Universal Pictures
Coming in the wake of A Quiet Place, it’s going to be difficult to consider the latest horror film release Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare anywhere near the same league as that box office smash. But Blumhouse knows its audience and it knows how to make effective, inexpensive, successful horror films like last October’s Happy Death Day, as well as The Purge and Insidious franchises. So where does Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare fit within the other Blumhouse films?
It’s not as original as Happy Death Day but it’s still entertaining. The story follows a group of friends on the final spring break to Mexico. Olivia (Lucy Hale) is reluctantly dragged along by her BFF Markie (Violette Beane) with the promise that she and two other friends will volunteer two weeks of their time to Habitat for Humanity to make up for the week Olivia will miss because of the trip.
During their last night in Mexico, Olivia meets Carter (Landon Liboiron) who says he has something fun they can all do to send their spring break off with a bang. Taking them to the abandoned ruins of an old cathedral, Carter suggests they play a game of Truth or Dare, but as some sensitive truths emerge, Carter decides it’s time to leave … and one other thing — once you’re in the game, you play until you die or find a way to end the game. It turns out a trickster demon had been unleashed by Carter and his friends and he’s been attempting to find a new group of people to play the game. But it still doesn’t set him free as everyone continues to take their turn for as long as they’re alive. After several of Olivia’s friends are dead and dark secrets are revealed, she and Lucas (Tyler Posey) learn the horrible truth of the game and the only way it can be stopped. But can they stop it before they’re all dead?
If you’re a regular visitor to the Rotten Tomatoes website, you’ll see that Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare has a poor 16% rating on the day of its release. Not sure why it’s so poorly reviewed because it’s a pretty effective thriller (incidentally, Happy Death Day was also released on Friday the 13th). The story is pretty interesting because like the people in the story, we all think that once everyone has their turn, the game ends. But when it doesn’t, and more rules that were previously unknown are revealed, and more very dark truths are exposed, it ups the tension, as does the reveal of how to stop the game. And the movie takes some surprising turns as Olivia, Markie and Lucas attempt to end the game.
Aside from the plot, the film also has a very capable cast. The most well-known name of the group is Tyler Posey and he is fine. He really doesn’t have a lot to do as far as carrying the story and I expected him to be the Janet Leigh of this movie, getting killed off relatively early in the movie, but he sticks around. Violette Beane is also good as Markie, having to go from friend to frenemy to reluctantly work with Olivia to end the game. Hayden Szeto also gives a decent performance as the closeted Brad who is eventually forced by the game to come out to his strict father and then is forced to do something even more extreme when his turn comes around again. He really makes you feel for the guy.
The real star of the movie is Lucy Hale. Like Jessica Rothe in Happy Death Day, Hale appears in pretty much every scene of the movie so it all rests on her shoulders. Hale gives a terrific performance, helping make the situation all the more believable. Hale’s Olivia is smart but conflicted, especially when it comes to always wanting to take a dare so she doesn’t have to reveal a terrible secret to Markie. She puts her friendship, even after it’s in a shambles, before her own well-being but the game is smart enough to find a way to make her reveal the secret. Hale just completely sells Olivia’s emotions and really carries the entire movie. Hale has a fan base from her time on the popular TV series Pretty Little Liars (and currently stars on The CW’s probably short-lived Life Sentence), and her fans should be happy to see her make the leap to the big screen in a substantial role.
Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare has a tight script by first-timer Jillian Jacobs (who has been a segment producer on Big Brother), actor/writer Michael Reisz, Christopher Roach (a Big Brother producer) and Jeff Wadlow (who was a producer and writer on The Strain and Bates Motel) with some clever plot twists and a jaw-dropper of an ending, and it very well directed by Wadlow who keeps the action moving along at a quick pace while keeping the blood to a minimum (for that profitable PG-13 rating, which often hinders a film like this but doesn’t really hurt in this case). It’s not a movie for mainstream critics, for sure, but general audiences should get some thrills and chills from this game of Truth or Dare.
Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare has a run time of 1 hour 40 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing content, alcohol abuse, some sexuality, language and thematic material.
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