By Kyle Laugh
Directed and co written by Michael Reisz and also co-written by Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach and Jeff Wadlow
The film stars Lucy Hale (Bionic Woman, Privileged, Scream 40, Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf, Jane The Virgin, Scream: The TV Series), Violett Beane (The Leftovers, The Flash, Legends Of Tomorrow) and Hayden Szeto (The Unbidden, The Edge of Seventeen, Lodge 49).
First thought which came from people regarding this film was the age old complaint of why a horror film has to be PG-13. I’m not here to defend any particular film, nor am I going to protect “Truth Or Dare” for being one either.
The simple fact is that the studio wants to make the biggest bang for their buck when bringing a film out for a full theatrical release. This typically means that when promoting said film, the studio wants to push it towards the teenage crowd as they are the people who likely carry a disposable income. Essentially, they can up and do what they want, when they want and spend money without worrying about missing out on bills or groceries.
With that said, PG-13 films may not be exactly what you want in a horror film but if done properly, you can get a great story or psychological horror that doesn’t need a ton of gore or nudity.
Now, with that part taken care of, I want to talk a little about “Truth or Dare”.
The story follows a group of friends who go off to Mexico for spring break. On the last night of their vacation, the group decides to follow a stranger to an abandoned monastery. Having nothing to do while there, the stranger suggests they play a game of truth or dare to pass the time. They agree and begin to play. Once things begin to get weird, the stranger reveals that he chose their group to play the game in order for him to stay alive.
I’m sure a lot of you have already read or heard negative things regarding the film. I’ve personally heard of several people shutting the film off after twenty minutes. If you were one of these people, I can understand your thought process and the reason behind your actions, but you may have missed out on something more than you were anticipating.
The beginning portions of the film are very loose to say the least. There are small plot holes planted around which began to get on my nerves right off the hop. Luckily, some of these little plot holes are explained and covered, so no fear, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It may be dim, but it’s still there. You may also notice a very close resemblance to the “Final Destination” films in terms of how the game / deaths play out. Not to spoil anything, but this is a large indication of what you can expect to see in the film although it’s not exactly the same as what “Final Destination” would typically deliver.
What really has me upset however is the fact that the writers made the storyline out to be very simple, not allowing for little bits and pieces to be thrown out throughout the film which would allow for us as viewers to solve the issues at hand as most psychological films would typically do.
If you’re looking around for hints towards the reveal of what is causing the chaos and madness, then you’re going to have to wait until the latter part of the movie when a newly added character gives the films leads the information to explain what is causing this ongoing game and how they can stop it.
Considering all this,I do have to admit that some of the kills in “Truth or Dare” are actually pretty good, some of which may even cause you to cringe. And while on the note of what’s good in the film, it actually has a pretty intelligent ending to the film which leaves a possibility for a future sequel or something of this nature.
In all, I have to state that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover and the same goes for judging films by it’s MPAA rating.
6 out of 10.
TRAILER
This week on Beyond The Void Horror Podcast we have a guest (Brad Thornton) on to help us continue on with the howling franchise! Howling 3 & 4. Wait till you hear what we have to say about these... Oh boy.. This week we talk about Have listen here or you can Listen/Subscribe on iTunes here!