Would You Rather (2012) User Reviews

Interesting, bit of a let down though

[empressoftheflames · 5/10 · 17 March 2013]

The trailer had really impressed me so I was expecting to be blown away but I guess that the Saw franchise has raised the expectations regarding acts of self mutilation to a new level. The point of this movie was to showcase "decision making in its rawest form" something the Saw movies have already done. The main difference is that these people were dumb enough to come to the staging area by their own choice because they were eager to get their hands on lots of charity money instantly. In the Saw movies you pity the victims despite the sins of their past because they are thrown into awful traps by force. Here less sympathy is invoked and less of a point is made.

The plot is simple really. The protagonist Iris has a little brother who is dying of Leukemia and she's desperate to save him. The answer to all her problems is a dinner party game, with 7 other contestants, at the end of which the winner will receive financial help from the wealthy Lambrick foundation. The game is revealed to be 'Would You Rather' only the stakes are deadly and players must act out their choice. Combining something as elegant as a dinner party with the crude tasks forced up the guests produces a uniquely creepy atmosphere and it is pretty much all the movie has going for itself.

There are quite a few downsides to this movie.

1. We don't get to know the motives of everyone at the table or even understand their characters so we are minimally involved. The son of the benefactor and the doctor who is a previous victor of the game don't add much to the movie's plot or act as any kind of inventive twist.

2. The challenges should be new, inventive and unforeseeable to be impacting but none of the options are very original. In fact a few of deaths gave reason for doubt if something like that could kill/damage a person as much as the film shows it does.

3. Some of the options made me think that anyone in their right mind would just let the enforcers of the game shoot them in the head, a relatively painless way to die, than go through with their 'task'.

4. I feel like the movie should have made room for a little bit of happiness so the contrast would be more effective. For example if someone had left before the game started, it would've made everyone feel envious and idiotic. It also would have satisfied the audience if they knew that at least one of these characters has a brain.

5. There is no satisfaction or sense of accomplishment at the end of the movie thanks to its not-that-surprising twist. Iris's victory seemed to come pretty believably and easily (the game was specifically targeted at some of the others unfairly).

6. There isn't as much tension and anticipatory build up as you would imagine. The movie doesn't meet the standard it says it will.

I'm not going to talk about the cinematography and lightning because I don't have much critical expertise in those areas but the script could have used some work. The pace of the movie was tolerable. The transition from refusal to willingly hurt others and trying to escape together to survival of the strong mentality was also fitting. In a way the movie was too short (it could have used extra time to let us get to know the characters and involve more tasks) but on the other hand I was waiting for it to end already (because it wasn't doing much for me).

Is this movie going to scare you? Probably not. Will it stir some empathy in you? Maybe. Will it entertain a horror fan? I doubt it. It doesn't display as much gore as a Final Destination movie and its not as suspenseful as a Scream movie. It's a mediocre thriller in my opinion. I'd say anyone 15 and above can stomach it. It'll kill an hour and half of your time. I'd definitely recommend Stay Alive or Saw over this. I'd recommend this over Cabin Fever or 1408. Now after reading my review would you rather watch Would You Rather or watch something else? The choice is yours.

A highly underrated film

[borismk-38942 · 7/10 · 16 November 2018]

People don't seem to really like this movie, but I think that's because it shows us a side of human nature we don't really want to see. In the ultimate position of chosing to help others or throw them under the bus for our own sake, most people don't want to admit which choice they'd take. An excellent film that shows us that our morality is ultimately as flexible as our circumstances dictate

Passable film

[crazykittieboy · 6/10 · 4 November 2013]

Would You Rather takes an interesting look at a common children's game, playing it for the delight of a rich man with far too much money. The plot tells a story of a young girl whose younger brother lives with her after her parents have passed on, leaving nothing but mounting debt. Her brother is dying, her house has been sold, and ever job lead seems to fall through. One day somebody offers to pay for everything and find her brother a donor, at a price.

This being said, the piece was decently acted, standouts being that of Sasha Grey and the always delightful Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator). The movie found ways to make you cringe without ever resorting to full on sight gore, the worst parts were left heavily to the imagination. This was a film that actually benefited from a lower budget, seeing that in a heavy budget one might be forced to see the over usage of all the stunts.

