decide to listen but then cut to the next scene of them walking through a pitch black, dodgy ass looking fence that says ‘forbidden’ and up to an ominous looking church at the top.

FUCK OFF.

Who in their right mind would listen and follow a fucking stranger that they just met, all the way up to a creepy-ass looking church!

#3

A lot more but we shall save it for a future podcast!