10 Horror Movies That Take Themselves Way Too Seriously
4. Would You Rather
2012's Would You Rather adds a morbid twist to the classic party game. At the behest of a twisted billionaire, hard-up individuals participate in the hopes of winning a huge cash prize. Unfortunately, nothing is off the table in terms of in-game options. Would you rather be thrashed with a bullwhip or get impaled with an ice pick?
The graphic depiction of the film's grotesque "games" verges on torture porn. Featuring sequences depicting eyeballs being sliced open and hands getting blown apart, Would You Rather is exceedingly obvious in its mission to shock. This is a horror outing rigidly designed to disturb its audience and leave an ugly impression.
The issues that arise with this approach concern the cast's overtly melodramatic perfomances. This element largely robs the movie's scenes of any legitimate terror and consistently slides into the realms of "unintentionally hilarious". As such, the contest's brutality juxtaposed against the hamfisted acting and vacuous characters feels even more unnecessary than it already is.
Would You Rather's violence isn't there to symbolize a deeper meaning. The film takes its depiction of stomach-churning gore so seriously that the end result is a thoroughly unenjoyable watch.