Despite the bad reviews, Truth or Death (2018) is still a box office success. It grossed $95 million worldwide from a $3.5 million budget. So, we might get another easy film from the same producer.
Compared to the 2017 version of Truth or Dare that focused on ‘Do the dare or the dare does you.’, this one has the gut to name a demon behind this horror. I could not find any essays about the demon, Calux. No demon has such a low dignity to abuse its power in a game. Sorry, Calux, please forgive the mortals’ stupidity.
While watching the 2017 version, I got confused. Hello? Where’s the option of truth? They are college students. They have confessed to sleeping with their besties’ boyfriends. What truths can they not tell? The friendship is over. Let everyone depart their ways, instead of hurting each other or being shot by a granny.
Demons Follow the Ruls of Game Better than Humans
It is outrageous that horror movies insult demons or evil forces. The most horrifying iconic devil is one who has principles. They tell us the principles and make sure we still want to make a deal. They punish and torture cheaters and the regretful in a hellish legal system.
Every sinister entity emphasizes the rules of fair game. We will be destroyed, if not play it carefully, and we can blame no one but ourselves.
When we summon death from the Ouija Board, we don’t ask rude questions. We say goodbye properly. After that, it’s still just a board. And, of course, the spirits have the right to refuse to leave. So, they take revenge when we call them out for a YouTube video, an unapologetically rude behavior, and tell them to leave.
In A Dark Song, after the actress endured the ritual, the guardian angel showed up; In The Ring, once you follow the rule of passing on the curse, you can keep living a normal life. In Consecration, the bloody guardian angel only killed the people who wanted to murder Grace.
Fallen angels, demons, and devils all have their game of rules. They accepted the punishments from God for their sins without screaming ‘Witch hunt’ or ‘Corrupt and unfair.’ Therefore, as long as people agree and stick to the rules, they will not harm us a hair, unlike people who change a law in one day by totalitarian arrogance.
The Origin of Truth or Dare
In ancient Greece, rituals were known as “The Oracle of Delphi,” where individuals would seek guidance from the gods through various forms of divination, including truth-telling or daring acts. Society changed. It became an evening game called “Questions and Commands.” Adults played it to flirt in early 17th century England.
Some people play it to make new friends, to show admiration for people, or to gather money from people who refuse to tell the truth or act a dare. In American colleges, the punishments can range from taking a shot to running in a bar naked.
It’s silly to think people choosing the truth will genuinely tell the truth. Oh, here’s one from Lancashire, England, the person told the truth that the darkest secret he had was setting fire to his grandma’s bungalow. But no one will be accused of telling a lie, and no one will dare their classmates or friends to kill themselves on the spot.
Nonsense Horror
The plots always turn to illogical ‘death orders’ from the unknown power. Again, it’s Truth OR Dare, the demon will not give any order when we haven’t chosen Truth or Dare, yet.
If the producers want to shoot a horror movie about slaughtering people or self-destructing, they should make it in the name of a serial killer, not a demon. Don’t depict the demons as psychopaths who just want blood. Can the scriptwriters have some respect for the unknown entity?
Suggestions
I look forward to watching a horror film about Truth or Dare, where the participants might summon a demon to be the judge, and this sinister ‘righteous’ truth-defending demon (once a sacred powerful angel) decides how to punish liars.
This group of besties will start writing down the real questions they want to know from their best friends, being skeptical of them not choosing to tell the truth, and ordering a much more malevolent dare to them; otherwise, the judge will serve them the justice.
Show me a real horrifying demon to force the college students to tear up the facades of one another.
