Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness (1986)

Director:

Tim Ritter

Writer:

Tim Ritter

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Mike Strauber catches his wife Sharon in bed with his best friend Jerry. He gets mad and takes off to...

Plot Keywords:

Truth Or Dare | Murder | Self Mutilation | Social Commentary | Pencil

Cast

John Brace	...	Mike Strauber
Mary Fanaro	...	Sharon Strauber
Bruce Gold	...	Jerry Powers
A.J. McLean	...	Little Mike (as Alexander J. McLean)
Christopher Bontempo	...	Playmate
Jon Creamer	...	Playmate
Christine Duff	...	Playmate
Jennifer Duff	...	Playmate
Priscilla Duff	...	Mike's Mother
Kerry Ellen Walker	...	Hitch-Hiker
D.C. 'Dash' Goff	...	Park Ranger (as Dash Goff)
Rick Paige	...	Dr. Thorne
Mona Jones	...	Dr. Evans
Bruce Paquette	...	Garage Attendent
Edward L. Elliott II	...	Man-Next-Door
Therese C. Elliott	...	Woman-Next-Door
Raymond Carbone	...	Detective Rosenberg
Geoffrey Miller	...	Wes
Tami Smith	...	Dr. Bachman
Norm Rosenbaum	...	Bald Man
Asbestos Felt	...	Warty Man / Newscaster Voice
Anthony T. Townes	...	Guard #1
Joel D. Wynkoop	...	Guard #2 (as Joel Wynkoop)
Pam Weitzman	...	Woman With Carriage
Baby Duff	...	Baby In Carriage
Jere Beery	...	Teen Punk
Christine Efstathion	...	Teen Punk
Rachel Rutz	...	Teen Punk
Valerie Gobos	...	Station Wagon Family
Joe Scheurer	...	Station Wagon Family
Michele Bellefeuille	...	Station Wagon Family
Lydia Kring	...	Station Wagon Family
Kelly Dreber	...	Teen In Flashback
Robert Gann	...	Teen In Flashback
Wendy Ritter	...	Teen In Flashback
Terence Andreucci	...	Pournelle (as Terrence Andreucci)
Richard K. Day	...	Officer Down
Si Stillerman	...	Medical Examiner
Scott Weitzman	...	Baseball Player
Timothy Wellman	...	Boy in Flashback
Cynthia Frisch	...	Bus Stop Victim
Jim Frisch	...	Bus Stop Victim
Ted Frisch	...	Bus Stop Victim
Angelina Rodell	...	Old Lady
Margaret Carbone	...	Dispatcher (voice)

Directed by
Tim Ritter

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tim Ritter

Produced by
Geoffrey Miller	....	executive producer
Steven R. Weitzman	....	executive producer
Yale Wilson	....	producer

Original Music by
Johnny Britt
Ken Karlson

Cinematography by
Christopher M. Burritt
Ned Miller

Film Editing by
Jack Behrend

Set Decoration by
Valerie Gobos

Costume Design by
Valerie Gobos

Makeup Department
Steve Prouty	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Yale Wilson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Steve Feldott	....	first assistant director (as Steven J. Feldott)

Art Department
Kyle Barth	....	assistant set decorator
Arthur Guse	....	storyboard artist
Joel D. Wynkoop	....	props (as Joel Wynkoop)

Sound Department
Ric Coken	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jon Lind	....	additional sound
Timothy Logue	....	boom operator
Mike Moats	....	sound technical consultant
Jim Moore	....	sound effects
Glenn Selig	....	location sound recordist
Shawn Snowden	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Bob Shelley	....	special effects

Stunts
Jere Beery	....	stunt coordinator
C.D. Kingera	....	stunts
Bob Shelley	....	stunts
Joel D. Wynkoop	....	stunts (as Joel Wynkoop)

Camera and Electrical Department
James R. Frazier	....	assistant camera
Geoffrey Miller	....	best boy
Scott Mumford	....	grip
Al Pavoni	....	assistant camera (as Al 'Tiko' Pavoni)
Todd Smith	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Priscilla Duff	....	casting (as Priscilla Sue Duff)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kyle Barth	....	assistant wardrobe
Valerie Gobos	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Jim Cogan	....	music mixer
Jim Cogan	....	music recordist

Other crew
Jeff Allen	....	production assistant
Donna Beery	....	production assistant
Pamela D'Amico	....	production assistant
Sherri Gilman-Tompkins	....	unit publicist
Roberta McElroy	....	location manager
Bonnie Neilia	....	craft service (as Bonnie Nielia)
Malinda Shelley	....	production assistant
Cecelia von der Heyde	....	production secretary
Susan Knox Wilson	....	production auditor
Susan Knox Wilson	....	production coordinator
Bob Wright	....	production assistant
Robert Wright	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Peerless Films
• Twisted Illusions

Distributors

• Peerless Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Sub Rosa Retro (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Left Hand Productions  DVD design and authoring (Joel D. Wynkoop Collection)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Norway:90 min | USA:87 min (DVD release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Company:

Peerless Films

Goofs:

Continuity: During the Sunnydale Mental Institute scene in which Mike hallucinates two old men, he instructs one to cut off his arm. He only cuts off his hand. Later, Mike incorrectly reprimands the same man, telling him he had requested for his leg to be cut off. Mike Strauber never told the old man to cut off his leg.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Crimson Carnage: The Making of 'Truth or Dare: A Critical Madness' (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Go With The Flow

"His energy's gone in the wrong direction..."

Truth or Dare is a campy, sadistic, truly warped horror movie. Shot on videotape and transferred to film, it actually benefits from its amateurishness, resulting in a genuinely disturbing experience that really packs a punch. This is one of the very few movies where video photography actually contributes the atmosphere instead of destroying it. It's incredibly gory and shows things that mainstream films wouldn't even imply. Where else are you going to see a baby run over by a car and a little boy chainsawed? And what's really interesting is that you never know where it'll go next. You think it's going to be a standard get-out-of-the-asylum-and-terrorize-the-ex-wife stalker plot, but things take a series of unexpected twists, with the bloodbath getting more and more demented. There are many moments where you don't know whether to laugh, scream, or get sick.

There are the usual bad-movie routines. The acting is variable--Kerry Ellen Walker, as the frizzy-haired hitchhiker chick, seems to have been plucked directly from a high-school production of Bye Bye Birdie. At the climax, the copper mask pulsates when the killer breathes. Still, it's all so numbingly brutal and unsettling that you can suspend disbelief ("hmm...very thin copper, apparently") and get dragged along on the bloody joyride. Kay Reed sings the hyper-dramatic theme song, "A Critical Madness," which is the source of my summary quote. Truly unforgettable, and not for the faint of heart or those concerned with "taste." As if children are immune to death!