Review of Truth or Dare (2018) by Kimesha M — 12 Apr 2018

I went to see this movie not expecting much, but I must say I was pretty entertained. The movie doesn't break any new ground, but after more than a century of filmmaking, I don't think there's much ground left to break, so I'm not going to hold it against the movie. All the tropes are there: group of teens getting killed one by one, jump scares. Mysterious backstory provider, etc... But tropes exist for a reason, because they work, and I prefer a director who gives in to the tropes and makes a good movie than one who sets out to subvert them and makes a crappy one as a result of trying to do the opposite of what the audience expects all the time (Last Jedi anyone?).

Anyway, the movie was done well. I actually felt some empathy for the group of teens, they didn't act like morons all the time and had just enough personality that I could tell who was who after around 10 minutes (you laugh, but that's a common problem with bad horror movies) and their personality wasn't grating. The concept of a game taking life and killing people is an interesting premise. The situations were actually suspenseful sometimes, and never felt boring to me. The effect of the face people make when possessed by the game was pretty bad, but they actually have a character poking fun at it, so that earns a pass from me.

All in all, an enjoyable time at the cinema. Not a must-see by any means, but to anyone looking for a decent, classic horror movie, I recommend it.