#4 - Would You Rather (2012)


(dir. David Guy Levy)


Eight strangers, all deeply desperate for help, are invited to a dinner party hosted by the Lambrick Foundation, a mysterious charity organization.  They are told that after dinner, there will be a game, and the winner will receive everything they need to get their life back on the right track.  However, this game turns out to be a violent, sadistic version of "would you rather"... and participation is mandatory.  Basically, this movie is equal parts Clue and Saw.

Jeffrey Combs stars as the host of the party, and he is definitely the biggest thing that this film has going for it.  His character is evil yet charismatic, and he controls the game with a kind of gleeful cruelty.  A film like this could have easily become unpleasantly mean-spirited, but even with the sometimes brutal violence of the game, I think that Combs does a great job in keeping things from becoming too uncomfortable.  I'm not implying that this is in any way lighthearted or a comedy, though - it is, after all, still a film about strangers being forced to torture one another.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good film, but not a great one.  Combs is a really charismatic and enjoyable actor, but without him this would have been a completely forgettable movie, in my opinion.  Recommended if you can stomach some occasionally brutal violence - if not, stay away.

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