Movie Review: Truth or Dare (2018)

The movie stars Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Sophia Ali and Landon Liboiron.

I actually forgot this movie was on our Netflix DVD queue until we received it in the mail a few days ago and, when it did, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. While I didn't necessarily think it was going to be a bad movie, my wife and I watched a similarly-titled film not that long ago and I wasn't sure if this was going to be different enough from that one to make it worth watching.

However, since our Direct TV was knocked out by some bad weather, we decided to take the time to watch this last night. Overall, I thought it was a good movie.

While there were some similarities between this film and the one we already watched, there were also just enough differences (and not just because of the better-known cast) to make this movie somewhat unique.

One thing, in particular, I found I liked better about this film was the way the characters weren't just forced to focus on the dares. Yes, the entity that controlled the game did prevent them from choosing "truth" more than two times in a row. But, the fact they had to tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets made things a lot more interesting because of the tension it had the potential to cause, especially when it came to the potential love triangle between Olivia (Hale), her best friend Markie (Beane) and Markie's boyfriend, Lucas (Posey).

The movie also wasn't nearly as predictable as I thought it would be. There were times when I thought a certain character, especially the alcoholic Penelope (Ali) was going to die completing a dare only to have them, by some sort of miracle, survive. And, I have to admit, the ending of this film was definitely something I didn't see coming.

Another thing that surprised me about this movie is it didn't focus as much on blood and gore as I was expecting it to. Sure, there were some scenes that made me cringe. But, the movie seemed to focus a lot more on the psychological aspect of the game by creating dares (and truths) that would either ruin a player's life or, at minimum, drive a wedge between friends. Even the movie's one sex scene seemed a lot less gratuitous because it ultimately fit the overall theme perfectly.

In fact, if there were a sequel, I probably would watch it. And, I don't say that very often.

I was a bit worried I wouldn't like this movie. But, even though I've seen another one with the same title and a similar plot, I did enjoy it and would recommend it as a result.

My Grade: A