The movie is certainly not without its faults, first and most prominently is the lack of a decent score. The film never really utilizes music to draw you in, which is especially noticeable at the beginning and end of the film. The ending also felt so flat that it could hardly produce sympathy from the audience, an attempt to cater to the twist-necessitating crowd that has been delved since Saw's low budget first film hit our eyes. Unfortunately, it is such a negative that it makes one wonder if the whole damn first 30 minutes of the film were worth anything. This also repeats itself with a worthless subplot involving the doctor. The amount of filler placed within this movie alone degrades it, and unfortunately tampers an otherwise great horror gem to unnecessary viewing.

For all the gripes, though, the film does its job when it finally gets there. If I were to simply judge the 2nd act of this film it would get an easy 9, however, that being said, I believe a 6 is not only fair but accurate.

Fun Character Study

[gregsrants · 7/10 · 31 March 2013]

Sadistic wealthy people always spell trouble for the downtrodden or down on their luck. 13 Tzameti, Hard Target and Hostel are all good examples of the wealthy torturing and killing the less fortunate for the purpose of their own entertainment.

The latest such cinematic example is Would You Rather. Starring Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect), Sasha Grey (my personal hard drive), Robb Wells (Hobo with a Shotgun), and John Heard (Home Alone), Would You Rather gathers a group of strangers for a wealthy aristocrat, played by Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) who pits his guests against each other in sadistic games where they have to choose between two options – each of which can either cause pain or death to themselves or another guest.

So guests are put in awkward positions of having to decide whether to electrocute themselves or someone else or whether to whip a guest or stab another. Attempt to leave the game and you will be shot. Take too long to decide on the lesser of the two options and you will be killed. The goal is to become the last person standing and the reward differs on the needs of each individual.

The main character to which the movie focuses around the table is Iris (Snow). She agrees to be part of the unrevealed game in an effort to provide for her ailing brother. She is the first to be tested with an offer to eat portions of a steak in return for $1,000 (being a vegetarian, it was a tough decision). But as the evening draws further, Iris and the others will be forced to make decisions inflicting unspeakable pain towards the other participants.

Stealing the movie is Combs. He commands a presence at the top of the table and his evil is believable in large thanks to his charismatic and demented portrayal of sadistic Shepard Lambrick.

The movie doesn't offer a lot of 'What would you do in the same situation'? There is little hope or much choice as the game progresses. Still, the script by Steffen Schlachtenhaufen (Primal) is interesting enough in various character developments.

Not likely to make many Top 10 lists by year's end, Would You Rather still offers valued entertainment and a few good self-inflicted wounds along the way.

www.killerreviews.com

Great idea !

[TinyThoughts · 6/10 · 22 November 2020]

Would you rather has a great idea, bad execution.

Acting is just plain bad, at Sachas part, terribly, even though she has a lot of 'acting' career.

The story starts off well, but then it just becomes awful, it still keeps you interested if it's your kind of movie.

Even though, its good late night entertainment, i liked the ending.

Good for small money production !

Not the worst but seriously unsurprising

[Tcarts76 · 5/10 · 24 July 2013]

"Would You Rather," is a decent, low budget. thriller about desperate people put in horrible situations for the entertainment of a wealthy sadist.

Brittany Snow is a decent actress, but this definitely wasn't her best effort. The movie plot was OK, and I did appreciate that they didn't just go with the usual copy "Saw" plot that most of these movies use. That being said, the things that happen in this movie are just a bit lacking in creativity. The script was pretty lame, and there was generally a lot more needed to build some suspense and really make it memorable on any real level. Ex pornstar Sasha Grey is in this movie. She looks beautiful, but again the script was just way too lean to see if she could really act (I give her a pass on the bad reviews of "The Girlfriend Experience" because it was a Soderbergh movie, and I hate his movies anyway).

All in all, I give it all a 5. To me Brittany Snow and Jeffrey Combs are good enough actor that could have made it decent with a good script, and a bit better writing. The twist at the end was pretty standard and not surprising at all. It's decent if you have nothing else to watch.

Offers nothing new to an overdone theme, but does it well.

