After the success of the horror films Get Out, Happy Death Day, and Split, Blumhouse Productions has returned with an all new story that will terrify and delight audiences. Starring Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars, Life Sentence) as Olivia and Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) as Lucas, the film follows a group of college seniors venturing out to Mexico for their last spring break endeavor. After a night of partying and fun, what starts off as a seemingly harmless game of “Truth or Dare” turns into a nightmare that Olivia and her friends are unable to escape. The game follows the group, interferes with their daily lives and forces them to continue playing or else they will encounter lethal repercussions.
On April 5th, we had the pleasure of seeing an advanced screening of Truth or Dare at Westfield AMC Century City. Following the screening, we were treated to participating in a college roundtable interview with the two A-list stars, who shared their own thoughts about the movie.
From the beginning to the end, Truth or Dare kept me at the edge of my seat—to say that it was intense is an understatement. The film brings major fear factor and includes a great blend of thrill, action and humor. Director Jeff Wadlow reveals in the production notes, “We knew it would be crucial to walk the line and make the stakes feel very real among these friends but also give the audience permission to laugh at the right moments.” The game tests friendships and brings out the worst in several of the characters, revealing the selfishness that may be inherent in humanity.
During the interview, Hale shared how her time as Aria in Pretty Little Liars helped her in her role as Olivia. “Definitely 8 years of that (PLL) made me feel really comfortable with the filming of a movie like this. There’s some parallels between Aria and Olivia: friendship is really important to them, they both become really brave and they’re selfless.” About this specific character’s development, she explained, “Olivia’s arc was really cool. She has the best of intentions, and it just goes to show how a really horrible situation can alter your priorities. By the ending, she’s a completely different person—she still has the strong morals of loving her friends and being selfless but in a different way. And unless you’re actually confronted with the situation itself, you really don’t know how you’ll act.”
In describing the message of the film regarding humans and their survival instinct, Posey expressed, “We wanted to represent that balance of humanity while also dealing with trying to survive on your own and not becoming too selfish with your life.” He added, “It’s smart for Blumhouse to always try something risky and push the envelope a little bit. Really cool ending and leaves it open for a possible sequel.” The two stars were attracted to the brilliance of the script. Hale claimed,“It’s hard to make a good horror film [but] there’s a good mix of comedy and horror in this one. This is not your typical horror film.” Posey agreed, saying, “One thing I love about filmmaking is that you’re trying to make it as real as possible. That definitely had a lot of influence to why I wanted to do this role.”
Although the movie certainly frightened me, I still enjoyed it, and it was so much fun hearing other people in the audience scream with me! Truth or Dare will be out in theaters on April 13. Make sure to go check it out!