Truth or Dare (released in the United States as Truth or Die) is a 2012 British psychological horror film directed by Robert Heath and written by Matthew McGuchan. The film stars David Oakes, Tom Kane, Jennie Jacques, Liam Boyle, Jack Gordon, Florence Hall and Alexander Vlahos.
After teen misfit Felix is humiliated and tormented at a house party he extends a welcome to his perpetrators to his birthday party to demonstrate there are no hard feelings. Once the weekend warriors arrive to his family’s secluded estate they realize perhaps there were ulterior motives at play. Will his peers have opportunity to express genuine remorse and embrace their ultimate truth or dare?
Tropes:
- All Women Love Shoes: Eleanor seems to have a thing for shoes, making Paul carry her over a puddle so she doesn't ruin her 300 pound shoes, and wearing a sexy Dorothy Gale costume at the party as an excuse to wear high-heeled ruby slippers.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: When Paul attempts to call the police, Justin shoots the phone out of his hand. One of Paul's fingers is shot off in the process.
- Blood from the Mouth: Blood gushes from Chris's mouth after he fails the 'acid test'
- Bring the Anchor Along: Gemma, who has been duct taped to a chair, attempts to reach a Conveniently Placed Sharp Thing by walking the chair slowly backwards on its legs.
- Bungled Suicide: Justin is telling the truth when he says that Felix hanged himself after receiving the postcard. However, the groundskeeper found him and cut him down before he died, but Felix had suffered brain damage from oxygen deprivation and is now permanently paralysed.
- Conveniently Placed Sharp Thing: Gemma, who is duct taped to a chair, works her chair agonizingly slowly backwards across the uneven floor to reach the workbench behind her and grab a saw to cut her way through her bonds. She succeeds.
- Cowardice Callout: Paul condemns Luke as a coward after it's revealed that Luke is the member of their social group who sent the damning postcard which got all of them into the Nasty Party — as if getting strong-armed into becoming Justin's accomplice wasn't bad enough, Luke kept completely silent about the fact he was the person Justin was looking for among the group, even while his silence led to Justin putting Luke's friends through a nasty life-or-death game which has already caused one of them to die horribly.
- Crusty Caretaker: Woodbridge is the grumpy groundskeeper at the family estate. He is the one who sends the guests tramping through the woods to the keeper's cottage, and is later revealed to be in league with Justin and his scheme of revenge.
- Driven to Suicide: After being humiliated at the end of term party, Felix receives a postcard reminding him of his humiliation a few months later, and hangs himself. His brother Justin sets out to determine who sent the postcard. Briefly subverted when Felix is revealed to have survived his initial attempt, only to later do so successfully thanks to a grenade given to him by Eleanor.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Gemma walks in on Justin changing his shirt, and drinks in the view of his muscular torso before making her presence known and commenting that he has a lot of scars.
- Hanging Around: Justin is telling the truth when he says that Felix hanged himself after receiving the postcard. However, the groundskeeper found him and cut him down before he died, but Felix had suffered brain damage from oxygen deprivation and is now permanently paralysed.
- Karma Houdini: Eleanor ends the movie presumably getting away with allowing Felix to sexually assault an unconscious Paul and blackmailing Felix with the footage, driving him to his first suicide attempt and setting up everything that happens in the movie.
- Nasty Party: Young British boys and girls travel to an isolated cabin after being promised a night of heavy partying. Instead of the fun they hoped for, they meet a killer out to reap vengeance on them for the death of his brother.
- Neck Snap: Justin kills Gemma this way after she discovers that Felix is still alive.
- A Party, Also Known as an Orgy: The end-of-term party where Felix is humiliated is awash in sex, drugs and alcohol.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Justin quickly reveals him to be a massive homophobe, frequently throwing out gay slurs.
- Russian Roulette: After catching Jonesy spying, Justin plans to shoot him. When Luke begs for his life, Justin twists the cylinder on his revolver and hands it to Luke. He tells Luke that there are three live and three spent shells in the cylinder: giving Jonesy a 50/50 chance. Luke is is to fire at Jonesy, and if the gun does not go off, Jonesy gets to live. Or Luke could could fire at him, but if the gun does not go off, he will not get a second shot. Luke fires at Jonsey, and Jonsey dies.
- "Shut Up!" Gunshot: When the five hostages start arguing about who could have sent the postcard, Justin shuts them up by firing his revolver into the air.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Eleanor keeps her credit card tucked into her bra: seemingly just so she can mess with the cashier at the service station.