[horrormoviegrl · 6/10 · 21 August 2014]

And as confusing as that may sound, I stand by it firmly.

Would You Rather's main plot lines have been done time and time again... Helpless protagonist struggles with own morals after being thrust into a lose-lose situation.

Been there. Seen that.

But that being said, Would You Rather is an extremely well made movie in the realm of cinematography, character development, and pacing. No cheap thrills or gore-for-the-sake-of-gore here -- which in itself is always refreshing when it comes to modern horror movies.

There were a few unique twists and turns, but not enough to call it a strikingly original feature.

I would still recommend this as a watch, if only on a day you can't find anything decidedly better and really need to get your horror fix. Not entirely unsatisfying, but not as effective as it would have been if only a bit of originality were at play.

I Would Rather Not

[janetissocoollike · 1/10 · 24 October 2015]

If you want to hate yourself for an hour and thirty three minutes then boy oh boy do I have the movie for you. A rich man continuously sucks his own wee-wee and has a group of people sit in a room and watch him do it. Everyone goes around and watches him do it while acting like this guy was totally trustworthy from the start. This ho GAVE YOU THE CHANCE to leave and ya'll said no and then the second he looks the door you're all like "wahhh i wanna leave :(" UHHHH shoulda said that five seconds ago, bich. DR. LET'S TALK ABOUT DR. Bich. Did. Nothing. Same with the damn son. He doesn't do a damn thing for the "plot" and just sits there with his stupidly long nose. Every character has a five second back story that doesn't make you give a damn about the characters and screw Amy. Just screw Amy. I don't like her so don't even try to tell me you like her. Don't care. Main girl: by the way you got stabbed. React about it why don't you?? The son didn't need to be there either. The bich didn't even wear a god dam tie for the damn occasion. LIVE A LITTLE, MAN. He doesn't even know how to act around women cause his mom died. WHY DIDN'T YOUR DAD TEACH YOU TO JUST NOT RAPE. And Lucas. Screw Lucas he didn't do anything worthwhile anyway. White knight bich. 0/10 Needed more Travis.

Not As Terrible As One Might Expect

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 3 July 2013]

Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman (Brittany Snow) unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat (Jeffrey Combs).

There are two issues I have with this film that I would like to get out of the way from the beginning: first, the complete implausibility of the whole thing. The plot assumes that none of the guests told their friends or families where they were going, and that somehow everyone involved can keep quiet about the events. This seems beyond the realm of possibility, but for the sake of the story, I would let it slide.

Second, I have mixed feelings about the score. While some of it was excellent, other parts seems very repetitive and overpowered the film itself. I might even go so far as to say it deserved a better rating if the music was toned down.

That being said, there are plenty of good things to say about the film. The overall concept is very chilling, and far more disturbing than the average horror film. Some might put this in the "torture porn" subgenre of horror, but I felt like it never sunk to the depths of "Hostel" or the later "Saw" films. If anything, the structure was more like "13" (2010). These are events that could happen (again, if we ignore the overall implausibility) rather than a man who stalks us in our dreams.

The doctor subplot was excellent, and well-scripted. It was possibly the best part. Jeffrey Combs was nice to see, actually getting more than a cameo. Stealing the show, though, was Sasha Grey, an actress who made her name in the adult film business (the one in a million who an successfully make the transition). Her character (Amy) is the wild card that brings the situation towards complete chaos, and that is where the game gets challenging.

No masterpiece by any means, but with the right editing, this could have been a slightly stronger film. Either way, it was still better than half of the movies I see...

Would You Rather Watch Something Else?

[galahad58-1 · 3/10 · 26 May 2016]

A truly bad movie from start to finish. A movie about a rich family who makes people hurt others to gain rewards. Usually movies with that type of theme have people make choices to see who is good at their core, but this one has nothing like that within it. This movie is just about a sadistic family who makes people stab, shoot, etc. others for no apparent reason.

The only interesting character was Amy who was the coldest character at the table. The rest of the cast was forgettable.

The script (even the game) was beyond bad.

Not worth watching.

A sickening experience

[UniqueParticle · 8/10 · 1 November 2020]

Demented underrated horror movie about a group of people play a game of Would You Rather to try to win money. I've only seen once before and even then it disturbed me; very effective treat I'd say! Delectable twisted game that is shocking and fairly entertaining!

