It’s fairly surprising that it’s taken this long to make a mainstream horror film where the game “truth or dare” plays a role in the story. It’s a game designed for fun, but is all about being vulnerable, facing inner anxieties, revealing secrets, doing something that you would never do (or maybe something you don’t want anyone else to know that you want to do). There’s a lot to mine here, from a psychological standpoint, and the moments in Truth or Dare, er, wait, sorry, Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, where it does tap into that is where it really shines. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between.
The main problem with the film is that it seems so concerned with setting up the rules of this game as it comes to life, in a manner of speaking, and it continuously adds onto the mythos of it, regardless whether the film even follows it or not. There are scenes after scenes of the characters trying to make sense of what to do, and how to deal with the game, instead of allowing the audience in on that anxiety and having fun with it. There have been many films that revolve around teenagers trying to survive by following a set of rules that were able to strike that balance between exploring the mechanics of the curse, while also allowing the dynamic to play out in an engaging way.
The moments that worked most effectively were largely because of Olivia (Lucy Hale) trying her best to get everyone on board with figuring out what to do about this game that haunts them, while also being forced in awkward and hostile situations with her friends, especially Markie (Violett Beane), who has the most emotional baggage out of everyone in the group. Several moments where they have to deal with uncomfortable truths are genuinely affecting, some that were even darker than I usually see in these kinds of stories, and I really wished that was the greater focus of the film.
The majority of it is basically standard, disposable, PG-13 teen horror junk. Some empty jump scares here and there, crass humor, and near bloodless violence. Aside from one sequence involving one of Olivia’s friends, Penelope (Sophia Ali), being forced by the game to walk on the roof while drinking alcohol, most of the sequences of the characters dealing with the game are devoid of tension because it’s very telegraphed who is going to do what and how they will respond to the game. There’s just not much in terms of surprises.
Occasionally, some silly moments will provide a chuckle, and the movie moves just fast enough to keep things from being completely boring. The strange faces that appear every time a character is having their turn on the game will never cease to amuse me. Though, unlike the recent Happy Death Day (another Blumhouse release that had a somewhat similar tone), this one did feel held back by its rating, not being able to revel in some of the deaths in the way it clearly wants to.
Jeff Wadlow, who directed and co-wrote with Jillian Jacobs, Michael Reisz, and Christopher Roach, might have been onto something at some point in the development of Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, but this is the kind of concept that lives and dies by its execution, and the execution of this leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t think it’s a terrible film, but it’s not a very good one either. There are slivers of something interesting that are elevated by some solid performances, but it’s can’t keep the film afloat. If you’re someone looking to have a laugh at something ridiculous, I don’t think there’s enough of that here to warrant a recommendation.
However, I will say that I really dug the ending, which was pretty exciting and shocking. If they make a sequel to this, I wouldn’t mind seeing it.