I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

How sad is this?

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

TRUTH OR DARE? is a very weird little indie horror film, made back in 1986 and shot locally in Florida. It's about a cuckolded husband who goes out of his mind after discovering his wife in bed with another man, leading him on an odyssey of self-mutilation (the film's most bizarre highlight), madness, and eventual murder. Truth be told, it's a silly little thing, entirely unconvincing and badly-acted to boot, and I found the whole thing to be poorly-scripted and dragged out to the nth degree. Still, fans of the era might get a kick or two out of it regardless...

There are good horror movies, bad horror movies, and horror movies that are so bad that they are good...then there's this! A movie so hideously awful that all you can do at the end credits is gawk at the screen in disbelief and ask yourself "Did I really just waste 1.5 hours of my life watching that piece of trash?". The gore effects in this one are not bad at all but unfortunately that does not save this film. It is hideously acted with so many flashback sequences and sequences that are conjured up in the main character's imagination that it tends to make the viewer dizzy. The film is also HORRIBLY edited...actors and actresses are inexplicably cut-off in the middle of their lines! What's even worse is the fact that there was even more time and effort wasted making 2 abysmal sequels to this worthless flick (I HIGHLY doubt that the 'demand' for this one was that high). Sequels that are so amateurish and poorly filmed that a three year old child with a hand held camera could film more compelling stuff! To avoid the stench of this stinker...stay as far away from it as humanly possible!

Truth or Dare is one of those films that you'll never see anything else like it. Everything is completely over-the-top. The gore, action, comedy - the extremely catchy synth score - Everything is done in a way that's a complete parody within itself, but Ritter doesn't do it in an obvious form. He's poking fun at the film, but does it in a serious way. (Is that a paradox?) Nevertheless, this is an experience you'll likely not forget very soon. I'm sure Ritter was working out some hidden feelings or agenda's during the time this film was released. I had no idea that Ritter was only around 18 or 19 when he made this film - MAking a competent film at 19 - Hitting the top of the video rental chain - All before he was 20. I'm not sure how JR Bookwalter gets all the credit for revolutionizing indy film making. Tim Ritter certainly deserves more credit in regards to the straight to video market that kick started home entertainment.I'm not saying Truth or Dare is a masterpiece, but what it is is a competently made horror film (now a cult classic) that was virtually written and directed by a teenager! Luck may have had something to do with it, but craftiness (not only in the directing department, but craftiness in the marketing department) has made his name a very welcomed sound to the old school horror fan.BTW, the old man who played one of the mental patients deserved an award. At times, I'm not so sure Ritter didn't actually have the guy cut off his hand. Of course, I'm an idiot, but after one grasps how young the director was, they'll gain a whole new appreciation for this movie.

Tim Ritter's 16MM debut (shot in North Palm Beach, Florida) is a sloppy mess, but it's a low-budget attention getter nonetheless. Mike Strauber (John Brace) is a successful married man who once suffered from a nervous breakdown, and now is going insane after discovering his sexy wife (Mary Fanaro) has been cheating on him. Mike leaves the house, picks up a busty redheaded hitchhiker (Kerry Ellen Walker) and heads to a campground for the night, where the two play a twisted version of Truth or Dare by campfire. He dares her to pull out her eye with a corkscrew...and she does!! Then she makes him cut off his finger, slash open his chest and rip out his tongue before disappearing.He's found and rushed off to "Sunnyville Mental Institution" where he is eventually released due to "overcrowding". He heads back home to kill his ex-wife, but is captured again and rushed back to SMI where gory Truth or Dare games are played with other patients. All of the TorD game participants turn out to be delusions of Mike's deranged mind, an odd metaphor for insanity in general, I guess, and a means for lots of self-mutilation.By the films end a head is blown off with a grenade, arms and legs are hacked off, a face is slashed up, a baby in a stroller is run over, a little kid is chewed up in a drive-by chainsawing, an old woman is clubbed on the head, Mike takes a semi-automatic rifle to three unlucky people waiting at a bus stop and much more. It's really just a bunch of violent nonsense, but it's pretty entertaining and the gore FX are fine.Followed by several direct-to-video sequels starting with WICKED GAMES (1993). Also available is (was?) TRUTH OR DARE?-THE RETROSPECT TAPE, hosted by the director.