The most dangerous game

[mdnobles19 · 7/10 · 22 February 2013]

Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.

Would You Rather is a leading contender of the most angst and depressing filled horror film of 2013. The film is like a different variation of a Saw film but meatier, more suspenseful and old-fashioned with not much bloodshed. It's also like a deadlier version of MTV's Silent Library. The film raises a lot of questions on human nature and how far would you go for a huge chunk of cash or help a gravely ill loved one, which leads to shocking results. Are you ready to witness the most dangerous game? The performances were gripping and darkly humorous. Brittany Snow gives her most emotionally challenging performance to date, she should definitely do more horror movies, and she was great! Brittany plays Iris, a young woman who recently lost both of her parents and is left caring for her ailing brother Raleigh. Iris soon meets with his doctor to see what she can do to help with the medical cost, the doctor then introduces her to a wealthy aristocrat, Shepard Lambrick who wants to help her with her struggles. Iris agrees to his offer and meets him at his mansion for a business dinner to make a deal, but she is unaware though that it's a deathtrap that leads to the sinister game of Would You Rather. Jeffrey Combs was wickedly entertaining as the sadistic, cruel and unusual host Shepard Lambrick, but at the same time you wanted to punch him in the face. The supporting players were pretty solid as well that includes Enver Gjokaj, Sasha Grey, John Heard and Robin Tayler who plays Julian, the creepy and sociopath son of Shepard Lambrick. They were all pretty effective in their small roles.

Director, David Guy Levy who's only done one full-length film before this one, gets the job done with rigorous effect. The director grabs you and throws you into this demented game of survival of the fittest and accomplishes more when it come to this type of film than directors who have been doing this for years. He creates a dread filled and suffocating atmosphere that reminds me of Hostel but just not all up in your face about it. The suspense was unrelenting and the finale was harsh and a punch in the gut, it was frustrating and a case of the blues that will linger with you long after it's over. Writer, Steffen Schlachtenhaufen also impressed me as this is also his second effort and creates a confronting script, with wicked, dark humor thrown in for good measure. Steffen seemed inspired and influenced by horror movies of the past as well as present and adds his own touch to it, even though it's not all too original. I'm interested to see their next effort. I also love the poster; it's simple, retro and accurate.

Overall, Would You Rather is a game of greed and survival at its most twisted. The performances were great, the suspense was there, the story gripping, the kills brutal but not over the top. The characters though had so many chances to fight back against their captors, it became frustrating and draining but the film as a whole mostly accomplished what it set out to do. It will crawl under your skin and stay there for days and for a horror movie that's gold. Recommended! 7 out of 10

Supposed to be bad; actually excels at it.

[danielgtr · 1/10 · 29 November 2015]

I started watching this shortly before midnight. I can't emphasize enough how bad I feel for wasting 90 minutes of quality bed time with this movie. It had a powerful potential, a few nice actors, and the right characters. But halfway through the movie, everything goes south. Sasha Grey, in this particular movie, is an astoundingly horrible actress. She shouldn't be casted at all. And furthermore, the best characters are treated like sh*t. Travis, the Iraq vet, is by far the most charismatic character in the movie - yet, he is the first to get screwed over. The old lady, the one I luckily can't remember the name, also gets an amazingly badly- written ending. And, to add it all up, the main character proves herself to be a full compilation of curse words. She can't be described in a single review. Fortunately, she gets something that probably sends her to her own personal green mile. I hope there's a sequel dedicated to the moment she probably commits suicide. Overall, this is the first movie I ever thought I'd say it's so bad, that it is actually bad. A solid one-starrer.

THERE IS A PROCESS INVOLVED

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 21 July 2018]

Iris (Brittany Snow) has a brother who needs a bone marrow transplant. The creepy Shepard Lambrick (Jeffrey Combs) offers to pay for it if she wins a game of a sadistic "would you rather," one that we quickly discover is played to the death. 8 people are assembled in a dining room and forced at gun point. Since Iris is the only person we know anything about, everyone but Scooby-Doo can figure this one out.

Amy, played by porn star Sasha Grey, is an aggressive player who immediately plays to win. Shepard has an obnoxious son (Robin Taylor) who insults the players.

