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As a horror movie virgin, I thought it was time to take advantage of a free showing of Truth or Dare — thanks to Universal Pictures at UF — to see what horror movie fun I’d been missing out on throughout the years.
The movie starts out with an unsuspecting group of six college kids on their last spring break of their lives. The characters party on the Mexican shorelines, drink by the ocean, and dance through the night — making it a picture-perfect spring break. Unfortunately, things take a turn when Olivia, one of the six spring breakers meets Carter. Carter convinces the entire group to travel to an abandoned mission. I’m by no means a horror movie expert, but even I could tell that was a bad idea.
As the night progresses, the group of spring breakers end up playing an innocent game of truth or dare. The problem is that the game stirs up some hidden feelings and harsh truths. Tensions are high as the group makes their way back to school. The group comes to find out the game of truth or dare isn’t over when their classmates start dying. “Don’t tell the truth and you die. Don’t do the dare and you die.” These rules are simple enough, but they come with some dire consequences. The remaining friends must find a way to end the game without ending up dead, which, as the movie progresses, proves to be a bit of a challenge.
Truth or Dare is exactly what it promises. It’s a movie that gives you a few good scares with the addition of some peeping-through-your-fingers kind of gore. The main characters, Oliva, Lucas, Markie, Penelope, and Tyson are best friends with a few big secrets. The movie is a horror flick, but it finds its heart within the tight bond these friends share with one another. The movie makes us question how far we’d go for our friends, and the answer is, pretty far.
The production company Blumhouse has produced films like Get Out, Insidious The Purge and now Truth or Dare, putting Truth or Dare up with some of our generations most classic horror films. Truth or Dare has some jump scares here and there but the real horror comes from the knot of anticipation in your stomach and the in the grip of fear the person next to you has on your hand. Part of the fun in seeing a horror movie is seeing it in theatres with people just as freaked out as you. If you have the chance, see a scary movie with an entire movie theatre full of college students, do it. It’s loud, uncomfortable, and full of weirdly funny commentary.
With stars like Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey, this movie had my teenage drama heart feeling very full. Hale and Posey, along with the other actors of this film kept the tension pulsating through each absurd and dangerous situation. I genuinely would feel a twinge of hurt at some of these character deaths, because these actors made their friendships believable. A few of these character deaths are not for the faint of heart. It’s PG-13 rating keeps anything too graphic out of the mix but be on the lookout for some nasty truth or dare situations.
The movie’s drama isn’t just connected to the crazy monster that’s coming after the characters, it also comes from within the friend group itself. Each character has their own secrets which adds to the suspense. The lies between the characters spark tension worthy of TV shows like Pretty Little Liars or Teen Wolf. I personally live for drama, so I really enjoyed this added part of the movie.
Overall, Truth or Dare is horror movie fun. I don’t have much experience in the land of the creepy and the crawly, but I truly enjoyed this movie. The movie doesn’t answer life’s most important questions, but it’s entertaining in a way that it keeps your full attention. I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see when the next person would be bombarded by one those Snapchat-joker-esque smiles asking for a truth or dare.
Truth or Dare will make the hairs on your arm stand up, but so far, it’s yet to produce any late-night nightmares on my end. If you’re a horror movie fanatic or just looking for some entertainment, you should check out this film. It premieres today, Friday, April 13. I suggest bringing a few friends for some extra hands to squeeze onto and to buy a bucket of popcorn to snack on for the drama!