Odds Are…
Directed by: Peter Markle
Summary: Based on a true story, the film centers around three college friends who play a game – popular with real teens today – called Odds Are, a spin on Truth or Dare where someone issues a dare to another player, then on the count of three, the two players say a number between a designated range; if they pick the same number the person who received the dare must fulfill it, but if they say different numbers, the person who issued the dare must carry it out instead. In the film, the game between the three friends is fueled by a rivalry between the girlfriend and best friend of the lone guy in the group, and the stakes get higher each round. A final dare issued by the best friend results in a terrifying turn of events involving a known killer and a blurred line between truth and deception.
My take: I love the concept. This is a game that's trendy and definitely lends itself to some crazy behavior. However, the film veers from seeming to be headed toward a “can’t stop playing the game OR ELSE” angle to an in-house killer thriller. I think this made me feel duped, but then again, the first route’s recently been done in feature films Truth or Dare and Nerve, and there’s the whole matter of it being based on a true story, so the plot was already written. In any case, the situation is plenty compelling, and as far as the film itself, the scares were pretty solid – particularly in the sense of the roller-coaster of “who’s going to be attacked, when?” Like in all horror movies, characters survive what they shouldn't, and do dumb things they shouldn’t, but there’s reason enough to root for them anyway.
Some of the dialogue is cheesy as if it relies on a formula for teen talk instead of having an understanding of how teens actually talk. The worst example of that is in interactions between the lead “good” guy and his girlfriend, as they sometimes fell flat. Besides some of those scenes, though, the acting is fine. The end twist is good in that even though you kinda see it coming, there is sufficient reason to doubt it along the way, keeping you uncertain. However, it doesn’t have as powerful an impact as it could because there is a lot of exposition, after a climax already heavy on exposition – in other words, there seems to be a lack of commitment to the ending, favoring explanation instead of action. The film won’t go down as an indie-horror legend, but it ultimately does its main job: entertains and gets your adrenaline going.
Rating: 3
Follow and learn more about the film at: https://www.oddsare-movie.com/
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