An excerpt from my script review for Truth or Dare which will be available 04/20/20:
2.) Plot Stability
What’s with recent scripts and all the bad stuff happening in Mexico?
This one had a burnt out mission outside some spring break hotspot, and Reals reviewed the DOLLY DEAREST script which took place at a Mexican toy factory.
Sending so much hate south of the border!
Anyway…
The thing this script did really well, and is a must for well written horror projects.
Rules.
The game (or monster) has rules that both it and the victims have to abide by.
Killing characters willy nilly isn’t as tense if it’s random.
So what were some here?
1.) Once started, there’s no way out until you die!
Of course the thought of this is scary, but it also leads to motivation for the characters to look for an escape.
2.) The game follows you wherever you go!
Leaving Mexico won’t work. The group heads back to college, and they’re still playing there whether they like it or not.
3.) The “truth or dare” question escalates until you pick!
This forces the characters to play, because the game won’t be ignored. It starts out subtle, with only the person whose turn it is seeing it, but gets crazier and more painful the longer a character lets it go.
4.) When you refuse, you DIE!
This one led to some real mayhem and gore, assuming much to the delight of dedicated horror fans.
5.) Only two Truths in a row!
Such a welcomed and clever twist! Better even since the characters were just saying, “We’ll all do truth from here on out,” but the game’s original participants put in a rule that after two truths the next person had dare, regardless.
This kept things dangerous for them, but exciting for us!
The script was extremely reminiscent of It Follows another cleverly done horror script in my opinion.
If you’re sitting down to write this sort of horror (and I truly hope you’re considering something in the genre), it’s smart to sit down and give your “monster” a strict immoral code to adhere to.
Similar to writing a contained piece, now the trick becomes how can you exploit it, both trying to get your characters out AND getting them unexpectedly killed?
Pull it off, and you’ll have one hell of a spec.
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