Truth or Dare? has been given a seriously bad reputation when it comes to horror movies, and in a way, the movie did earn this distinction. The trailer made a lot of promises that weren’t entirely kept, and worse than that, what could have been a great and wide-reaching horror movie became kind of a joke that didn’t have a fitting punchline. It could have though since at the end of the movie there was a feeling that things could keep going and going given the nature of humanity. The fact is that people can’t avoid looking at something interesting, it’s been proven time and time again. Even if what people are looking at is utterly horrific, or if it’s something that will doom them in one way or another, people have to look. That’s the thing about Truth or Dare, it could have been an epidemic that would lead into a pandemic very easily, especially with the tenuous balance between belief and disbelief that comes from being human. People want to believe in something and they want to be entertained, but a lot of folks, be it in a horror movie or real life, don’t want to believe that something beyond their understanding could be real unless, of course, it means that it might benefit them in some way.
That point could be debated no doubt, but the fact of this movie is that it could have been something more far-reaching and intimately terrifying since the effect that happens when someone is picked for a dare or has, to tell the truth, is absolutely horrifying since once the spirit, Calux, takes control of those around the individual that’s fated to go next, there’s no escape. Plus, the method of ending the game is so brutal that many human beings would never dare to attempt such a thing. Self-mutilation isn’t something that a lot of people are into on the level that it would take to end this particular game.
But thinking of how far this movie could have gone is kind of enticing since trying to imagine how it would go is kind of creepy given that it would strike at any moment. While the epidemic would be spotty without any doubt, it would still be devastating since self-preservation is strong in a lot of people and it can make a coward out of even the bravest individuals. If people thought that V/H/S: Viral was bad, this movie would likely be even worse since it would happen in a manner that wasn’t so blatant and out in the open, since if people recall, Calux makes certain that only the affected person can tell what’s going on at that moment, and everything goes back to normal once the truth or the dare is completed. The worst part is that it would appear that Calux can use anyone that’s nearby and can create the effect of possessing several people at a time. That alone would be enough to drive some people out of their minds, and if this movie is ever rebooted it’s a hope that the dares and truths would be just as devastating, if not more so.
It could be the fact the actual game of Truth or Dare is kind of silly and thought of as a game for kids, or for people that are bound to keep things within safe parameters if they’re adults. But there’s a serious flaw with this game, as it lends itself easily to those that have a score to settle or have a vendetta against another person that might be playing the game. This was seen in the movie after all, and it’s more than evident that some of the things that people try to hide from others could be brought out and used against them in a manner that would wreck their lives or end them entirely. But think of this hitting the internet and going viral, and then imagine what might happen on a global scale. With the use of social media, it would be something that would affect thousands of people in an instant, and the death toll would be astronomical in a short period.
It’s not hard to understand how Truth or Dare kind of failed to grip people and keep them watching, but if a few things had been done differently it could have escaped the confines of its own premise a lot quicker and become something that would spiral out of control. That might have been the opposite of what was desired, but the fact is that what the audience got was a decent beginning to an idea that didn’t culminate until the end of the movie when it was obvious that YouTube was going to deliver the message in a way that word of mouth couldn’t.
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