The Blumhouse method fits Netflix very well. The streamer needs countless hours of content, and the studio is happy to provide it. Jason Blum and his hired hands throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. It results in a few good films, but the lion’s share of Blumhouse’s output is boring. Garbage like Truth or Dare just washes off of Jason Blum’s back, but it’s worth paying attention to the project. People around the world evidently agree, because Truth or Dare is currently the tenth most-watched movie on Netflix.
Netflix Gives Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare a Reason to Smile
Jason Blum greenlit this film with the title Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare. Every Blumhouse project has the logo attached, but very few of Blum’s projects have his personal brand in the title. He did not receive that honor on Sinister, Get Out, The Black Phone, M3GAN, Freaky, Whiplash, or dozens of other, better Blumhouse projects. I can’t tell if that suggests pride or shame. Maybe Blum thought his iconography would raise the project’s stock. It needed all the help that it could get, not that it helped. The half-formed plot follows a few college students who stumble into a supernatural edition of the titular game. The victims would have a pretty easy out, but the narrative’s generic demon pulls the strings. It’s hilariously barebones, but the desire to establish something memorable through the film’s big, dumb smiles shines through. Parker Finn’s Smile feels like a joke at its expense.
Jason Blum’s Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, brought to you by Blumhouse, didn’t just do well on Netflix. It cost $3.5 million to make, but its box-office take passed $95 million. This is impressive, but it fits perfectly into Blumhouse’s usual gimmick. Horror movies can practically print money at the box office. The genre can reliably bank immense returns on investments without relying on a known IP or familiar star. Truth or Dare started as a title without a premise. Someone said those words out loud and had to struggle to cobble together a narrative. It’s obviously a half-formed idea, but that doesn’t matter to an audience of teens just looking for a few good jump scares. Of course, that was six years ago. The film is much more comfortable in a streaming environment. Its worldwide audience probably wouldn’t see it in theaters.
Truth or Dare is a bad film, but it isn’t special. It is utterly bereft of compelling ideas, interesting characters, and strong creative choices. Director Jeff Wadlow has become something of a Blumhouse veteran. He has not improved significantly in that pursuit. He directed Fantasy Island, which is somehow even worse than Truth or Dare. Most recently, he helmed Imaginary, which offers a narrow improvement without finding anything new worth saying. Blumhouse gets much credit for its willingness to experiment and find interesting new projects. Maybe they’ve tried generic ghost movies with Wadlow enough times.
