Iris (Brittany Snow) has returned home to care for her younger brother who has cancer. Dr. Barden offers her an opportunity. He invites her to the Lambrick estate to join others in playing a game for its wealthy benefactors.
There is surprisingly little tension in the game playing. The premise is heavy-handed. It starts from the beginning. The brother should be younger which would make her plight more compelling. Barden should be more secretive about the game. In fact, she should suspect that it's a sex for treatment trade. At least, that would be a shocking twist. Once the game starts, there is little tension. The main reason is that the participants don't actually have real choices. They have no agency. Shockingly, there is a good escape attempt which is the only tense situation. Anyways, two minutes is not a long time and it's doubtful that the men wouldn't do it. The premise is an intriguing idea but a moral dilemma does not always translate cinematically. One is more likely to be bored by this.
Would You Rather
2012
Action / Horror / Thriller
Plot summary
Desperate to help her sickly brother, a young woman accepts a dinner invitation to what seems to be easy money. As soon as she arrives, she realizes that playing "the game" is deadly for its losers. She and several others spend the night being terrorized in a game of "Would You Rather?"
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
lacks tension
THERE IS A PROCESS INVOLVED
Iris (Brittany Snow) has a brother who needs a bone marrow transplant. The creepy Shepard Lambrick (Jeffrey Combs) offers to pay for it if she wins a game of a sadistic "would you rather," one that we quickly discover is played to the death. 8 people are assembled in a dining room and forced at gun point. Since Iris is the only person we know anything about, everyone but Scooby-Doo can figure this one out.
Amy, played by porn star Sasha Grey, is an aggressive player who immediately plays to win. Shepard has an obnoxious son (Robin Taylor) who insults the players.
There is a fairly decent intensity factor with this film, but it really doesn't stimulate the grey matter. The whole set up is rather inane. If you like the "ten little Indians" style movies with slasher elements, this one is satisfactory as long as you keep your expectations low. Perhaps 5 stars on a Red Box rental scale.
If you liked this film you might also like "Truth or Die" which I thought was superior.
Parental Guide: F-bomb, no sex or nudity. Attempted rape. Not an abundance of violence to women considering the plot.
A great concept, realised to a decent standard.
Would you rather falls very much into the genre of torture thriller. A genre that seems strong for volume, and lacking when it comes to quality. Would you rather is interesting in terms of concept, makes me think of the difference in healthcare between the USA and the UK, it seems hard for us Brits to contemplate someone in Poverty having no access to health care. It's that system that gives the film its story, how far would a girl go to change her brother's life.
It starts off fairly mild, then gets more and more grim, without being visually gratuitous, that I think benefits the viewer, leaving the imagination do its work. You feel the enjoyment the twisted benefactor Shepard Lambrick gets from each 'game,' Jeffrey Combs is undoubtedly the standout in the film, but Robin Lord Taylor and Brittany Snow also stand out.
I wouldn't say it's ultimately satisfying, but it's still a good watch.