Going into the first feature film from director David Guy Levy, Would You Rather, I expected to be watching a black comedy with some horror elements thrown in. What I got was a horror flick that has a lot going for it and isn’t shy about getting nasty and this is a good thing!
The setup for the story is simple enough – Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman named Iris (Brittany Snow) agrees to compete in a game hosted by the aristocrat Shepard Lambrick (Jeffery Combs). Iris and seven other just-as-desperate guests will be competing for the chance to have all their worries taken care of. In Iris’ case, herself and her ill brother will be looked after both medically and financially. Of course it isn’t as simple as this and when Shepard Lambrick introduces the first game in Would You Rather, the players know that it is not going to be your average night.
It is an interesting hypothetical to throw around – What is your price? – and director David Guy Levy and writer Steffen Schlachtenhaufen try to wring out as much as they can out of this question and the situation that has been seen in many films, however they do manage to do a fairly good job of it. Even before the real game begins, we witness Lambrick posing the question to his guests. He offers money to Iris to eat meat when she is a vegetarian, he also offers a recovered alcoholic cash to start drinking again. Then when the time comes for the real game to start and the tough decisions to be made (and in true horror tradition) it comes down to a case of Would You Rather – hurt yourself or a total stranger next to you. As the game wears on, the stakes are raised and yes horror buffs things do get decidedly dark and bloody. However, Levy does show restraint in regard to punishments that are doled out, without this restraint the film could’ve turned into a bloodbath but this restraint really helps with the atmosphere of the film and gives the nasty events more kick.
Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect) is quite good as Iris, she conveys the emotional weariness that a person in her situation would have. Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience) does a good job of playing a fairly one-dimensional character in the bad girl, only occasionally does she get to try to go a little deeper into her character. The rest of the main cast – John Heard, Charlie Hofmeimer, Logan Miller, June Squibb, Eddie Steeples, Robin Taylor and Robb Wells, all do serviceable jobs but in essence their characters are only there to provide bodies to be victims of the game. However Jeffery Combs (Re-Animator) looms large over the entire film as the measured billionaire Shepard Lambrick and totally runs the show. Combs really seems to enjoy the role and he adds a lot of class to a character that could have quickly become a campy, cartoonish bad guy.
The film is at its best when it is at the dining table and the film drags when the attention is elsewhere. There is a rescue subplot that is not needed, as well as the introduction of Lambrick’s son, which I thought the film could’ve done without, as his involvement slows the pace of the film down midway through. These minor quibbles aside, Would You Rather is definitely a good way to spend an hour and a half.