There is a fairly decent intensity factor with this film, but it really doesn't stimulate the grey matter. The whole set up is rather inane. If you like the "ten little Indians" style movies with slasher elements, this one is satisfactory as long as you keep your expectations low. Perhaps 5 stars on a Red Box rental scale.

If you liked this film you might also like "Truth or Die" which I thought was superior.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, no sex or nudity. Attempted rape. Not an abundance of violence to women considering the plot.

de-press-ing

[chrysa_19 · 6/10 · 22 July 2021]

Couldn't have been more depressing. I was left sad and unsatisfied.. Kinda poetic how the siblings basically sacrifised themselves for the other but ended up both losing. The brother killed himself so his sister can ''live'' ,considering himself a burden and the sister ''killed'' herself, her soul, to get the means to help her brother. All in vain.

good idea. not as good execution..

[Philipkenyon1998 · 5/10 · 30 December 2013]

When I started this movie I wasn't expecting too much. I thought I was going to get a badly acted run of the mill horror. But as the movie progressed I started to find myself getting invested in the plot and the main character. However, my new found hope for the movie was tarnished when it came to the torture itself. There is so much more that could have been done with character development and plot but it just seemed like it couldn't be bothered. It turned into a movie where you could predict every move up until the end.

To me it kind of felt like hostel where if more time and effort had been taken it could have been really good and got the audience invested but sadly it was not the case.

When watching a film like this I kind of hope to see the torture at hand but this movie lacked in this aspect. Advertising a movie as horror and torture and not providing it is disappointing.

This isn't a terrible movie by any means but it isn't exactly good. If you want a sort of popcorn flick to watch with some friends by all means give it a go but this isn't a movie that stood out to me at all.

A great concept, realised to a decent standard.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 7 February 2018]

Would you rather falls very much into the genre of torture thriller. A genre that seems strong for volume, and lacking when it comes to quality. Would you rather is interesting in terms of concept, makes me think of the difference in healthcare between the USA and the UK, it seems hard for us Brits to contemplate someone in Poverty having no access to health care. It's that system that gives the film its story, how far would a girl go to change her brother's life.

It starts off fairly mild, then gets more and more grim, without being visually gratuitous, that I think benefits the viewer, leaving the imagination do its work. You feel the enjoyment the twisted benefactor Shepard Lambrick gets from each 'game,' Jeffrey Combs is undoubtedly the standout in the film, but Robin Lord Taylor and Brittany Snow also stand out.

I wouldn't say it's ultimately satisfying, but it's still a good watch.

Worst in recent memory

[RobertLThorpe · 1/10 · 16 February 2013]

Where do I begin - I will start with the premise, a bunch of people we never learn anything about other than one guy was a gambler, one guy was an alcoholic and the main character if you can call her that is a vegetarian, are all rounded up from across the nation to compete in a game that they have no idea of what it is and how it is played for a chance to win enough money to take care of yourself for the rest of your life. (been done before) That is all you learn. So there is Zero Depth in the performances because there is no story about them.

Next we have the actual photography of the film, I guess since the characters have no color or depth to them, they decided to make the movie look dull and colorless. If that was on purpose, good job, however, I doubt it, Horror films and dark films are known to have a more contrasted look because if gives color to blood and performance and makeup. This film was pretty much grey they whole way. So, in my humble opinion, the director of photography doesn't have much knowledge of actual cinematography and the color palate.

Next we come to the acting which as I mentioned above that the performances were flat. They were all bad. Not one worthy performance, mostly because we didn't know anything about them but also the writing of the film was 96% exposition which is just garbage, all they did was argue about what we already saw or know through the visuals. The main guy was doing his best or worst impression of John Cleese, which was horrible and overacted. His son, had zero point to the film and he seemed like a favor to a friend to give the dude a part and it showed cause he cannot act at all, the worst of the movie. maybe it was the writing but his performance just made no sense what so ever. Something about his mom died and he has been off his rocker since. The main girl, who agrees to this because crap happens in life and she wants the money. is uninteresting to say the least. I never felt for her because as I said multiple times, we never learn anything other than the bare minimum. The rest of the cast is rounded out with glorified extras really.

