Truth or Dare [2017] (2/5)

Truth or Dare is on Netflix now, but it was originally a SyFy horror movie production. And yes, it follows the same concept as the 2018 movie with the identical title. Even if the plot differs quite a bit!

Also, this 2017 version of Truth or Dare has a Sharknado star as the lead. This is hardly surprising since the Sharknado franchise is also a SyFy production.

Cassandra Scerbo as “The Final Girl”?

The aforementioned star from the Sharknado movie franchise is Cassandra Scerbo. And of course, her being one of the only actors with some recognition, she is the obvious final girl.

But does Truth or Dare choose the obvious character to be “The Final Girl”? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out. We’re not going to do spoilers about that here.

And don’t worry if you don’t know Cassandra Scerbo. You should still be happy with her performance in this movie.

The problem isn’t the actors – though they’re not all particularly impressive. Some actors seem to have watched a bit too much of Luke Perry’s wrinkled forehead as inspiration for “the worried look”. It doesn’t come across well at all.

A “Truth or Dare” Demon

Honestly, the storyline in this 2017 version of Truth or Dare is incredibly lackluster. The opening scene is almost the most interesting part since we still don’t know just how silly the concept is.

The story lacks some imagination and intensity… along with basic common sense!

Basically, we’re dealing with some kind of Truth or Dare demon. The demon creates the dares along with very few truth requests. Oh, and contrary to the normal rules of truth or dare, it’s not actually a question.

As in; You don’t get to choose whether you want truth or dare. I mean, WTF?! Then it’s not actually that game being played.

Watch it for Heather Langenkamp

For all the things this movie doesn’t have going for it, it does have Heather Langenkamp. The Nightmare on Elm Street star has a small, but important, role in the movie. And honestly, you could watch it just for her. She’s just a horror icon and I wish we could see her in more movies.

Also read: Our review of Home (2016) starring Heather Langenkamp

Truth or Dare was directed by Nick Simon. He also directed The Girl in the Photograph from 2015.  We weren’t thrilled with that movie either. Here’s our review of The Girl in the Photograph.

The concepts of both stories have definite potential, but the stories tend to lack that final edge. Also, both movies feature really good performances and some less intriguing ones.

In this movie, the girls were generally awesome at being badass. At least towards the end, anyway! Especially Brytni Sarpy and Cassandra Scerbo made the last half of the movie a lot better than what I expected after the first 15 minutes.

Honestly, there’s no doubt that Nick Simon loves the horror genre. Maybe one of his next movies will really deliver something new and innovative.

Truth or Dare (in this 2017 SyFy version) is available on Netflix in the US now!

Details

Director: Nick Simon
Writers: Thommy Hutson, Ethan Lawrence
Cast: Cassandra Scerbo, Brytni Sarpy, Mason Dye, Harvey Guillen, Alexxis Lemire, Luke Baines, Ricardo Hoyos, Christina Masterson, Heather Langenkamp

Plot

Eight college friends head to a “Haunted Rental” for Halloween. But when they replay the game that made the house infamous, they awaken an evil spirit intent on stealing their souls.