Review of Would You Rather (2013) by Jesse O — 29 Jul 2013

This is the film version of what Fox News would do to poor people asking the government for "handouts" if such things were legal. The horror in this movie doesn't come from supernatural forces or even the violence.

The horror comes from the horrible things these people will do to win a game a sadistic millionaire has put together in order to amuse himself under the guise of helping someone who really needs it. The social commentary here is obvious.

It's clear that a lot of people have to do humiliating, nothing as violent as this of course, shit for their rich employer because it's the only way they can support their family and without that job, they have nowhere else to go.

The contestants in this film face the same problems, albeit in a more extreme manner, and this contest is the only way they're able to save themselves from debt or to help someone in their family, etc.

It's also clear that Shepard Lambrick, and his son, see these people as pets to entertain them. Lambrick doesn't care what happens to these people, as long as he gets his entertainment out of them.

Perhaps it's laying the message a little too thick, but it's not that different from a section, read: NOT ALL, of rich people who got out of their way to mock those less fortunate than them. I want to make it clear, before I continue, that I don't think all rich people are out to screw those who cannot afford it.

There are many privileged folk out there who spend their entire money helping others in need, so I really don't mean to vilify an entire group of a people. I just mean to vilify a small group that gets their kicks out of laughing at others' poverty.

I thought the film was more than solidly acted, with an inspired performance from Jeffrey Combs as the man who puts this sick game together. He just has this theatricality to the way he speaks, how he presents this game and how he truly relishes seeing human beings suffer through this game, just because they're in a tight spot economically, that makes him truly detestable as a human being.

But at the same time, he is oddly entertaining even if you still find him to be a gigantic asshole. So yes, Jeffrey Combs is tremendous. Brittany Snow is fine, but it's Jeffrey's show. The movie isn't really gory or even all that violent.

A lot of it is implied, but the violence makes an impact because the story is far more grounded in reality and the characters' motivations are all believable. Granted, this is hard conclusion to come to since, other than Iris, you don't really know why everyone else is there and what their situation is that led to them being chosen for this game in the first place.

But it really would be safe to assume that these people wouldn't be there if they didn't really need the help. As you can tell I really liked the movie, I thought it had solid performances, a well-thought out story with equal amounts of social commentary and horror to boot, even if the horror is more rooted in what humans would do when faced under extreme duress and how their decisions affect others.

Though I'm not sure whether to give the movie 3 or 3.5 stars. Because I did really enjoy the movie, but I'm not sure if 3.5 would be overrating it. This is when I bring out the 'really good' good movie.

That's all I can say. Though it's likely to be better than the countless of low-budget, direct-to-dvd horror films. It probably won't be better than the Evil Dead remake or The Conjuring, even if I haven't seen it yet, but it's still a movie that I would recommend if you enjoy horror films.