TRUTH OR DARE (2018)

Studio:       Blumhouse
Director:    Jeff Wadlow
Writer:       Michael Reisz, Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach, Jeff Wadlow
Producer:  Jason Blum
Stars:     Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Hayden Szeto, Landon Liboiron, Sophia Ali, Nolan Gerard Funk, Sam Lerner, Aurora Perrineau, Tom Choi, Gregg Daniel, Andrew Howard

Review Score:

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Summary:

College friends become cursed to play a supernatural game of Truth or Dare with horrifying consequences.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

In a frantic state, Giselle Hammond stops at a gas station in a Mexican border town. The clerk becomes possessed and demands that Giselle play Truth or Dare. Forced by the supernatural dare, Giselle apologizes before setting a woman on fire.

Markie Cameron compels her best friend Olivia Barron to give up her spring break plans of helping Habitat for Humanity to go to Mexico with their friends instead. Olivia and Markie are joined by Markie’s boyfriend Lucas Moreno, who shares romantic tension with Olivia, as well as Brad Chang, Penelope Amari, and Penelope’s boyfriend Tyson Curran.

Olivia runs into fellow student Ronnie at a Rosarito Beach bar. When Ronnie jokingly makes lewd comments, a young man named Carter intervenes. Olivia and Carter spend the rest of the night drinking together at the bar.

Looking for something to do after the bar closes, Carter invites Olivia and her friends to an abandoned mission to continue partying. Ronnie follows the group there. Olivia notices a broken jar among other discarded items on the floor.

Carter convinces everyone to play Truth or Dare. Over the course of the game, Tyson suggests that Olivia is in love with Lucas, which leads to a falling out between Olivia and Markie.

On his turn, Carter strangely confesses that he targeted Olivia and lured her friends to the mission to become cursed in order to save his own life. Before leaving, Carter warns that players will die if they do not follow the rules of the Truth or Dare game. Olivia experiences a vision of her friends possessed.

Dismissing Carter’s claims, the seven friends return to school in California. After finding several “truth or dare?” messages that only she can see, Olivia experiences a vision of everyone in the university library becoming possessed and demanding that she play the game. Olivia is forced to blurt aloud that Markie regularly cheats on Lucas. Markie and Lucas both witness the outburst, creating more tension among the trio.

Ronnie hits on a woman at a bar. The woman becomes possessed and dares Ronnie to expose himself atop a pool table. When Ronnie decides to not do the dare, he becomes possessed, slips on a billiard ball, and snaps his neck in a fall.

After footage of Ronnie’s death appears online, Olivia becomes convinced that the curse is real. Lucas refuses to believe her theory until he too sees supernatural “truth or dare?” messages. Lucas is forced to admit that he has feelings for Olivia.

Although Tyler remains skeptical, the five friends explain Olivia’s library experience and Ronnie’s death to Markie to convince her that they are still playing the game. A text message dares Markie to break Olivia’s hand. To save Markie from dying if she doesn’t go through with the dare, Olivia gives Markie a hammer and insults her until she smashes Olivia’s hand.

Brad chooses ‘Truth’ after experiencing a haunting vision. Brad is forced to tell his police officer father Han that he is gay.

Having chosen ‘Truth’ on his turn too, Tyler lies about forging prescriptions during a medical school interview. Tyler becomes possessed and dies after stabbing himself in the eye with a pen.

While trying to track down Carter to obtain more information about the curse, the friends come across the story of Giselle Hammond setting a woman on fire. From Giselle’s Facebook page, they discover that Giselle is friends with Carter. Olivia and Markie write a vaguely threatening message to Giselle to convince her to meet with them. Olivia and Markie continue fighting about their friendship.

For their safety, the five remaining friends agree to only select ‘Truth’ on future turns in the ongoing game. However, Penelope discovers she must select ‘Dare’ and is forced to walk along the rooftop while drunk. Penelope falls, but the friends manage to catch her with a mattress atop Olivia’s car.

Giselle responds to the Facebook message and meets the group. Asked about the curse, Giselle guesses that she and her friends received karmic payback for her friend Sam trashing the Mexican mission where they first played the game. Giselle also explains that they made a rule about two truths and a dare, meaning that ‘Truth’ can only be selected two times consecutively before a dare becomes automatic.

Acting on her latest dare, Giselle pulls a gun to shoot Olivia. In the subsequent commotion, Giselle shoots and kills Penelope instead. Giselle becomes possessed and kills herself.

