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REVIEW: Don’t Dismiss Syfy’s ‘Truth or Dare’

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A party game gets nasty when a supernatural force takes its turn in the effective and partly unsettling Truth or Dare which will air on Syfy, yes Syfy on October 8.

Don’t be quick to dismiss this little film because of the venue, there’s plenty to like in its just under 90-minute runtime.

At first you’ll notice some character tropes being pursued but are never fleshed-out, filmmakers seemingly know you have met these characters before so why bother?

But this is a good thing because the movie wastes no time in getting to the good stuff.

Here’s the setup: A group of eight college students rent a house rumored to be haunted. The token soothsayer tells the group they are there to see if things “really go bump in the night” because the ghost that haunts the house was the loser of an evil game of truth or dare in the late 80’s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoP0QokQNH0​

Drinking alcohol from red Solo cups and gathered in the parlor, the group decides to repeat history and play the game on their own. Because how cool would that be?

At first, girls are dared to kiss, which they do, but things turn frighteningly awkward when one of the questions reveals a secret. The player initially lies which sets off a phantom text to everyone’s cellphone calling her out.

Distraught they look through the rest of cards, now written with an incorporeal hand to discover dares asking them to do violent things to themselves or each other, or face the consequences.

“Do the dare or the dare does you” it reads.

That is immediately put into play when one unlucky friend is tasked to put his hands on a red-hot stovetop.

He ignores it, but supernatural forces create circumstances in which he lands palm-first on the active surface element, causing his hand to peel away like taffy.

Another card asks that one of the girls then eat the burnt flesh left behind on the stove. Repulsed the girl refuses but the house eventually gets its way by shutting them in and blocking their cellphone signals. Even windows are impervious to their attempts at breaking out.

Everyone gets a turn, each request more dangerous, an added time limit gets things claustrophobic.

There aren’t just dares to do, truths are also a part of the game, with a disclaimer: “you lie you die”

A player learns this the hard way, the sacrifice finally allows the group outside the house, but the game isn’t over yet.

Truth or Dare is fun as soon as it reels you in and that’s pretty much from the get-go. I appreciated the brevity in some of the character development, the actors doing fine without a complicated backstory.

The accidents aren’t as serendipitous as in Final Destination, but some get really brutal as the movie goes on.

Original Nightmare on Elm Street alumna Heather Langenkamp makes an appearance, this time it is she who is facially scarred. Her purpose is to give exposition on what needs to happen to beat the ghost at its own game.

Her cameo left me yearning to see this understated actress in other projects.

Bloody, cringeworthy and fast-paced and body parts as collateral, the final 30-minutes of Truth or Dare is not for the squeamish. Director Nick Simon knows how to trigger viewers to watch with their eyes-through-their-fingers, and let’s just say novices to the genre are going to have a rough time in the final bloody reel.

Double-dipping into past genre storylines with characters to spare, Truth or Dare still satisfies thanks to good acting, piano wire tension and the conscious desire to find out how it all ends.

No spoilers here, but the finale is unusually intelligent for this type of genre, leaving open the wonderful possibility of a sequel or hopefully a successful franchise.

Truth or Dare is set to premiere on SyFy, October 8th 9 pm/8 pm central.

Truth or Dare stars  Cassandra ScerboBrytni SarpyMason Dye, Harvey Guillen, Alexxis Lemire, Luke Baines, Ricardo Hoyos, Christina Masterson and Heather Langenkamp.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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