Would You Rather (2012)

Would You Rather takes an interesting look at a common children's game, playing it for the delight of a rich man with far too much money. The plot tells a story of a young girl whose younger brother lives with her after her parents have passed on, leaving nothing but mounting debt. Her brother is dying, her house has been sold, and ever job lead seems to fall through. One day somebody offers to pay for everything and find her brother a donor, at a price.

This being said, the piece was decently acted, standouts being that of Sasha Grey and the always delightful Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator). The movie found ways to make you cringe without ever resorting to full on sight gore, the worst parts were left heavily to the imagination. This was a film that actually benefited from a lower budget, seeing that in a heavy budget one might be forced to see the over usage of all the stunts.

The movie is certainly not without its faults, first and most prominently is the lack of a decent score. The film never really utilizes music to draw you in, which is especially noticeable at the beginning and end of the film. The ending also felt so flat that it could hardly produce sympathy from the audience, an attempt to cater to the twist-necessitating crowd that has been delved since Saw's low budget first film hit our eyes. Unfortunately, it is such a negative that it makes one wonder if the whole damn first 30 minutes of the film were worth anything. This also repeats itself with a worthless subplot involving the doctor. The amount of filler placed within this movie alone degrades it, and unfortunately tampers an otherwise great horror gem to unnecessary viewing.

For all the gripes, though, the film does its job when it finally gets there. If I were to simply judge the 2nd act of this film it would get an easy 9, however, that being said, I believe a 6 is not only fair but accurate.