Would You Rather

February 8, 2013
Horror/Thriller
Not Rated
United States
Director: David Guy Levy

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” – John C. Maxwell

Iris (Brittany Snow) is forced to drop out of school after an accident takes the lives of her parents in order to help provide for her brother, Raleigh (Logan Miller), who has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The medical bills are piling up and Iris is having a hard time getting a job. That’s when she meets a man who claims to be able to not only provide enough money for debts, but also find a donor for Raleigh and eliminate any waiting list.

Shepard “Shep” Lambrick (Jeffrey Combs) runs a philanthropy foundation, helping to build medical centers and schools all over the world. He meets Iris and offers her an invitation to a dinner party with seven other guests, at the end of which will be held a game. The winner gets everything they need to take care of their problems. Though Iris is hesitant, she agrees.

Things start pleasantly enough. The party includes Iris, Shep, Lucas (Enver Gjokaj), Amy (Sasha Grey), Conway (John Heard), Travis (Charlie Hofheimer), Cal (Eddie Steeples), Linda (June Squibb), and Peter (Robb Wells). Accompanying them are Shep’s son, Julian (Robin Lord Taylor), Shep’s butler/right hand man Bevans (Jonny Coyne), and Bevans’ staff. At the beginning, the contest is difficult, but manageable. Iris, who is a vegetarian, gets $10,000 to eat steak. Conway, who is a recovered alcoholic for over sixteen years, gets $50,000 for drinking a decanter of scotch. It’s when the players realize that things are going to get dangerous that Conway tries to leave, and is promptly shot in the head. There’s no way out.

Each player takes turns answering a question of “would you rather?”. Whatever option is chosen, that person must perform, and they’re on a time limit. It begins with the choice of electrocuting themselves or someone else. As the game progresses, the challenges get more difficult. Each player is slowly eliminated via death. Or close to death (it’s never really revealed whether Travis lives or not). Travis is whipped, Linda bleeds out, Peter dies from presumably shock, Amy drowns, and Cal is shot by Shep after an escape attempt. At the end, only Iris and Lucas are left.

Iris gets the choice to either let her and Lucas leave, completely alive, but empty-handed, or she fatally shoots Lucas. It’s at this point that Shep reminds her of why she’s there to begin with: Raleigh. Understandably, Lucas tries to persuade Iris to let them leave, and even tries to connect with her by telling her why he’s there. Before he can finish, though, Iris shoots him in the heart. As Shep, Bevans, and the rest of the staff congratulate her, Iris drops the gun and buries her face in her arms, crying.

After she composes herself, Iris is taken back home, where she cleans herself up. She goes to check on Raleigh, who is still in bed. She trues to wake him up, but as she rolls him over, she sees and empty bottle of his medication and vomit on his pillow. While she was gone, making impossible decisions on his behalf, Raleigh committed suicide.

I happened across this movie while looking for something to watch. I honestly thought it was going to be another typical students getting themselves into trouble movie, but, as it turns out, it’s probably one of the better B-movies I’ve seen. The things that the players are forced to go through are truly uncomfortable to watch and the acting is spot-on. Fun fact, Brittany Snow is also one of the producers.

I fully expected things to go Iris’ way after the nightmare she went through, but after coming home to find her brother dead by his own hand, it made me enjoy this movie that much more. Having a not-so-obvious ending is what I like in most films. It is sad, clearly, but I think it really makes you feel something, and that’s what made this movie. If you can handle a bit of blood and can sit through watching people die over and over, I highly recommend it. It’s a great film that’s worth the watch.

If you have a movie you would like me to review, leave a comment or send an email to spoileralertblog@outlook.com with “movie review” in the subject line.