REVIEW: Truth Or Dare plays an average horror movie game, and not always by the right rules

REVIEW: Truth or Dare is a very average horror movie carrying a very average premise. No crime in that. Sometimes it’s just all about the scares. There are a few here, but not enough to matter.

scene from Truth or Dare (2018). an NBC Universal films release.

TRUTH OR DARE (M)

Rating: two stars (2 out of 5)

Director: Jeff Wadlow (Kick Ass 2)

Starring: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Sophia Ali, Sam Lerner, Hayden Szeto.

A game no-one wants to prey

In Truth or Dare, we are faced with a very average horror movie carrying a very average premise.

No crime in that. Sometimes it’s just all about the scares.

To be honest, Truth or Dare does have a few worthwhile shocks to the system to administer. Not quite enough to warrant dropping everything and rushing to the nearest cinema, but, hey, they are indeed there.

When in deep paranormal trouble, the internet is always there to help ... not. A scene from Truth or Dare, new in cinemas this week.

The initial plotting does show some potential, albeit briefly.

After a holiday in Mexico, a group of young friends haul home a fatal curse linked to the famous game mentioned in the title.

The curse visually manifests itself in a way that the filmmakers may have erred in assuming anyone would find truly frightening (particularly in repeated doses) : whenever it strikes, a bystander’s head will briefly warp like a bad Snapchat filter into a grotesque caricature of a human cranium.

The curse of the crappy Snapchat Filter takes hold again in Truth or Dare.

After that, anyone who does not spill the beans or take a chance as requested can expect to die a gruesome and instant death. Usually by their own hand.

It is this last factor that raises a red flag on Truth or Dare, which continually exhibits a tactlessly cavalier (bordering on harmful) attitude to youth suicide.

That one very worrying problem aside, the movie is no better or worse than the recent Insidious flick.

However, real horror fans would be better off trying the magnificent A Quiet Place for a second time than giving this tired fare a first look.

(Center) LUCY HALE and TYLER POSEY lead the cast of "Truth or Dare," a supernatural thriller from Blumhouse Productions. A harmless game of "Truth or Dare" among friends turns deadly when someone—or something—begins to punish those who tell a lie—or refuse the dare.

Originally published as REVIEW: Truth Or Dare plays an average horror movie game, and not always by the right rules