Hey people, so I just watched Blumhouse’s truth and dare. I also have a deep cut in my forefinger and that is why it is taking me such a long time to type this.
Blumhouse is the same studio behind the oscar worthy films such as Get Out and Whiplash, that does not mean that it will have the same quality every single time as it has produced countless not that great films as well.
I happened to watch Happy death day which was also a Blumhouse production but I think I enjoyed that film much more than this one. I would like to advise a spoiler alert since I’ll spoil a bunch of the stuff that happens in the film but if you want to watch it you can still watch it since it is pretty basic stuff.
Premise:
Now, I would say the premise is interesting normally to give credit where credit is due, but why should I pretend like I haven’t seen this kind of film previously. There are literally 1000s of films with the exact same premise of a group of friends who go out on a vacation and get caught up in a horror hijinks.
Despite that, since I am such a nice pleasant person I’ll just elucidate the premise for you, so it is about this group of friends who go out on a spring break vacation party during their final time together(haha, that is just plain depressing because guess who isn’t going to get to go on a spring break with their friends? Us, thanks to China). Our main character Olivia meets this guy, who convinces the group of friends to follow him into an old mission (a church basically), and play a game of truth and dare, they do so, feelings are hurt and then they all get back to their lives only to discover a truth that the game never really ended and it is still going on, the twist is that whoever doesn’t play out their truth or dare will end up DEAD.
I think that sums it up pretty well, this film based on the trailer doesn’t seem remarkable and therefore it isn’t actually but more on that later.
What I thought about the film
I’ll be quite honest now, I had heard how trashy this film was from a lot of people already and that is why I didn’t watch it but then last week I decided to head to Instagram to ask for some film recommendations from you guys, and a couple of my friends who have previously recommended me alright films asked me to review it and I was like, ‘Oh maybe this is a hidden gem or an underrated film like that last film I reviewed, Ready or Not, and that is why they want me to watch it.’, so I accepted the recommendation with pleasantries and watched it without looking at anything other than the Imdb and Rotten tomato ratings.
So what is the verdict?
It was pretty baaaaad.
Why was it bad? I’ll explain but before that, I’d like to thank the sponsor of this video, ME.
Okay sorry bad joke.
Why is it bad SAM?
Before y’all get angry at me and are like, ‘oh Sam you have no taste at all, you just like artsy oscar films which aren’t even interesting, I slept in the first half of Moonlight, it was that boring and La La Land? that was just ZZZZZss. This film isn’t supposed to be a masterpiece, it is just a fun little film to watch with friends and enjoyyyyy!!’. Listen, I do enjoy films which have ridiculous premises and horror stuff, I don’t even mind cliches to be honest as long as the film itself is good.
This film my friend isn’t good, I just didn’t enjoy it at all, the only reason I am reviewing it because I want to make something productive out of the rough 1 hour and 30 minutes I wasted on it.
Reason no 1: it is very very archetypical and one dimensional. Again, I know this isn’t supposed to be a drama piece with depth and actual logic but come the hell on, some variety would’ve been interesting. Like for example, the characters are so one dimensional, like so bland, I can’t even remember the names of all of the characters they’re so forgettable. The acting is okay I guess but the script is just so laughable. I mean, I laughed a few times throughout the film so maybe I should give it credit for that.
Reason no 2: The face.
The film’s gimmick is that when one of the friends has to face the truth or dare they get to meet this lovely grin. 
I just have to say that I feel it is very funny, I know it is creepy with the right music but damn looking at it makes me wheeze so bad. Throughout the film, there were these serious moments and then this grin would appear and all of the tension would get whooshed away. I wouldn’t have minded if it was done in an even more ridiculous manner but then it isn’t and frankly that is just disappointing.
Reason 3: The characters
The film’s characters are as I mentioned previously really boring and very one dimensional. Example: there is this character who’s only character trait is that he is gay and has a father in the police. That’s it, I can’t remember any other discerning characteristic about him. Another example is this character Ronnie, he’s supposed to be the douchebag of the group and you can see that the director told him to just act like he was a horny version of a Disney bully. He comes out of nowhere and joins the group while they’re on vacation(pretty much so he can be part of the game) and then he gets killed (not in a fun way).
The friends find out about the death of their friend and guess how they react?
One of the characters scoffs at it and laughs it off like it is some kind of joke, bruh someone is dead. I hate a lot of people but I wouldn’t actually want them to die you know or if they did I would be way more traumatized. This matters because when the death is taken so lightly it loses the impact because I don’t like these characters already and none of them make me want to root for them so why should I give two f(*k’s about who lives or who dies. I don’t and that makes this film lose all the tension, I didn’t feel scared even once throughout the film. I Swear.
Reason 4: Bad Horror
Pathetic horror didn’t get scared even once, same old tricks of moving the camera to show something and then moving it back to show the thing has disappeared and so on and so forth. Siddharth, you find this scary man? really?
Say something nice you mean f^&k.
The good thing about the film is that it is short and if watched with a group of friends (if you have those unlike me), it would actually be entertaining and not that bad. I just didn’t enjoy it because you guys hyped me up too much. The scary devil thing wasn’t that scary either. I guess the actors are really hot so yeah that is a plus point. What else…? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it but this film is also really predictable.
Could it have been better?
Yes, it would’ve been much better if they toned down the seriousness of the film, if they went all out guns blazing with horrific death scenes and a funny tone rather than the serious tone they would’ve made a terrific film. I think Ready or Not and this film can be used to juxtapose each other since that film is nothing but a horror film which could’ve been bad if it wasn’t for the hilarious and unserious tone. This film misses the mark completely as it neither spooks nor makes you laugh to death. The only upside is that the next time you play truth and dare you’ll feel anxious and think about this film.
Verdict: 2/5
3/10, If you haven’t watched films like Cabin in the Woods, Halloween or Scream then maybe you might enjoy this. I for one did not because I’ve seen similar things before and this one didn’t have anything remarkable in it.
Thanks for the recommendation none the less, I am sure you didn’t want to torture me on purpose.
That’s all for me today, see yáll next month.
Sam Is(n't) A Critic 