I don’t usually like to rate movies out of ten. People see movies for different reasons, and personally, I believe that most movies can be enjoyed as long as their viewers go in with the right expectations. But despite this gracious philosophy of film, I also believe that there are some films that do things well and some that do things poorly. Such objective standards can be rated on a scale from one to ten.
Over the last few weeks, film fans have been graced by at least two fans that paved the way for future original creative endeavors, and at least one that has continued to establish my cynical outlook on the Hollywood machine. A Quiet Place, one of the more optimistic offerings, was one of the best-written films to come from the horror-thriller genre in the last few years. This weekend’s Truth or Dare was one of the worst written. And the key areas where they diverge are quite obvious.
1. Basic Premise
A Quiet Place, in addition to elegantly expositing slowly, carefully, and of course, quietly, contains a premise that can be summarized in one word: shhh. There are few, if any, rules except “be quiet.” And there is no grand summary of how the sound-hunting creatures came to plague the planet; we are only told what is relevant to the plight of the Abbott family, our protagonists. Understanding the monster allows us to wrap our brains around it. We fear that which we do not understand.
In comparison, Truth or Dare establishes nonsensical rules that are so far from logical that they cannot possibly be threatening. The context for the events we’re witnessing is so contrived that it is near impossible to feel tension or fright. And there’s no ambiguity, despite your desperate pleas for the cringe to end. They lay out everything you need to understand the “threat” so it’s no longer threatening.
2. Plot Motivators
A Quiet Place’s movie journey genre is known as “monster in the house.” The protagonists are trapped in a confined space with a terrifying brute force that can’t be reasoned with. This is what drives the plot: a compelling antagonist. Creatures with such auditory acuity that they can hear sounds from miles away. Insurmountable obstacles in interesting settings and situations.
Rather, Truth or Dare opted for a character-driven plot, which is a completely legitimate writing decision. Truth or Dare’s problem is that all its characters are idiots. This is a very common horror film trope - overly sexed teens are inebriated, or their brains are underdeveloped, and because of it they fall victim to some horror movie antagonist. The film’s antagonist might be the demon possessing the group’s game of truth or dare, but it seems more that it’s the group themselves and their poor decision-making skills, or their penchant for bringing up intensely personal arguments in the middle of life-or-death situations, or their unrealistically melodramatic responses to trauma.
3. Jump Scares
The idea behind A Quiet Place lends itself to the use of the loud jump scare. Sure, it’s a horror trope, and sure, it made me roll my eyes when I saw it. But the film is more allowed to use loud jump scares than most of its peers because they make sense in the context of the story - most of the film is very quiet (obviously), so any sound is going to seem louder than usual, and the slow-moving landscape has the same effect on the movement.
Truth or Dare, though, would rather use all of its jump scares on fake-outs, which is a well-documented frustration with modern horror films. Jump scares are unrelated to the plot and serve as a very thinly veiled attempt to give the audience a quick jolt of fear. They’re still a cheap method of scaring in A Quiet Place, but at least that film’s context allows the audience to forgive its use. The scares in Truth or Dare are so obvious that, again, they can’t possible come across as threatening.
A Quiet Place was across the board an incredible film. Truth or Dare is not. But like I said, I believe that most movies are good for something. There are objective standards which Truth or Dare fails to measure up to. There are documented writing formulas and genre tropes which the film actively ignores. But if every movie is good for something, what is Truth or Dare good for?
Well, it’s pretty great for noting how not to make a horror movie.
