All Olivia wanted to do for spring break was to go somewhere and build houses for Habitat for Humanity but her friends had other plans. When trying to convince her to take a trip to Mexico to party doesn’t work Markie, Olivia’s BFF, informs Habitat for Humanity that Olivia has shingles and can’t make it. So, Olivia decides to go with her pals for a week of debauchery south of the border. It’s all good until a handsome stranger lures the group to an abandoned mission in order to trick them into a fucked up game of truth or dare that is controlled by some sinister force. The stakes are high but the rules are simple: once you’re asked you’re in, tell the truth or you die, do the dare or you die, and refuse to play and you die. Now Olivia and her friends are forced to try their hardest to survive this twisted game.
                I’m gonna be really honest with you here, I didn’t expect much out of this movie. I honestly went in expecting a teeny-bopper popcorn flick heavy on tits and gore and light on plot. I was wrong. As someone who is prematurely old and curmudgeonly, I wanted everybody to die about five minutes into the movie. By the end of the movie, I kind of felt for a couple of the characters and was even rooting for them a little bit. Not all of the characters were well developed but the ones that really mattered to the story were fully fleshed out. I still wouldn’t want the little bastards on my lawn, but I didn’t want them to die.
                This movie pretty light on blood and gore and the body count isn’t super high but every death counts for something. With every body that drops, the main characters are in more and more danger. Everybody takes their turn and the game keeps going until everyone is dead. So, every time the circle gets smaller the stakes get higher. This movie really focuses on building tension and telling a good story. I’ll take that over tits and gore almost any day of the week. Almost. One of my favorite parts of the movie is the development of Olivia. She goes from and idealist who is super concerned with always taking the high ground to a realist who does what she needs to do to survive. The transformation happens slowly but the ending really shows how much of a 180 she made. The moral of the story is if your friend wants to build houses for poor people, let them do it. Go to Mexico by your damn self.
                I’m honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. The writing was pretty damned solid, there are a couple of really nice twists and a couple that I saw coming a mile away. The cast gave good performances across the board, the effects were well done, and the cinematography was on point. I don’t know what I found to be a more pleasant surprise, how cool the story was or the general lack of jump scares.
                All in all, would I recommend Truth or Dare? Yeah I would! It’s definitely not your run of the mill “spring breakers get killed because they’re fucking stupid” flick. It’s out on Blu Ray and DVD now, go check it out.

 

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