Choose or Die

Name: Choose or Die
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Released: April 15, 2022
Duration: 84 min
Rating: 43
Cast: Angela Griffin, Asa Butterfield, Caroline Loncq, Eddie Marsan, George Taylor

2022

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Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

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3.8

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3.8	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): April 15, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Angela Griffin, Asa Butterfield, Caroline Loncq, Eddie Marsan, George Taylor, Ioanna Kimbook, Iola Evans, Kate Fleetwood, Robert Englund, Ryan Gage

Summary: After firing up a lost '80s survival horror game, a young coder unleashes a hidden curse that tears reality apart, forcing her to make terrifying decisions and face deadly consequences.

Director: Toby Meakins

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 84 min

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Jude Dry

Apr 15, 2022

Choose or Die is a perfect entry point into genre for younger viewers, one that will also satisfy old school diehards even as it takes some pointed (perhaps deserved?) jabs at them. Read full review

The Playlist Nick Allen

Apr 15, 2022

Even though it’s more of a vision board of what it could be, the film introduces a nifty premise that recalls not just “A Nightmare on Elm Street” but how that series was able to make multiple irresistible sequels. Choose or Die is also the rare mid-budget Netflix movie that gets better and better as it goes along, owning its weirdness and not playing it easy. Read full review

Martin Carr

Apr 25, 2022

Choose or Die has some important things to say about the decisions we make. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Apr 15, 2022

Although I can’t go all-in on Choose or Die, I will say that there’s a lot to be said for a horror movie with clever twists, a top flight cast and a witty consistency to its conceit. Read full review

Polygon Robert Daniels

Apr 15, 2022

The creators’ quest for deeper meaning feels strained and overreaching, and it overwhelms the adventurous spirit of the film’s first half. If anything, this is at least a great jumping-off point for Evans, who never wavers, even when everything around her does. Read full review

The Guardian Benjamin Lee

Apr 15, 2022

[Toby Meakins] doesn’t quite take enough advantage of his reality-shifting game sequences (the Englund voice cameo serves to remind us just how wild Wes Craven made those nightmares way back when) but it’s a cut above the average Netflix genre guff. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

Apr 15, 2022

While there have been worse-crafted, even more routinely formulaic Netflix horror efforts, this one takes the cake for sheer whateverness of barely-there plot, concept, character detailing and so on. Read full review

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User Reviews

Stream2BigScree

Apr 22, 2022

Streamers, you know I'm a sucker for a horror movie. Of course, right on cue Netflix comes out with an Easter horror flick for me, Choose or Die. It has a retro movie like a "Strangers Things"-vibe meets Saw. Doesn't that description sound cool? Either way, Choose or Die follows Kayla afterStreamers, you know I'm a sucker for a horror movie. Of course, right on cue Netflix comes out with an Easter horror flick for me, Choose or Die. It has a retro movie like a "Strangers Things"-vibe meets Saw. Doesn't that description sound cool? Either way, Choose or Die follows Kayla after she finds and begins to play a lost 80s survival horror game. Kayla tries to bring this old-school game into the 21st century with her coding skills, but she unleashes a bit more than she bargained for into her life. Kayla's forced to make some terrifying choices - keep playing or die. I know you're intrigued.

The concept is pretty cool, but the execution is beyond me. There are a few other movies that have the main character choosing between the lesser of two evils. Truth or Dare is one that comes to mind. Here, just like other movies I just kept thinking, "Why and how does this thing control people?" I've watched and I still don't understand. It doesn't make sense to me why and how it controls people and things around them. I'm really confused about the ending as well. Why would this make any sense? It makes for a unique situation so I'm all for it; but, just can we make movies make sense sometimes. Sure, some may be saying that it's clearly a fictional horror movie and it doesn't need to make sense; but, I beg the differ. Add a nice 10 minutes of context into it and help this viewer out. I'm not asking for much just a bit of continuity to give the movie some believability. This movie could easily go from horror movie to I'm-not-touching-a-Resident-Evil-videogame-ever-again with a little bit of care.

Let's talk about the limited cast. The two stars do a pretty good job for what the movie is. I feel their fear and pain. What I'm really trying to figure out is how one goes from an Academy Award movie like Hugo and Ender's Game to this in the matter of 9 years. I know child actors tend to fall off but half-way through those 11 years he was in a couple other big name movies. Anyway, that has nothing to do with this particular movie. Asa Butterfield was alright for this in the fawning boy role, I guess. Iola Evans, on the other hand, while not groundbreaking, did a very good job of conveying the panic, pain, fear, etc. Needed for this role. Let's see if she gets more "scream queen" roles in the future.

