Review: Truth or Dare (2018)

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow | 100 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Sophie Ali, Nolan Gerard Funk, Landon Liboiron, Sam Lerner, Brady Smith, Hayden Szeto, Morgan Lindholm, Aurora Perrineau, Leslie Stratton, Tom Choi, Carlo Sciortino, Ezmie Garcia

Horror has been gaining popularity in recent years. Thanks to films such as ‘Insidious’ and ‘Escape Room’, the audience is flocking to the halls again. The genre fan will have noticed the difference in quality between the two titles mentioned. Is the recently released ‘Truth or Dare’ an exciting nail biter in the style of ‘Insidious’ or an uninspired slasher à la ‘Escape Room’?

In ‘Truth or Dare’ a group of students decides to play a game of ‘Do, dare or truth’ during spring break. Stupid move, because this ends in a life-threatening session. Supernatural powers turn a game of ‘Truth or Dare’ into a bloodbath. To survive, the youngsters have to carry out dangerous assignments or tell the truth. It soon becomes apparent that each contestant has some shocking secrets to hide.

Just to answer the question in the first paragraph directly: ‘Truth or Dare’ is a slasher with anemia and not a blood-curdling thriller. It is clear that director Jeff Wadlow and the cast were not in the mood for it, because the disinterest is bursting. The acting is broken, the character lacks content, the special effects are lousy and the murders are portrayed very safely (read: boring).

Horror is a genre that is not known for originality, new angles or profound messages. Doesn’t matter, because the public is satisfied relatively quickly as long as their expectations are met. Gore massacres, cleverly timed scares, interesting twists or cool villains: you don’t need more to make a great slasher or horror thriller. However, ‘Truth or Dare’ has nothing to offer in the aforementioned areas.

The lack of a monster kills the film. Just before a murder, the participants of ‘Truth or Dare’ get a macabre grimace on their faces and in a distorted voice shout the name of the game. Thanks to the cheap computer effects, these changes come across as very cheap and laughable. What must be nasty looks comical. In addition, the murders are portrayed rather fantasy and bloodless. With the cast acting badly and being unsympathetic, their fate leaves you cold.

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What remains is anonymous Hollywood horror for tweens. Someone who has never seen a horror movie will still find this production viewable. Genre fans can skip this movie with confidence, and that’s the complete truth.