Honestly, we’ve all been there. You’re sitting around a basement or a cramped dorm room, someone suggests a game of truth or dare, and suddenly the vibe gets weird. It’s the ultimate high-stakes social game. So, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood turned that awkwardness into a full-blown nightmare. But when people talk about a truth or dare horror movie, they’re usually thinking of the 2018 Blumhouse hit.
You know the one.
It’s got Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, and those haunting, digitally warped smiles that launched a thousand memes. But here’s the thing: that’s not the only one. Not by a long shot. In fact, if you’ve ever scrolled through Netflix or Syfy late at night, you’ve probably stumbled across a completely different version that feels like a fever dream.
The Blumhouse Version: Mexico, Demons, and a Viral Ending
The 2018 film directed by Jeff Wadlow is basically the "Final Destination" of party games. The setup is classic. A group of college seniors, led by the perpetually responsible Olivia (Lucy Hale), heads to Mexico for one last spring break hurrah. They meet a mysterious guy named Carter—shoutout to Landon Liboiron for playing the ultimate "don't talk to strangers" warning—who lures them to an abandoned mission to play the game.
It feels like a normal, albeit tense, game until Carter drops the bombshell: the game is real. It’s alive. And if you don't play, you die.
The mechanics are actually pretty brutal. You can't just pick "truth" every time. If two people in a row choose truth, the third person is forced into a dare. It’s a clever way to keep the plot moving and the body count rising. Speaking of body counts, this movie doesn't hold back on the psychological trauma. Brad is forced to come out to his father at gunpoint. Olivia is forced to admit she’s in love with her best friend’s boyfriend.
It’s messy.
The demon at the center of it all is named Calux. He’s an ancient entity summoned back in the day by a nun (Inez) to stop an abusive priest. Classic "be careful what you wish for" trope. The big twist at the end? Olivia realizes they can’t win. To save herself and her best friend Markie, she uploads a video to YouTube, asking the entire world: "Truth or dare?"
By doing that, she pulls everyone who watches the video into the game. It’s a cynical, brilliant ending that basically says, "If I'm going down, I'm taking the internet with me."
That Other Truth or Dare Movie (The Syfy One)
A lot of people get confused because in 2017—just one year before the Blumhouse theatrical release—Syfy dropped their own version. Also called Truth or Dare.
This one stars Cassie Scerbo (from Sharknado) and features a cameo by horror royalty Heather Langenkamp. While the Blumhouse version feels like a slick, high-budget thriller, the 2017 version is much grittier and, frankly, a lot more mean-spirited.
In this version, the game takes place in a haunted house where a group of friends is forced to complete three rounds. The dares are physically revolting. We’re talking about someone being forced to eat another person’s burnt skin or someone else having to pull out their own teeth. It’s less about "who do you have a crush on?" and more about "how much of your own body can you sacrifice to stay alive?"
If you’re a gorehound, the Syfy version actually hits harder. But if you want the "creepy smile" aesthetic, you’re looking for the 2018 film.
Why the "Willem Dafoe" Face Became a Meme
Let’s talk about the smiles. Director Jeff Wadlow has gone on record saying the look was inspired by Snapchat filters. He wanted something that looked "mischievous" rather than just a standard possession look with black eyes or rotting skin.
He used to doodle that exact smile long before the movie was even a thing.
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The internet, being the internet, immediately dubbed it the "Willem Dafoe face." It’s unsettling because it’s almost human but stretched just a bit too far. While critics panned the movie—it sits at a pretty low 15% on Rotten Tomatoes—that visual stayed in everyone’s head. It worked.
The Sequel That Never Happened (Truth or Big Bear)
With a $95 million global box office on a tiny $3.5 million budget, a sequel was a total no-brainer. But as of 2026, it’s officially dead in the water.
Wadlow actually had a wild idea for it. It was going to be a meta-sequel, sort of like Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. The plot would have involved the real-life actors—Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, and the rest—going on a vacation to a cabin in Big Bear, only to realize the "game" from the first movie was actually following them in real life.
The script was titled Truth or Dare IRL.
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They were actually set to film it during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was to quarantine the entire cast and crew in a cabin on the Universal lot to keep everyone safe. But the costs of the health protocols and the insurance risks eventually became too much. Blumhouse pulled the plug. Wadlow has since said that "the ship has sailed" and too much time has passed to get the original cast back together.
How to Survive a Supernatural Party Game
If you find yourself trapped in a truth or dare horror movie scenario, here are the actual rules you need to remember:
- Never pick the same thing three times. The game will force a dare on you eventually, and those are usually lethal.
- Look for the origin. Both movies involve an ancient ritual or a "survivor" who knows the trick. In the 2018 version, it was the pot containing the demon's tongue.
- Don't try to cheat. The demon (Calux or whatever spirit is haunting the house) sees everything. Lying is a death sentence.
- Go viral. If you can’t beat the demon, dilute the risk. The more people playing, the longer you have between your turns.
Wrapping It Up
The truth or dare subgenre is a weird corner of horror. It taps into our very real fear of social shaming and the secrets we keep from our closest friends. Whether you prefer the viral, glossy chaos of the Blumhouse version or the grit of the Syfy one, the message is the same: some games aren't worth playing.
If you’re looking to watch these, the 2018 Truth or Dare is usually available on platforms like Peacock or for rent on Amazon. The 2017 version pops up on Netflix or Syfy’s app periodically. Just make sure you check the year before you hit play, or you might end up with a very different kind of nightmare than you expected.
Your Next Steps
- Check the credits: Look for Jeff Wadlow (2018) or Nick Simon (2017) to ensure you're watching the version you actually want.
- Double feature: Watch them back-to-back to see how two different directors handle the exact same prompt with wildly different tones.
- Avoid abandoned missions: If a stranger asks you to go to a creepy Mexican church to play a game, maybe just say no and go get some tacos instead.