Cursed by a diabolical plot
AS I WAS trudging out of this very silly movie, a friend dared me to give it five stars. Instead, I told the truth: that I wasn’t sure whether it even deserved two.
Most of us have played a variation of the playground game Truth or Dare. At my primary school we called it Kiss, Command, Dare, Truth or Promise, which would have been a bit long-winded for the film posters.
I remember it fondly, mainly because it yielded a peck on the lips with the object of my nineyear-old ardour, Helen Plumtree.
But here it is given a sinister twist by a curse that follows a bunch of American college kids back to their campus from a spooky old church in Mexico.
A generous interpretation of this film might be that it offers some insight into the crimes committed by psychologically- damaged people who claim to be obeying voices in their heads. But that would be giving it credit it really doesn’t deserve.
On paper, the premise behind most horror films can look a bit daft. On screen, the better ones overcome this with the power of the story-telling, and all those cinematic tricks that make us jump out of our seats. Last year’s brilliant Get Out is a good example, and this film comes from the same Blumhouse production stable. But in the hands of director and co-writer Jeff Wadlow, it does not even begin to evolve in the same way.
Unhelpfully, the protagonists are little more than adjective-driven caricatures: Olivia (Lucy Hale) is gleamingly virtuous while her best friend Markie (violett Beane) is a bit naughty.
Olivia is secretly in love with Markie’s hunky boyfriend Lucas (Tyler Posey). Brad (Hayden Szeto) is gay. Tyson ( Nolan Gerard Funk) is arrogant.
The curse afflicts them each in turn. Invariably, one of their friends turns fleetingly diabolical, all but sprouting horns, and forces them into telling a truth or performing a dare. If they don’t play along, they die.
Now, this might be a spoiler, but you need to know what you’re letting yourself in for. One of Olivia’s devilish dares is that she must sleep with dishy Lucas.
yes, this is a horror film evidently crossed with an episode of Made In Chelsea, and is every bit as ghastly as that sounds.