Olivia, Markie, Lucas, and Brad tell their story to Detective Kranis, who doesn’t know what to make of the deaths. Looking to learn more about the mission where the game was played, online research identifies a former nun named Inez Reyes who was the sole survivor of a massacre that killed priest Father Ramirez.

Olivia accepts a dare to sleep with Lucas. Olivia explains to Lucas that she chose ‘Dare’ because there is a truth she does not want to be forced to tell Markie. During sex, Olivia becomes possessed and asks Lucas to reveal which of the two women he truly loves. Lucas admits he is in love with Markie.

Olivia and Lucas track down Inez Reyes in Tijuana, where she now lives in seclusion as a mute. Through written messages, Inez reveals that she and other sisters at the mission used to play Truth or Dare, but there was also a priest who forced himself on the women. Tired of the sexual abuse, one of the nuns used a spell to summon a demon named Calex who possessed their game. Calex possessed one of the sisters and dismembered the priest. Calex then forced the sisters to continue playing. However, it was discovered that the person who released the demon could trap it with a ritual that required reading a Spanish spell seven times, sacrificing the spellcaster’s tongue, and placing the tongue in a pot sealed with wax. Inez reveals she was the original summoner by showing that her tongue is missing.

Olivia remembers seeing a broken pot on the mission floor. Recalling what Giselle said about her friend Sam trashing the church, Olivia reasons that they need to find Sam in order for him to perform the ritual and end the game.

Brad acts on a dare to pull his dad’s gun and force him to beg for his life. Han’s police officer partner witnesses the encounter and shoots Brad dead.

Olivia is dared to tell Markie what she fears most. Olivia reveals that she was at Markie’s house the night that her father Roy killed himself. Olivia recounts that, while drunk and depressed about losing his job, Roy tried kissing Olivia. Olivia threatened to tell Markie about his attempt to come on to her, prompting Roy to say it would kill him if Markie found out. Olivia intimated Markie might be better off if he were dead. Roy later committed suicide and Olivia still feels responsible.

Detective Kranis shows Olivia a picture of Giselle’s friend Sam Meehan. Olivia sees that Sam and Carter are the same person and steals his address from the police file.

Olivia rallies Lucas to confront Carter/Sam with her. They go to get Markie only to find her with the gun that her father used to kill himself. Olivia convinces Markie to put down the weapon by saying she knows where to find Carter.

Lucas breaks down Carter’s apartment door. Carter puts up a fight, prompting Olivia to take him at gunpoint and force him to accompany them back to the mission in Mexico.

Still held at gunpoint, Olivia forces Carter to recite the spell. The mission begins shaking violently. Carter receives a knife and is told he must cut out his tongue to break the curse.

Lucas refuses to do his latest dare to choose between murdering Olivia or Markie. Lucas becomes possessed and kills Carter before Carter can finish severing his tongue. Lucas then slits his own throat.

Olivia gets an idea when she remembers they can add new people to the game while inside the mission. Asking Markie to trust her, Olivia tells Markie to ask for a dare on her next turn and then refuse to do it. Markie refuses a dare to shoot Olivia. Markie becomes possessed and moves to shoot Olivia. Olivia swipes Markie’s hand and is only grazed in her arm by a bullet.

With Calex possessing Markie, Olivia asks the demon “truth or dare?” to force it into the game. Calex chooses ‘Truth.’ Olivia asks how they can get out of the game alive. Calex explains that they can’t now that Carter is dead. All remaining players must die or else find new people to enter the game.

To save Markie as well as herself, Olivia records a video from inside the mission explaining the curse and what happened to her friends. Olivia posts the video online with an apology before asking people watching, “truth or dare?” Calex’s curse spreads worldwide.

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Review:

Currently, Blumhouse partitions projects according to two labels: the eponymous brand for modest-budget films released theatrically through Universal, and the BH Tilt subset of stepchild movies deemed better fit for DTV debuts, often without a whisper of marketing.  Let’s just say they’re prouder of one than the other.  The strategy here is to provide enough separation that the shallower pool doesn’t color the main name’s identity, even though both are sourced from the same stream.

Really though, Blumhouse products are better divided according to demographic objective. Tier A would be mass appeal movies with wide-ranging recognition such as “Get Out” (review here), “Insidious,” even “Happy Death Day” (review here).  Tier B would encompass teen-targeted thrillers like “Ouija” (review here), “Unfriended” (review here), or “The Gallows” (review here).  The former films build buzz with mainstream media and are generally well received by horror fans for having sincere style. The latter films are, frankly, primarily architected as straight moneymakers meant to appeal to high-schoolers burning 88 minutes on a Friday night.

“Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare,” whose full, possessive title is almost as obnoxious to acknowledge as “mother!” (review here) or “Se7en,” can clearly be corralled into that second category. Like the peers to its left, right, top, and bottom, the film follows a formula for pleasing a palate perfectly fine with ground beef boiled in a bag.  As long as a mouth expects the familiar taste of Taco Bell, “Truth or Dare’s” fast food flavor satiates a quick craving for scary movie simplicity. If you want filet mignon, well, you should know it doesn’t come from a drive thru window.

Rip the first page from Nondescript University’s yearbook and you’ll have the stereotypical students populating “Truth or Dare.”  First up is Olivia, the good girl so good, she can’t wait to spend spring break building houses with Habitat for Humanity.  Promiscuous blonde BFF Markie has a more exciting idea.  Since her smart girl status is already established anyway, Olivia ends up bolting across the border with Markie instead.  They’re accompanied by party girl Penelope, self-centered cynic Tyler, token homosexual Brad, horny joker Ronnie, and Markie’s boyfriend Lucas, whose mutually-shared interest in Olivia sharpens all three points on an awkward love triangle.

In a Rosarito Beach bar, Olivia meets Carter, who invites everyone to an eerie old mission for an after hours game of Truth or Dare.  Because nothing says guaranteed good time like following a stranger to an abandoned building at 2am while drunk in a foreign country.  Not only that, but on the list of ill-advised actions to take in a horror movie, playing games in a creepy church where a priest was murdered lands a notch above using a spirit board in an Indian burial ground (probably the plot of the next “Ouija” movie).

It turns out Carter was secretly playing Hot Potato by rope-a-doping the newcomers into taking ownership of a curse that afflicted his own friends.  Now Olivia and company are new pawns pitted against a devious demon in an unending supernatural cycle.  Forced to reveal uncomfortable truths or take dangerous dares, the game’s escalating evil is determined to tear up these college kids emotionally as well as physically.

“Truth or Dare” isn’t out to impress anyone with originality.  If it were, it would be in serious trouble.  Along the predictably plotted story path, we’re treated to such fright flick staples as a second act online research sequence and a third act visit with Old Woman Exposition (remember Lin Shaye in “Ouija?”).  Hey, if the first act filled in all the facts, where would any intrigue come from?

Certainly not from pat personalities or uncreative kills (at least three people die from single gunshots).  To be “fair,” a word that works as an adjective to describe just about everything regarding “Truth or Dare,” the movie knows it is a plain Big Mac in a bigger world of prime rib platters (apologies for mixing my food metaphors). And if I’m forced to pick ‘Truth,’ I must admit the cast and crew’s efforts earn exactly the C+ grade they set out to hit with their agenda of adequacy.

“Truth or Dare” locks into cruise control before the key turns in the ignition. Lucy Hale capably leads an attractive cast, the silly story has enough implausible imagination to be entertaining (how hilarious is it that this supernatural spirit’s endgame involves injecting ten Lifetime movies worth of soap opera drama into some unimportant relationships?), and straightforward directing ropes it all together with a tightly tied lasso.  Essentially, “Truth or Dare” hits for par at every hole on an unchallenging course.

As a critic, I can’t rank the film much higher or lower than “The Bye Bye Man” (review here), “Friend Request” (review here), or the 2017 “Truth or Dare” that aired on Syfy since they’re all cut from the same “college kids in paranormal jeopardy” cloth.  Choosing ‘Truth’ once again, I confess I couldn’t tell you the first thing about Syfy’s “Truth or Dare” (review here) without rereading my review, which I wrote only a few months ago.  This more or less obligates me to award “Truth or Dare” 2018 with the same three-star score.

That’s less an indicator of forgetfulness and more of a testament to how disposable “Truth or Dare,” 2017 or 2018, truly is.  But that’s a subgenre of horror all its own: a fun-size bite of a Milky Way offering momentary satisfaction, even though you’re right back in the Halloween candy sack looking for the next tasty treat.

Bottom line says you’re required to recognize where your circle overlaps in the diagram with the movie’s target audience.  15-year-olds having sleepovers need flighty PG-13 thrillers to make it through their evening, and they could do a lot worse than “Truth or Dare.” Who knows?  Maybe Blumhouse will aim higher with a sequel tailored to seasoned horror vets and we can look forward to “Truth or Dare: Origin of Evil.”

Review Score:  60

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