Movie Review: Would You Rather (2012)
Synopsis: Strapped for cash and taking care of a sick brother who needs a bone marrow transfusion, Iris agrees to attend a dinner party thrown by a wealthy philanthropist in the hopes he will give her money and move her brother to the top of the donor list. What she doesn’t know is she and seven other guests must first compete in a sadistic version of the game, Would You Rather, until only one person is left alive.
Who's in it? The movie stars Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, Lawrence Gillard Jr., Sasha Grey, John Heard and Robin Lord Taylor.
Review: After another family Mario Kart night, my wife and daughters were still in bed, giving me some free time this morning. I wasn't in the mood to watch another television rerun and instead decided to re-watch Would You Rather. This was not a decision I regretted.
I love psychological thrillers, at least when they are done correctly, and this film does everything right. The game that is played, while relatively simple, opened up a lot of potential. The various choices the players had to make (under the threat of being shot) started out relatively mild (should you shock yourself or another player?) but increased with each turn and eventually became fatal. Even Iris (Snow) wasn’t immune to this and took her fair share of the punishment, despite the fact there were times when their host (Combs) seemed to be giving her a little more of an advantage over the other players.
Adding to the excitement was the fact the majority of the players weren’t content just being pawns and, on occasion, would rise up, try to end the game and escape. As I’ve said in the past, movies like this are always better when the villain has an opportunity to prove his dominance. Each time they failed to escape, or an attempted collective resistance collapsed, it just added to the sense of hopelessness.
One thing that surprised me about this movie was it wasn’t as gruesome as I was expecting it to be. Even though the various dares (such as holding a lit firecracker or slashing your eye out) had that potential, the movie did keep the actual blood and gore to a reasonable minimum. The filmmakers seemed to understand films like this don't need excessive gore because the suspense and anxiety are more than enough.
My only real complaint about the film was the ending was a little predictable. When Iris was given her final choice, her decision really wasn’t as much of a surprise as I think the writers were hoping it would be. It also isn't overly difficult to predict the ironic twist thrown in at the very end. Fortunately, the rest of the film was entertaining enough to make up for the somewhat weak ending.
Final Opinion: This is a solid horror movie that puts the focus on the psychological elements of a deadly game. It's a movie I've enjoyed twice and would recommend.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2012:
Movie Review: Dead Souls (2012)
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