next, the kill scenes. Lame, no new ground covered and horrible shot. Every time something happens the camera turns away. OK, so they wanted a Horror film and not a gore film, got it, good. But no intensity behind the kill scenes. Nothing. Not to mention half the group dies by seemingly non lethal blows. I know this because I spent 14 years as a Corpsman in the Navy and marine corps. A paralyzed old lady gets stabbed in the thigh an ice pick and dies in seconds. Never gonna happen, first of all they show where she got stabbed and the femoral artery is not there and second, its an ice pick, the artery would roll and be undamaged. A dude gets whipped 12 times on his back and he dies. of what? Shock, ehh, maybe, but he was young so, I don't know what he died of, but he did. Not blood loss that is for sure. Then a dude gets his hand blown off by a supposed 1/4 stick of dynamite which looks an awful lot like an M80 and not a 1/4 stick. anyway, regardless, he died after having a heart attack after his hand blows up, which of course we don't see. He was a bit overweight, but yeah, I am not buying it. I wont go into all of them, but know, some dudes get just plain ol shot. The only believable death scenes.

The directing - uninspired, boring and stereotypical in shot selection. Like the guy just read a book on basic coverage and then did it. OK, I get that, I am currently in film school so, very safe. however, to make it in Hollywood, you need to bring something new to the table. Not a bore film, with uninspired performances, writing, action, cinematography and directing. This film lacked on ALL FRONTS.

If anything, you learn what not to do in making a film. first thing I would have done in reading this script was ask WHY are the people going to the game not asking what exactly will we be doing during this game? I would have had a character say, wait a minute, when you said play a game, you didn't say it was to the death, you never told us the rules of said game therefor game is null and void. You as a director need to be able to answer these basic questions before you make a film. I don't care if it is your first film, you don't want it to be a stinker. Eliminate the problems with concept and dialogue which was ohh man, some of the worst dialogue I have ever witnessed in horror films.

OK, I guess you can say I didn't like the film and I told you why. You know who is going to win before you even start the game. Now your just watching it happen and in the end, when you get there your like, yup, just as I said.

bad movie fellas...

A Real Gem for the Genre

[Michael_Elliott · 10 May 2014]

Would You Rather (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely good horror/thriller about a woman (Brittany Snow) and eight others needing financial help out of their problems and agreeing to take part in a "game." This game turns out to be the title where the sadistic host (Jeffrey Combs) makes them select whether to hurt themselves or others playing the game. If you've seen the Vincent Price film HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, about a contest held inside a haunted house where the survivor wins, and if you mix it with SAW then you pretty much end up with this movie. In fact, comparing it to SAW might not be fair because while this film is very intense, you'd be surprised that most of the violence takes place out of view and the images you build up in your head is what makes this so effective. Don't get me wrong, there's certainly some blood but the point of the movie isn't torture but instead to ask yourself what you'd do in this situation. There's so much that works about this film but director David Guy Levy does a fantastic job at building up the atmosphere as well as the tension that goes behind each of the games. There are times where you'll be holding your breathe waiting for something to happen only to have the chair pulled out from under you. Another thing that makes this film work so well is that the performances are excellent. This includes the eight players, the sadistic host and his helpers. I really loved the performance of Combs here because that calm, cool and collective nature is just so chilling and you can't help but feel how evil this guy is. Snow also makes for a believable tough girl who you can believe throughout the film. John Heard, Sasha Gray and June Squibb are also extremely good in their parts but you won't be let down by the entire cast. As a horror fan, it's really a shame so many awful movies get wide releases each year while something like this sees a few select theaters. This film certainly deserves to be discovered because it's a real gem.

Pretty average but the end got me.

[Crabtreetaylor · 7/10 · 16 June 2021]

The movie was pretty average with its horror and scares but the ending was a bit unexpected. Just because it took a turn that was a surprise I'd give the movie a watch.

Contrived and writing depth as deep as a puddle, this ended up as little more than a predictable second-rate torture porn.

