Choose or Die review.
Choose or Die presents characters with a text-based adventure that has dire real-world consequences. The poorly crafted nature of the movie presents viewers with a much easier choice.
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Choose or Die
Directed by Toby Meakins
Written by Toby Meakins, Simon Allen and Matthew James Wilkinson
Starring Iola Evans, Asa Butterfield, Angela Griffin and Ryan Gage
Choose or Die Review
Choose or Die knows that it can do some crazy and fun things with its premise. It’s odd that it chooses to be so boring with it most of the time. Simply put, this isn’t a good movie. It doesn’t have much of anything to say. It isn’t particularly well crafted. Frustratingly, there are a couple of scenes that make the concept fun and interesting…but the bulk of the experience has far less imagination.
Kayla (Iola Evans) and her friend Isaac (Asa Butterfield) find an obscure 80s text adventure game called CURS>R. When she plays the game, she finds the choices affect reality around her in horrific ways. Forced to play the game to completion, Kayla finds those closest to her in danger if she chooses the wrong answer. Kayla and Isaac work together to investigate the history and curse of CURS>R.
What we have here is an old-fashioned investigate a curse movie. Earlier this year we saw Smile crush it at the box office with its version of the sub-genre. Smile is a much better movie than Choose or Die. Neither is as good as The Ring…but that’s beside the point. In order to have a successful investigative horror movie…the thing that’s being investigated must be interesting. That’s strike one against Choose or Die.
It also helps to be scary. Smile has some expert jump scares…and knows when not to pull that trigger to let moments build suspense. The Ring has an overriding sinister tone and maintains an uneasy feeling throughout. Choose or Die has something bad happen once a day and it’s usually not that interesting. The rest of the day is even less interesting.
When Kayla begins to play the game at a diner late at night, we are treated to a sign that Choose or Die may have some real entertainment to throw our way with the concept. A waitress loses control of her actions and begins to break glasses on the floor. CURS>D asks Kayla a question. Should the waitress continue to break glasses or should she clean it up. Kayla answers how anyone would…clean up the broken glass. The waitress then kneels in the glass and begins to eat each piece one by one…unable to stop.
It’s a great scene and gives you a lot of hope that you are going to see some cool things in Choose or Die. And then you don’t. In fact, until the ending confrontation of the film…Choose or Die seems to go out of its way to keep you from seeing anything fun again. The crazy thing happens over the phone or enveloped in fog. Budget limitations are always a thing…but the movie covers them with poor artistic choices
That final confrontation is probably the most fun the movie has. It’s finally crazy…to a silly degree. By the time we reach this final stage of CURS>D it’s just impossible to be invested in any of it. I’ll give the movie some credit for saving the best thing it was going to do for the climax. If you are forced to choose one spot to go crazy, they picked the right one. I just wish the scenes between the first and last level of the game were more fun and memorable.
Performances here are largely fine. Everyone is tasked with delivering some ridiculous dialog and reacting to poor effects and silly situations. They do their best. The movie doesn’t do them any favors. There’s nothing particularly memorable that you’ll take away from Choose or Die but the acting is the thing you’ll likely blame the least.
The central mystery being investigated is the history of the game and its creator. It’s pretty much a dud in that department as well. There’s a convoluted lore introduced that you don’t really have to pay attention to. Video game can kill you is enough of a concept without cursed symbols and suffering leading to personal gain. Or whatever this was trying to say. It becomes apparent by the end that the script is hoping this becomes a franchise. I just hope Netflix chooses correctly.
Scare Value
There’s a decent concept at play in Choose or Die. Near the story finally lets loose with how crazy and fun the movie could have been. By then it’s far too late. Predictability and poor effects are a lethal combination. A few fun ideas with the concept can only do so much. Also, why isn’t this movie just called CURS>D?
1.5/5
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Choose or Die Trailer
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