TRUTH OR DARE (aka TRUTH OR DIE) (2012) review

Truth or Dare (aka Truth or Die)(2012) d. Heath, Robert (UK)

Basically a reworking of the nerd-takes-revenge 80s slasher scenario for the torture porn generation, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when handled with such a sure hand. When the local misfit is humiliated and abused at the final after-school party, it sets off a chain of events that culminate in his tormentors being called to a remote country estate where justice is meted out by the outcast’s hunkier older brother (played by The Borgias’ David Oakes). While the material is well traveled terrain indeed, director Heath and writer Matthew McGuchan manage to pull off enough cringe-worthy scenes of agony and a genuinely surprising third act to make it worth your while. The performances by tormentors and tormented alike are solid, with Jennie Jacques’ slatternly bitchy babe leading the pack.

BIFFF Day #2 (Saturday, 4/7)

Despite going to bed at around 3am the night before, I found myself awake at 8am Saturday morning, my mind cooking up questions to pose to my first solo interview efforts of the fest, that of Michael Sauter (co-writer of Sennentuntschi) and bad boy Frenchman Xavier Gens, who made big horror waves in 2007 with his contribution to the avalanche of French horror that emerged in the latter half of the decade, Frontier(s). Both were held in the previously mentioned "Jameson bus," both went quite well. Got a picture alongside Gens, as well as one of him holding up an issue of HorrorHound that I could send along to Nathan for posting on the HHW Facebook wall.

Then it was time for more movies and more chatting with my ever-growing social circle. In addition to my press room gal pals, I made the acquaintance of Sven Soetemans and Thierry Wybauw, two of the many contributors to HORROR 101 that I had never yet met face to face, as well as Gert’s friends Barbara, Nicolas and Sabrina. By the end of the night, our group had taken over a full half row of seats in the epic BIFFF screening room – yes, the despicable habit of “saving seats” is alive and well in Belgium and I’ll be playing by the whole “When in Brussels” rulebook while I’m here, I guess. Saturday was also the BIFFF zombie walk, so lots of undead drippings surrounded us throughout the day.