Truth or Dare (2018)

“Truth or Dare” stars Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Nolan Gerard Funk, Hayden Szeto, Sophia Ali, Sam Lerner, and Landon Liboiron.  Released on April 13, 2018, the film is about a group of teenagers who get caught in a supernatural version of “Truth or Dare”.

The film is directed by Jeff Wadlow, who also directed films such as Never Back Down, Kick-Ass 2, and True Memoirs of an International Assassin.  It is based upon the eponymous game of the same name.  Ah, yes, “Truth or Dare?”.  A simple game where people choose to either answer the question honestly or take part in a challenge that leads to embarrassment or possible injury.  It leads me to wonder why people still play this game despite the consequences that will follow them wherever they go.  In this latest horror project from the Blumhouse team, we’re about to discover just what happens when you manage to play the game with supernatural beings.  Blumhouse Productions had a good string of successes when it comes to the horror genre, most notably “Get Out” and “Happy Death Day”, but then it started off the new year on the wrong foot with “Insidious: The Last Key” back in January.  This film was dared to get the Blumhouse team back on track and, unfortunately for us, it refused to do it.  They were doing so well with their recent horror films last year and the concept for “Truth or Dare” was surprisingly interesting, so…what the heck happened here?

The only thing that I was ok with in the film was the cast.  Even though they tried a little bit too hard in making me care for the characters and their dumb decision-making, the young actors did the best they could with their performances, including Lucy Hale as Olivia Barron.  Aside from that, this is a very formulaic supernatural horror film that focuses more on the scares rather than fully exploring the characters and the consequences they’re facing from playing this idiotic, yet popular, game.  There were a few moments that were admittedly heart-pounding, but their attempts at scaring the crud out of me, including the unnecessarily loud jump scares, were pretty tame.  Even the death scenes were uninspired, serving as a way to treat the characters like horror victims.  I can understand what they’re trying to accomplish, but when they are tasked to make a horror version of the game that can lead to real-life consequences, there has to be a balance between the horror aspect and the drama aspect.  Sadly, that balance wasn’t even there.  I get that it’s supposed to be a simple scare-fest made for people who like to get scared, but when it slowly starts to lose interest in itself due to its lack of surprises and uncaring characters, there’s a good chance that they did something wrong.  I also did not like the way the film ended at all.  It’s like they’re leading up to a possible sequel if it does well at the box office.  That’s another thing that the filmmakers should look at more carefully.  If people didn’t like a film that includes an ending like that, it’s possible that they won’t pay money to see its follow-up.

Overall, “Truth or Dare” is uninspired, formulaic, and scare-free, and that, my friends, was the honest truth.  For the Blumhouse team, the film is like a massive traffic jam that interrupts their road trip to success.  It stops them dead in their tracks and leaves them completely stranded in the sea of horror cliches and bland storytelling.  People who enjoy generic horror movies should have no problem viewing this film.  Otherwise, this is by far the most disappointing film that Jason Blum has ever produced this year.  Try smiling your way out of that one, you sadistic demon.

D-