Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare (Review)
Truth or Dare? I DARE You to See This Movie
Let’s get down to brass tacks, Truth or Dare is a horror movie based on a children’s game. Sure, there could have been some potential to get really intense with some of the dares, but it’s neutered by a PG-13 rating. Of course, that’s not a death sentence when it comes to the genre. There have been plenty of good horror movies with that rating (Lights Out being the most recent). But Truth or Dare starts with an uphill battle ahead of it and never manages to get the traction to make any progress from there. It’s a laughable premise stuffed with unlikable characters and a lack of frights.
Essentially the premise of Truth or Dare is that college kids get sucked into a demonic version of the game with two simple rules: You do the dare or you die. You tell the truth or you die. As stupid as the premise of this film is, I can see how people thought there would be potential here. Unfortunately, it’s handed over to a director who has no experience with horror (and a questionable filmography) and suffers from having too many writers fighting over the same keyboard. The result is an overthought mess that struggles with its horror elements and lacks the creativity and the twisted sense of humor the premise requires to get off the ground.
To be honest, I’m sure the studio knew that Truth or Dare was garbage from the get-go. That’s probably why they added “Blumhouse” to the posters and focused on promoting the credentials of the producers. Unfortunately, not even the producers of Get Out and Happy Death Day could save this mind-numbing horror flick. In fact, it’s almost more disappointing knowing that Truth or Dare was in such capable hands.
I’m not a proponent of movies being incredibly gory for no reason, especially when gore is used as a substitution for horror. However, the PG-13 rating makes Truth or Dare just a little too timid for its premise. Instead of being scary when people are staring down certain death, it comes off as cheesy and predictable. Of course, it doesn’t help that every character in the movie is insufferable. From Sam Lerner’s rapey Ronnie to Nolan Gerard Funk’s psychopathic Tyson to Lucy Hale’s goody-two-shoes Olivia. There isn’t a single likable character in the bunch, so it’s hard to feel sad when the game starts to knock them off. In fact, I found myself rooting for the game pretty much from the get-go.
Without being able to show much gore, Truth or Dare is forced to create drama between the characters as filler for it. After all, the truth aspect of the game is hardly life-threatening. So, the audience is treated to conflicts that would do any soap opera proud. From love triangles to affairs and everything in between, Truth or Dare manages to stuff in as many cliches as it can for its characters to contend with. Unfortunately, all their drama only serves to make them even more unlikeable as it makes the characters seem small and petty considering all their lives are in jeopardy. In the end, it’s attempt to flesh out the roles only makes the characters even more unlikeable. Essentially, no matter which choice the character makes the audience is going to be disappointed.
Look I know that good horror movies are few and far between. Most fans of the genre though don’t watch it for “good movies.” I know I’ve watched my fair share of movies with cringe-worthy premises. Truth or Dare lacks the blundering charm of those films though. The characters in it are insufferable and the supernatural elements look like someone used a crappy Snap Chat filter to create them. It’s not just bad, it’s completely unmemorable. At least all those other bad horror movies I like to watch leave some sort of impression afterward.
