History YMMV / WouldYouRather

* EvilIsSexy:
** Julian has fangirls despite being a despicable SmugSnake and a [[spoiler:rapist]]. Being played by Robin Lord Taylor certainly helps.
** Amy too, particularly because she's performed by Sasha Grey, an ex-pornographic actress.

** [[Raleigh, to an extent. His suicide may have been well-intentioned but it also comes across as extremely selfish considering he was the only family Iris had left after the death of their parents, and in killing himself while she was away, completely denied her any chance of saying goodbye to the final surviving member of her immediate family.]]

** Shepard - beneath his FauxAffablyEvil antics the movie shows him as a rich bastard through-and-through - but how much of his PetTheDog moments are genuine and how much of them are a case of PragmaticVillainy mixed with being a Hypocrite? In spite of his claims that the game gives everyone an equal chance at winning, [[spoiler:Lucas ''de facto'' lost his chance at winning the last round before it even started thanks to a luck-based decision that he didn't even get to make]], and his Sadist tendencies show that any philanthropic or philosophical reasoning behind his games are bullshit. On the other hand, he did [[spoiler:honor Iris victory even though he had no reason to do so]], and his anger toward Lucas [[spoiler:AttemptedRape of Iris]] appears to be genuine.

** Shephard - beneath his FauxAffablyEvil antics the movie shows him as a rich bastard through-and-through - but how much of his PetTheDog moments are genuine and how much of them are a case of PragmaticVillainy mixed with being a Hypocrite? In spite of his claims that the game gives everyone an equal chance at winning, [[spoiler:Lucas ''de facto'' lost his chance at winning the last round before it even started thanks to a luck-based decision that he didn't even get to make]], and his Sadist tendencies show that any philanthropic or philosophical reasoning behind his games are bullshit. On the other hand, he did [[spoiler:honor Iris victory even though he had no reason to do so]], and his anger toward Lucas [[spoiler:AttemptedRape of Iris]] appears to be genuine.

** Sheperd - beneath his FauxAffablyEvil antics the movie shows him as a rich bastard through-and-through - but how much of his PetTheDog moments are genuine and how much of them are a case of PragmaticVillainy mixed with being a Hypocrite? In spite of his claims that the game gives everyone an equal chance at winning, [[spoiler:Lucas ''de facto'' lost his chance at winning the last round before it even started thanks to a luck-based decision that he didn't even get to make]], and his Sadist tendencies show that any philanthropic or philosophical reasoning behind his games are bullshit. On the other hand, he did [[spoiler:honor Iris victory even though he had no reason to do so]], and his anger toward Lucas [[spoiler:AttemptedRape of Iris]] appears to be genuine.

** Sheperd - beneath his FauxAffablyEvil antics the movie shows him as a rich bastard through-and-through - but how much of his PetTheDog moments are genuine and how much of them are a case of PragmaticVillany mixed with being a Hypocrite? In spite of his claims that the game gives everyone an equal chance at winning, [[spoiler:Lucas ''de facto'' lost his chance at winning the last round before it even started thanks to a luck-based decision that he didn't even get to make]], and his Sadist tendencies show that any philanthropic or philosophical reasoning behind his games are bullshit. On the other hand, he did [[spoiler:honor Iris victory even though he had no reason to do so]], and his anger toward Lucas [[spoiler:AttemptedRape of Iris]] appears to be genuine.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: The film seems to want Amy to earn some audience sympathy when her backstory is briefly stated by Shep; that her husband drowned her daughter. However even with this horrific information in mind, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for Amy with her elder and handicap abuse to Linda, electrocuting her and punching her. Her stabbing Iris later DEFINITELY didn’t help Amy’s case, as Iris hadn’t done anything to Amy to warrant Amy gleefully stabbing her, and nearly killing her. While Amy herself was forced to choose between the aforementioned, or other unpleasant options, her utter LackOfEmpathy for the others, or even worse, her utter GLEE in some their suffering, makes it hard for people to feel for her.

** Iris due to crossing the MoralEventHorizon stated above.

* MoralEventHorizon: Anyone who plays the game of would you rather is pretty much forced to cross it in order to win.
** Shep crosses it LONG before the present day events in the plot, hosting an indeterminate number of games and torturing and causing the deaths of innocent people simply for his amusement.
** If he didn’t cross it by being a bystander to his father’s past games, Julian definitely crossed it either when he singles out Travis to be whipped until he is eventually presumably killed in the second round, or when he [[spoiler: tries to rape Iris]].
** Amy may be presented as a JerkassWoobie, but a number of people believe she crossed the line early on with her complete lack of empathy when she shocks and punches Linda, a handicapped, elderly woman. If she didn’t cross it there, when she gleefully stabs Iris in the side, after asking Shep if she can stab her anywhere (Which Lucas states almost hit her lung). She even states later that Iris deserved to be killed for the players trying to run away to escape, which wasn’t even Iris’ plan to begin with.
** [[spoiler:In the end, Iris proves to be a [[MoralMyopia hypocrite]] when she shoots and kills Lucas to win the game, even though earlier, she tried to convince Cal to not strike Travis, as it would likely kill him since he already got struck nine times and was laying on the floor barely conscious.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Amy. Is she in survival mode during the game, with her life on the line, and just trying to survive and sees winning as realistically the best (and probably only) option, or is she just an unsympathetic woman who is only using this as fuel for her cruel domineer to hurt the others. Her taunts and insults to Travis, Iris, and Linda in the game seem to push for her as a HateSink, but make of her what you will.
** Iris herself. Granted, the ending cements her firmly in {{Hypocrite}} and {{What the Hell Hero}} status, but why did she [[spoiler:shoot Lucas]] and so quickly? One interpretation is that Raleigh's somewhat subtle accusation of dragging her down is indeed correct, and she makes the final fatal choice to free herself from being burdened with her sick brother anymore. Another is that, given her reaction [[spoiler:not only immediately upon shooting Lucas but also when returning home, shell shocked from the night, and finding Raleigh dead from suicide]], she genuinely was trying to save her brother by any means necessary. This could be further supported by [[spoiler:how quickly she pulls the trigger, cutting Lucas off before he can talk about the person he was participating in the game for as it could have easily eroded her nerve and caused her to walk away empty-handed, which she refused to do]].

** Amy too.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Amy. Is she in survival mode during the game, with her life on the line, and just trying to survive and sees winning as realistically the best (and probably only) option, or is she just an unsympathetic woman who is only using this as fuel for her cruel domineer to hurt the others. Her taunts and insults to Travis, Iris, and Linda in the game seem to push for her as a HateSink, but make of her what you will.

* EndingAversion: Many who would watch the film choose not to after hearing about the ending, [[spoiler:which renders the entire preceding film utterly pointless]].