Blu Review: Would You Rather (Confirmed:Good)

And you thought your dinner parties were bad!

     Over a very juvenile, but entertaining game of would you rather at dinner with friends last Saturday night as we endured a rather long wait for food, fellow EpicReview writer Barbecue17 mentioned a recent horror film based on the game that has been garnering a little bit of buzz.  The curiosity that arose out of the premise alone propelled us to go to the nearest Redbox and rent the film.  I think the cover art of the blu-ray which features an eyeball about to get grazed by a razor blade went a long way in ensuring that the blu-ray would be in stock, although it was checked out at the first Redbox we went to.  So was film as entertaining as our game at dinner? Find out after the break……
I don't know if this box art will entice many people!

      Director David Levy’s choice on how to use the over played game "would you rather" is what really makes this film somewhat entertaining.  He chooses to take a game that is often used to get to know your new college roommates and give it high, real world stakes.  In the film wealthy business man Shepard Lambrick (Jeffery Combs) once a year opens up his home to a desperate group of people with very expensive problems that he promises to cure if they can win a brutal game of "would you rather."  For example the film's lead, Iris (Brittany Snow), is promised a bone marrow transplant for her brother Raleigh (Logan Miller) if she can win the game.

Jeffery Combs' performance as Shepard Lambrick was truly menacing!

      For the most part the performances in Would You Rather are not bad, but not very memorable either,  with one glaring exception in the form of Jeffery Combs' performance as Shepard Lambrick! Combs' performance carries the films as he hosts the most intense and brutal game of "would you rather" ever played.  Combs is truly menacing nearly every second he is on screen, and does an exceptional job in establishing and maintaining the overall tone and central theme of the film.  A central theme that really doesn’t set Would You Rather apart from other torture choice films like Saw, but gives the film an added layer none the less.  That theme comes in the form of a question that asks: Is it really worth sacrificing your morals and your beliefs in order to essentially play God? 
WARNING: Would you rather provides its share of shocking moments!

      Perhaps Would You Rather’s appeal is how much it keeps the audience involved it what is going on the entire way through. As Shepard Lambrick presents task after task over the course of the game, you can’t help but wonder what choice you would make in that particular situation.  This element makes Would You Rather a rather entertaining experience throughout the majority of the film. So now the only question cinephiles have to ask themselves is would they rather see this film or just give up on the torture choice sub-genre of horror films after experiencing what seems like hundreds of Saw and Hostel films? Choose wisely!

CONFIRMED: GOOD

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