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Released by: Bloody Disgusting Selects
Released on: October 9, 2012.
Director: Robert Heath
Cast: David Oaks, Liam Boyle, Jack Gordon, Florence Hall
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Directed by Robert Heath in 2012, Truth Or Die centers around a slightly nerdy young man named Felix (Tom Kane) who has more or less been picked on throughout his high school career by the more popular kids. When, while slightly intoxicated, he admits at a party during a game of truth or dare to have had a crush on pretty Gemma (Florence Hall) for some time now, he winds up taking a shot to the face courtesy of her boyfriend, Chris (Jack Gordon).
Fast forward a few months and Chris, Gemma and a few others who were at the party when Felix got popped - Paul (Liam Boyle), Eleanor (Jennie Jacques) and Luke (Alexander Vlahos) - all receive invitations from Felix to attend a bash he's throwing in honor of his birthday. Given the fact that Felix comes from money and that the party is being held at his family home, they figure this'll be a pretty happening blowout and so they all head on out into the countryside where he lives to attend. Things get odd almost as soon as they show up. Justin (David Oakes), Felix's bigger and older brother, escorts them not to the stately manor where the family lives but to a cabin tucked away in the woods outback. They soon realize, once Felix fails to show, that Justin is up to more than he seems…
Truth Or Die takes a little bit of time to find its stride but once it does, if you can look past a couple of 'dopey horror movie' moments (it seems unlikely that any of these people would be interested in going to Felix's birthday part in the first place - would they really have accepted the invitation so readily?) there's a good movie here. The film is nicely shot and shows off a knack for interesting compositions, from fairly grandiose outdoor shots around the mansion to more claustrophobic interior shots that help build the tension inherent in the premise. The film doesn't really give us as much character development for the 'partygoers' as we might want and it does make them difficult to like, let alone sympathize (and in this one regard the film is a bit like Hostel, sharing some of that film's same flaws) with once things head south for them, but the performances are generally quite strong here with David Oakes stealing pretty much every scene that he is in.
What the film does right is surprise us. There are moments where you will figure out where it's going and a few bits and pieces here and there that seem almost by the numbers, but the film works in a couple of very clever twists here and there. The characters in and of themselves aren't all that interesting or well thought out but as the situation evolves that starts to matter less than being in the moment. If this starts off as something a bit too familiar, it does evolve into something more original and interesting. Had there been a bit less of an effort to make this modern horror movie look like so many other modern horror movies out there and a bit more effort put into crafting more interesting characters this would have been excellent but as it stands, Truth Or Die is still very good and one worth seeing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The anamorphic widescreen transfer on the DVD is sharp and as colorful as the sets and costumes/wardrobe choices will allow for. The scenes that take place inside the cabin are fairly dreary looking and there are moments that use a blue filter that kind of monkey with the natural color scheme a bit but overall, things look good here. There are no problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement and only some minor aliasing of note.
The sole audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix and it's also quite good. Dialogue is clean, clear and easy to follow while bass response is strong enough to count but not so strong that it buries anything. Levels are set properly and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion.
Extras include a behind the scenes featurette called, amazingly enough, The Making Of Truth Or Die. It's got some fairly standard interviews and behind the scenes footage and it's marginally interesting. Aside from that, there are menus and chapter selection for the feature.
The Final Word:
Truth Or Die isn't a movie without flaws but it does go into some unexpected territory making this more than a standard by the numbers horror movie. Some more character development might have helped but there's a fairly inspired mean streak here that makes this one worth a watch. The DVD from Bloody Disgusting Selects isn't loaded to the gills with extras but the featurette is alright and the movie is presented in nice shape with good audio. A pretty solid release overall for an indy horror movie worth seeing.