With that said, for a streaming movie in April, Choose or Die gives horror fans a little bit of a fix. It's not groundbreaking, not that scary, but it definitely gets the "I'm looking over my shoulder" bug for gamers going. The movie is strangely imaginative and unimaginative at the same time. Either way, grab a bowl of popcorn for this streaming flick. Parents go home and break all of your kid's games just in case, you've been warned.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Runwin

Apr 16, 2022

Es un buen thriller de terror psicológico y gore. Tiene escenas muy peculiares y personales, junto a una historia que sin ser muy original, tiene sus toques particulares. Además es liviana y dura lo justo para explicar lo necesario. En cuanto la cinematografía es correcta, la música es buenaEs un buen thriller de terror psicológico y gore. Tiene escenas muy peculiares y personales, junto a una historia que sin ser muy original, tiene sus toques particulares. Además es liviana y dura lo justo para explicar lo necesario. En cuanto la cinematografía es correcta, la música es buena y los efectos sonoros cumplen su cometido.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TVJerry

Apr 18, 2022

Two coders (Iola Evans & Asa Butterfield) discover an 80s computer game that causes all manner of vicious outcomes…not to the player, but to their unsuspecting victim. There have been numerous movies about deadly online forces, as well as shows that put people in potentially painfulTwo coders (Iola Evans & Asa Butterfield) discover an 80s computer game that causes all manner of vicious outcomes…not to the player, but to their unsuspecting victim. There have been numerous movies about deadly online forces, as well as shows that put people in potentially painful dilemmas, esp. the Saw series and most recently, Squid Game. Both of these genres are exploited here, but not with much new. One of the primary reasons to watch a thriller is for the thrills and there's no tension here. The sometimes horrifying ways that people are killed gets gruesome, which may appease those looking for sadistic violence. The story's logic veers in weird ways, which gives the filmmakers plenty of room to create whatever challenges they want. Plus, the open ending leaves it ready to exploit sequels. Even so, this premise feels more like another Netflix algorithm without much daring or original to make it memorable. BTW, Robert Englund, best known as Freddie Krueger, lends his voice to the game.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MetacriticOnur

Apr 15, 2022

bad
[ bad ]

adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36.
not good in any manner or degree.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

beebo42

Apr 28, 2022

The good: The premise of the movie is interesting and the initial 30 minutes of the movie are particularly gruesome and thrilling. Also, the two main actors are great. Much better than the standard horror movie fair. I hope to see them both go on to better things.

The bad: The latter halfThe good: The premise of the movie is interesting and the initial 30 minutes of the movie are particularly gruesome and thrilling. Also, the two main actors are great. Much better than the standard horror movie fair. I hope to see them both go on to better things.

The bad: The latter half of the movie completely drops the ball. The "choice" is no longer much of a choice at all, and the results are not particularly impressive. Also the final confrontation in the film is pathetic. All of a sudden the movie seems to go hard on trashing middle aged white men and fans of the 80's? Which is very strange considering the target audience they're aiming for.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

OctaneNitro

Apr 24, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fall asleep? Or turn off the movie in confusion? Choose or cancel your Netflix subscription. The central premise of a cursed, text-based 80s game is pretty strong, and the first 10-20 minutes actually deliver some really intense, shocking scenes.

Then the movie just derails. Ignoring the fact that the central game has zero logic, explanation or consistency beyond "runes exist and do stuff", the movie immediately devolves into standard horror tropes we've seen a billion times before (OMG, supernatural force (TM) is using our plucky heroine's long dead brother against her!). The film's plot is also contrived and full of holes: where is the police after multiple people all but drop dead at the protagonist's feet? Who is the voice in the game? Why did the main character need to work in an empty building that just so happens to be the developer of the game? What purpose did this serve?

The movie's tone shifts so wildly from scene to scene that it leaves you with whiplash. One second our protagonist is being forced to watch a helpless waitress torture herself, the next we're.. talking about prizes and watching the main duo awkwardly flirt on the sofa? Nobody ever acknowledges the gravity of the situation or reacts appropriately, and it destroys any suspension of disbelief whatsoever.

The film's villains are also so utterly cartoonish and out-of-nowhere that they genuinely made me laugh out loud. Exhibit A: literally just some dude staring into a camera and laughing maniacally while spouting exposition. Exhibit B: that one guy from The World's End who is another victim of the game but randomly (and off camera?) becomes evil so the film can have a "thrilling" climax. Speaking of characters becoming evil, then there's the main character, who spends the entire film being terrorised by a supernatural force, only to immediately and gleefully become the wielder of said force with no second thoughts, hesitation or confliction. Yay?

Choose Or Die starts off with a glimmer of originality, only to turn into the most bland piece of low-budget, filler Netflix content you've ever seen in your life. It's a supernatural ripoff of Black Mirror with none of the societal relevance or tone that makes Black Mirror so effective. Avoid this one entirely, or better yet, play a game from the 80s that was actually made with care.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

iammoviefan

Apr 18, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i felt this story was very interesting at first. I'm just not that interested in the end of the story where she becomes a hero or a villain? she mastered the game but why did she happen to know coding and be good at turning the game into a murderous tool? what is the real purpose of this movie. she also left his close friends dead alone without respect for the end of his life. very disappointed… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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