On Tuesday, April 17, I went to go see “Truth or Dare” starring Lucy Hale from “Pretty Little Liars” and Tyler Posey from the MTV series, “Teen Wolf.”
I had seen the trailer to “Truth or Dare” tons of times because of how often I go to the movies — I know not many people do that anymore, but what can I say? I’m an aspiring filmmaker with an infinite love for cinema.
I had the pleasure of having the entire theater to myself (and my girlfriend) throughout the duration of the film and that was probably a good thing because I really couldn’t keep my opinions to myself when it came to certain scenes in the movie.
To start this review off with some positive notes, I think the cast did a great job portraying the characters they were hired to play.
Lucy Hale was a perfect lead role in this film. Most female leads in horror movies have a lot of innocence to them, usually, they are virgins or “losers” in a sense, and Hale just did a great job of playing that sweet little innocent character.
Posey was a very good choice to play the heroic, humble male lead role and continued to show why throughout the entire film.
Overall, I think “Truth or Dare” was a pretty good horror film with an even better concept than the film gave credit for. The writing had a lot of holes in it, and the script just felt a little lazy and forced at times–something no filmmaker should allow in their movies.
I honestly can't wait until CinemaSins or some other similar YouTube channel rips apart every hole in the film's plot because there definitely seemed to be plenty.
The film received a 4.4/10 from IMDB and a rotten 15 percent from Rotten Tomatoes, and I think the biggest reason for these low ratings is the trailer, as odd as that may sound.
Too many of the important scenes in the movie were shown in the trailer so we already know so much that’s happening before it even happens.
I didn’t realize that from just the trailer, but as I was sitting there in the theater, I kept turning to my girlfriend plenty of times during the movie and we would both just say: “Oh that’s when so-and-so dies” or “Oh that’s when so-and-so does this and then this happens.”
The trailers released for “Truth or Dare” ruined pretty much all of the excitement and suspense that the movie had to offer so critics or film fanatics that were viewing the movie couldn’t have the same type of experience that you expect to have when watching a horror movie.
I think that if the trailer hadn’t over-informed the audience, more people would have gone to see the movie.
Also, I think a lot more people would have been more satisfied with the outcome of the film because they wouldn’t have already known what was happening before it happened and, therefore, could have felt actual tension and fear running through their bodies.
That being said, my rating will be a little higher than both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, but only because the actual film wasn’t even half the problem.
Truth or Dare: 5.5/10
“Truth or Dare” is out in theaters NOW so be sure to check it out–just don’t watch the trailer before you go! Trust me, the movie would have been a lot creepier if the trailer hadn’t blown the plot.