[cf-15094 · 1/10 · 28 September 2013]

my first red flag was roughly 10 minutes into the movie, after being spoon-fed everything i'd read in the movie description. i had pretty much zero doubt as to how the entire story would unfold, a result of both being blatantly told by some really contrived dialogue, and the fact that everything not directly relating to the main plot - playing a sadistic life-or-death game with only one winner, etc etc - was essentially non-existent.

ill elaborate on that point - the only thing we know about our protagonist, "Iris" (even the name feels fake, i have heard better porn star names. we'll call her Jane Doe from now on) is that she is the sole bearer of a predicament that she cannot possibly solve (read: afford) except for the dubious solution provided by the sinister millionaire antagonist (who i will reference from now on as Moneybags McEvil), who appears to be genuine and sickeningly benevolent . we never learn anything about anyone else in the entire movie except for when Jane Doe enters the room where the game takes place. two of the other contestants conveniently give us 5 second quips about all of the other contestants with varying levels of detail and familiarity that i frankly find hard to believe they have gathered in the short period of time they've been there.

the entire starting part of the next scene progresses literally exactly how you would guess any story as shallow as this would. Moneybags McEvil introduces himself as the gracious solution to all of their problems, nobody really knows what the game is or what's going on, but of course are sticking around, because, money. Cue the brief revealing of Moneybags McEvil's true nature, where he starts offering people wads of cash if they break their personal morals. as he does this he constantly forces out the most contrived evil/maniacal laugh ever recorded and berating them for taking money. this is where realistically, you'd think some characters would get the f*ck out of dodge, at least, argue or verbally demolish his incredibly feeble attempts to shame them ("you're so pathetic for taking this money i offered you to do that thing you don't like doing even when i was the one who invited you here to obviously jump through hoops for cash", or something along those lines). nobody makes a notable peep though, probably because all of the people in the room are vapid bags of meat that pretty much exist only to be tortured and killed, but we already gathered that after their delicious 5 second intros. i seriously wish i was making this stuff up.

after sh*t hits the fan and people start dying and actually get forced to choose between one predictable choice or the other (if you've actually made it this far into the film, you can try actually being entertained by trying to guess what the choices are before they are presented, but sadly even this gets old after you get it right for the 4th time), the rest really becomes a blur of second rate torture porn - even calling it torture porn is a stretch, it wouldn't even deliver on that if it was trying to (can't tell). they go through all the motions you'd expect..."we have to work together", "i'm here to win"; these lines feel like the supporting meatbag actors are just reading them for the first time. i get the impression that the actors were perhaps given zero freedom to try to work their dialogue into something palatable which is why we see the atrocious staccato conversations throughout the entire movie.

"Peter" (Ricky from trailer park boys) is my favourite throughout the whole "game - he genuinely looks like he is about to lose his sh*t laughing at how bad his lines are. i swear i saw him sigh with boredom after he stabbed an old lady in the thigh: "oh...i think i hit that artery we were talking about..."

the rest of the movie continues to go so far downhill i won't even bother with it. "Would You Rather" has absolutely no redeeming qualities, the dialogue is so poorly written and seemingly forced on the actors that even the best wouldn't be able to liven it up. the only things that are not readily available from the blatant spoon fed story would be just how individuals get tortured or murdered, and even from a purely slasher perspective these are still unimpressive.

i am genuinely serious when i say the most entertainment this movie gave us was from predicting every shoddy thing, from the plot events to when we'd hear Moneybags McEvil's crappy cackle. this movie is not worth the length of this review, but i'm hoping i managed to entertain those poor souls who lost 93 minutes of their life to this garbage.

Loved this low budget horror movie with suspense

[Sfernald · 8/10 · 9 February 2013]

So rare to see a low budget horror movie this successful. If you like horror that makes you think you should enjoy this. It is suspenseful from the outset and has lots of twists and turns to keep you jumping. I like the way they created a real world in that crazy house with all the dynamics of family and servants. Extremely creepy.

The girl was a good little actress. Combs was suitably crazy as the administrator of the game. He definitely made the movie. I was surprised with some of the actors they got to fill out the game. I think I recognized each one, including the ex porn star and the drunk John Heard.

Cool Premise, but could have done more.

