Truth or Dare (2018) reviewed by Jonathan Berk

To tell the truth, I wouldn’t dare sit through the newest Blumhouse film directed by Jeff Wadlow a second time. Truth or Dare (2018) has somehow managed to tell a competent story that feels relatively forced on the premise of the film. The idea of a life-or-death stakes truth or dare game could have been great, but instead, this movie stretches out the game over too long a time period with loose rules that adapt to fit the plot, which ultimately revolves around a love triangle.

Truth or Dare is definitely one to skip

Olivia (Lucy Hale) and her friends travel to Mexico for their last spring break before graduating college. Feeling like a third wheel, she gravitates towards a stranger named Carter (Landon Liboiron) who rescues her from a creep at the bar. Carter takes Olivia and her friends to an isolated church to continue partying and play a little game of Truth or Dare. Only, it was a trap and now they’re all locked in a life or death version of this adolescent game.

The film is missing something. There isn’t a great set piece, the characters aren’t really developed beyond what the audience is told about them, and the central love story feels like it belongs in a different film. Olivia is a goody-two-shoes who always chooses the moral high ground. Markie (Violett Beane) is Olivia’s best friend, who is definitely much more morally loose. Markie cheats on her boyfriend, Lucas (Tyler Posey), who Olivia happens to have a crush on. Of course, Olivia wouldn’t act on this, as it would be wrong to betray her friend. It’s a character trait that rears its head at every turn, reminding the audience that Olivia will gladly sacrifice her own happiness for the good of others.

The premise of Truth or Dare sounds like it’ll offer tons of cool death sequences. However, it doesn’t really have anything that qualifies. Most of the deaths and scares are seen in the trailer, and they don’t get much more interesting in the film. The dialogue around the sequences is also pretty awful, and the Snapchat filter faces (the movie straight up calls them that) is kind of lame. Even the explanation of why the game is making these young adults kill themselves feels trite and a little generic.

Final thoughts…

Truth or Dare is definitely a horror film that doesn’t deliver. It’s not scary, it’s not funny, and it’s not even remotely fun. Definitely a misstep from Blumhouse, which is disappointing. Truth or Dare earns the Avoid like the Plague rating.