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TRUTH OR DARE II: WICKED GAMES
Written and Directed by Tim Ritter
Produced by Kermit Christman
Edited by Rusty DurhamDan Hess - Joel D. Wynkoop
Dr. Seidow - Kermit Christman
Gary - Kevin Scott Crawford
Ginger/Traci - Patricia PaulThe more of Tim Ritter's work I see, the more I'm convinced he's the most socially conscious filmmaker working in the realm of micro-budget features. As I've said before, he pulls his subject matter directly from the headlines. His works are an examination of the sensationalism that feeds our popular culture. SCREAMING FOR SANITY, looked at the media's need to deify and capitalize off of serial killers and DIRTY COP, NO DONUT, used the notion of reality based programming to examine media fueled sociopathic behavior.
With a pedigree like that, I was seriously looking forward to WICKED GAMES: TRUTH OR DARE II. Serious disappointment followed. While WICKED GAMES maybe Tim's weakest effort, is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. The problem is I've seen Tim's work in a reverse chronological order and use the great DIRTY COP as a reference point. Most micro-budget's fail in comparison to that one.
WICKED GAMES opens 8 years after the events of TRUTH OR DARE with Joel D. Wynkoop returning as Dan Hess (in the first film he was known only as Guard #2). No longer a psychiatric guard, Hess is now a police psychiatrist assigned to the Copper Masked Madman, Mike Strauber, from the first film. As always, Joel is a pleasure to watch. He is one of the few micro-budget actors who takes his (side) career seriously. Fired intensity and focus drive his performance and it rivals his work on DIRTY COP.
New to the series is fellow psychiatrist named Gary, Dan's best friend and cousin to Strauber. While Kevin Scott Crawford doesn't look the part of a psychiatrist, he does ooze the required smarminess. (Note-the box says that the film was made in cooperation with The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival, it is highly possible this is from where Crawford stems).
Gary recently caught his girlfriend, Tracie, with another man and has since moved out. With no place to go, Gary soon ends up Dan's doorstep. It's not long before the murders start up again. Unlike the first film, the violence isn't random. Only cheating spouses/partners and their lovers are targeted. Gone are the childhood torments of the Truth or Dare game that fueled Strauber's dementia in the first film. It's an element sadly missed. To be honest, I don't remember this in the third film either and it almost negates the series.
Ritter truly has a unique world view. There is no glitz and gloss; everything is gritty and ugly. I felt dirty just watching this film. Most of his characters seem to come from a white trash background, and those that don't definitely have a sub-working class feel. It's rare you will even find one attractive looking person. All this adds a layer of realism you won't find in Hollywood features.
What makes the film stand out are the twists and turns. Nothing is what it seems, and I mean nothing. Many these I originally dismissed as budget limitations, but in the final moments they came back into play as legitimate plot devices. In many ways WICKED GAMES reminded me of Basic Instinct, where the killer isn't revealed until the final frame. And it really is in the final frames of WICKED GAMES where all of your questions are answered. And I'm happy to admit that I was duped by many of them. Check it out.
Available at Sub Rosa Studios