Truth or Dare movie review

Hello! 

This is going to be a spoiler-free review! 
On Tuesday (April 10) I had the opportunity to see the new Bulmhouse Productions Truth or Dare directed by Jeff Wadlow.  The premise of this movie is about a group of college kids that go to Mexico for spring break and end up in a deadly game of Truth or Dare.

Initial thoughts before the movie

I didn't really have any intentions of seeing this movie in theaters. I thought the idea was interesting, but I only was familiar with Tyler Posey as a name in the movie and recognized the face of Lucy Hale. The way Truth or Dare was marketed seemed like a typical teen horror movie involving some sort of curse, friends, and a game. I've seen this trope played time and time again so I am always wary of going to see movies like this. The last movie I saw that played into this trope but surprised me was Cabin in the Woods directed by Drew Goddard...other ones not so much. Alas, I was invited to go and Bulmhouse Productions has a pretty good track record with horror movies so I decided to give it a try with an open mind! 

Thoughts during the movie

Immediately, this movie set it's self up as something that is very "teen horror" but about halfway through I would possibly categorize this as more of leaning into the thriller. According to IMBD a keyword for the plot is slasher flick...but I would argue against that. 

Characters: Err..the characters were predictable? They seemed to just a mish-mash of tropes, none of them really stood out to me or were that memorable. Granted, this isn't the type of movie that is probably trying to have memorable characters. It's goal was aiming for story/lore remembrance, but I find good horror movies usually offer up a character you can at least root for or want to survive, but I didn't care too much for any of them. 

I think the biggest issue I had with this movie was a combination of acting and story pacing. Something dramatic would happen to a person or the group, involved characters would freak out for maybe 1-2 minutes of screen time, and then go back to being normal? There was no sense of urgency as the story unravels, the characters didn't come off as more and more shaken the more they discovered or went through. They kind of just existed within the plot, reacted to the situation, and then moved on. I never felt anxious, excited, or scared while watching the movie, I was just wondering what plot device they would throw in next. 

Cinematically I believe the movie was really well shot. There were some beautiful lighting and scenery shots. I really enjoyed the environments and how shots were set up and lead into. 

Thoughts after the movie 

When the movie ended my initial thought was, "That's it?" I left wanting more and didn't really feel satisfied with the ending. There wasn't really a finite solution, good or bad and I believe the ending was left with a lot of gaping plot holes that could have easily been filled with something that made sense to the movie and could leave the viewer satisfied. 

Overall I think the idea of the movie was interesting, I'm all for curses and lore within a movie but it did play a lot into typical tropes of teen horror movies. I enjoyed the psychological aspect of how the characters were forced to play this harmless game that did become deadly but the actors or script didn't lean into that as much as they could have. 

Would I pay to see this movie in theaters? No, most likely not. Do I think it's a movie that is best seen in the theaters? No, it doesn't need the jazz of being seen on the big screen. 

I would give this movie 2 stars out of 5. It had an interesting idea and the cinematography was nice but the story, characters, and ending left a lot to be desired. 

Truth or Dare will be released everywhere April Friday 13, 2018. 

Cheers! 

Devyn