[clockwerk-75937 · 6/10 · 10 January 2022]

I do like this movie, but I think Squid Game did it a lot better. This just feels like it's on the same torture porn bandwagon that a lot of other movies were on. Still worth a watch though.

i wish i could give this movie 0 stars

[paytonpanella · 1/10 · 30 July 2016]

let me just start out by saying I NEVER, EVER write movie reviews but I made an account on here just to write a review on this, THAT is how bad it is. I had been meaning to watch this movie for a while and it had been sitting on my Netflix queue, so one night when I couldn't sleep I turned it on at about 4 in the morning, which is what I contribute to why I didn't turn it off after 5 minutes of it.

First off, our "protagonist" is a one-dimensional idiot that we are given no backstory on, besides the basic "my brother has cancer, it's just us, oh no" description. After watching about 10 minutes of this, you could tell exactly where the plot was going, but somehow felt compelled to watch it crash and burn. Iris, our lovely, boring protagonist, is invited to a philanthropist's dinner party, where cash is promised to the winner of a simple parlor game.

Now this is where we get to the "horror" of it all. First off, I know when you go into a cheesy horror movie like this you are going to see people die in ways that shouldn't kill a person, but this was just unbelievable. Some lady died by getting stabbed in the leg, while someone else survived after getting stabbed in the lung? Not to mention people dying from getting whipped just a couple times, as well as being submerged in water for less than two minutes at most, it was just unconvincing.

Besides the unrealistic aspects of it all, all the characters were flat and boring, with no backstories so we couldn't care less if they lived or died, and of course there were the stereotypical "we gotta be a team" and "I don't come here to make friends" people. Also while on the subject of bad and rather useless actors, the role of both the doctor and the philanthropist's son were completely useless and had about 5 minutes screen time combined; I am still trying to figure out why these characters were introduced in the first place. There was also a useless rape scene which was just concerning to why it was put in there in the first place, as it served absolutely no purpose and made zero sense.

The characters also were just all over the place, with the main character supposedly this nice, sweet vegetarian who ends up shooting this guy who she didn't even want to stab? Also we were given scattered descriptions of each "background" character, with, oddly enough, more information about the ones with no screen time and no information about the ones that mattered the most.

The ending was the part that really just got me. First of all, what really annoyed me was after getting stabbed in the lung, or presumably some other organ, our idiot protagonist Iris neglects going to visit a doctor or even trying to alert any authorities about this at all (it still boggles me that somehow we're supposed to believe that just no one has ever tried to stop this or tell the police that this insane billionaire is killing people in his mansion, also how are they disposing of all these bodies every year??? like isn't someone somewhere like maybe we should check up on them they throw away a lot of human sized containers every year around the EXACT SAME TIME and a bunch of people go to that house, but only ONE person leaves???? but that's a whole other matter). She proceeds to shower up and pretend nothing ever happened, and then OH MY GOD. I just knew that her brother was going to kill himself, and that's the part that really makes me angry. After sitting through an entire movie of clichés and over-used plot devices I was just hoping I could enjoy my happy ending and go to bed, but no they had to kill off the cancer kid because 8 deaths wasn't enough in this movie.

All in all, this movie has destroyed me as a person and individual and I don't think I am going to be able to trust movies on Netflix for at least a month. The whole world has let me down with this one, especially you, Brittany Snow.

Good for what it is

[mrluxinatux · 6/10 · 25 March 2024]

This is is the problem with these kinds of movies; you can only make it as good as you can. What I mean is, a doctor inviting patients over to his 20 million dollar mansion for a chance to win money, only to have it be a trap and a torture-fest, can only be so good, right?

Yeah, because it would pretty much never happen. Give the script to Martin Scorsese and even he will only be able to do so much. The plot to this movie is paper thin, unquestionably. These kinds of horror movies are such an unreasonable stretch that it makes you roll you eyes. Even paranormal horror movies are usually more lenient to the viewers eyes because they, the viewer, can be like, "well, maybe all this stuff is possible."

But for what this movie is, it's pretty entertaining. Even though you don't know practically anything about the characters, the "would you rather" scenes are pretty damn intense. And throughout the game you find yourself putting your feet in their shoes. Even though it's a cheesy movie, it kept me entertained and curious. I don't usually go for these types of films but I won't lie when I say that I wasn't bored watching the movie, and that I also thought it had a strong atmosphere to it. 6/10.