Review of Would You Rather (2013) by Viewer — 12 Mar 2013

The premise of "Would You Rather" is superb; my praise, however, ends there. This movie is simply unpleasant to watch. The acting is, for the most part, sub-par; Snow, in particular, comes off very amateurish at times.

From start to finish, the movie pushes the viewer away. The entire film is tense, cold, and hopeless, so, when the thrills come, and there are plenty (one of the few areas in which the movie did its job), they feel like little prods to the stomach while one is already experiencing bad indigestion.

All the plot twists, and here I use the term lightly, are completely predictable. Movies like this are powerful because they let the viewer get close, even comfortable, and then pull the proverbial rug; "Would You Rather" lets all its nastiness hang out from the very moment the game begins.

Movies like this also derive power from the close and complex relationships between their characters and their viewers; in "Would You Rather," every time a character dies, it just feels like some awful statistic.

This film is very unapproachable; even film franchises like Saw and Hostel are more approachable than this film. "Would You Rather" left a bad taste in my mouth, and, yes, I would rather have not watched it.