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Eliminator

Original title: Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness
  • 1986
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
5.0/10
840
YOUR RATING
Eliminator (1986)
Mike Strauber goes mad when finding his wife Sharon in bed with his best friend Jerry. He retreats into an imaginary world of 'truth or dare', as he did when he was a deranged child, where hallucinatory friends 'dare' him into horrid acts of self-mutilation. Institutionalized, Mike continues to play truth or dare and manages to maul his face, covering it with a homemade copper mask. He escapes from the institution and goes on one of the most bizarre road rampages ever committed to celluloid (including a drive-by chainsawing!) that has to be seen to be believed, culminating in a bizarre confrontation with his wife. This is the 1986 cult classic horror film that helped jumpstart the entire "made directly for video" craze and was voted "One Of The Top 13 Slasher Films Of All Time" on TheTop13.com in 2009!
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Slasher HorrorHorror

Mike Strauber catches his wife Sharon in bed with his best friend Jerry. He gets mad and takes off to embark on an adventure of murder and self-mutilation in demented games of truth or dare.Mike Strauber catches his wife Sharon in bed with his best friend Jerry. He gets mad and takes off to embark on an adventure of murder and self-mutilation in demented games of truth or dare.Mike Strauber catches his wife Sharon in bed with his best friend Jerry. He gets mad and takes off to embark on an adventure of murder and self-mutilation in demented games of truth or dare.

  • Directors
    • Tim Ritter
    • Yale Wilson
  • Writer
    • Tim Ritter
  • Stars
    • John Brace
    • Mary Fanaro
    • Bruce Gold
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.0/10
    840
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Tim Ritter
      • Yale Wilson
    • Writer
      • Tim Ritter
    • Stars
      • John Brace
      • Mary Fanaro
      • Bruce Gold
    • 39User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Truth Or Dare? A Critical Madness
    Trailer 5:01
    Truth Or Dare? A Critical Madness

    Photos15

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    Top cast45

    Edit
    John Brace
    • Mike Strauber
    Mary Fanaro
    • Sharon Strauber
    Bruce Gold
    • Jerry Powers
    A.J. McLean
    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
    • Directors
      • Tim Ritter
      • Yale Wilson
    • Writer
      • Tim Ritter
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews39

    5.0840
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    Featured reviews

    Vince-5

    "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!
    8shiftyrc5

    Low budget 80's film making at it's bloody best

    This is a true gem and, unfortunately, one that can never be duplicated due to the ease at which low budget films can be made very high quality today. The creativity in the use of many types of killing weapons is very unique-everything from a chainsaw to a mace(that wooden stick with the spikey ball on the end). There are some decent examples of stunts/dummy heads being blown away as well. What really blew me away was the fact that an original song was composed and performed for the end credits of the film.

    The movie is about a total psycho and the original song is performed by a gospel choir-very strange. On a sidenote-see if you can spot a future member of the backstreet boys as he is killed. Here's a hint-chainsaw.
    6Bub_the_zombie

    A new respect....

    Truth or Dare is one of those films that you'll never see anything else like it. Everything is completely over-the-top. The gore, action, comedy - the extremely catchy synth score - Everything is done in a way that's a complete parody within itself, but Ritter doesn't do it in an obvious form. He's poking fun at the film, but does it in a serious way. (Is that a paradox?) Nevertheless, this is an experience you'll likely not forget very soon. I'm sure Ritter was working out some hidden feelings or agenda's during the time this film was released. I had no idea that Ritter was only around 18 or 19 when he made this film - MAking a competent film at 19 - Hitting the top of the video rental chain - All before he was 20. I'm not sure how JR Bookwalter gets all the credit for revolutionizing indy film making. Tim Ritter certainly deserves more credit in regards to the straight to video market that kick started home entertainment.

    I'm not saying Truth or Dare is a masterpiece, but what it is is a competently made horror film (now a cult classic) that was virtually written and directed by a teenager! Luck may have had something to do with it, but craftiness (not only in the directing department, but craftiness in the marketing department) has made his name a very welcomed sound to the old school horror fan.

    BTW, the old man who played one of the mental patients deserved an award. At times, I'm not so sure Ritter didn't actually have the guy cut off his hand. Of course, I'm an idiot, but after one grasps how young the director was, they'll gain a whole new appreciation for this movie.
    8shiftyrc5

    HOW CAN WE GET THERE AGAIN?

    This was a masterpiece in film making. Well, not really. For all of our self indulgent films of crap then we should all take notes from this film. This is a "horror" movie that takes says that it is not. It is funny, clever, gruesome, and bad, but its badness makes it what it was. The over acting, extremely bloody death scenes, and the gratuitius nudity, make it an entertaining film. Nothing now can hold its own weight because they take themselves too seriously. This was, is, the true film that make made horror movies, not Scream or I Know What You Did when you were trying to scare me, fun. Attention all horror movies of our time, either do something that no one else has, or be creative and make us laugh. If you can't do that, then release this movie, as bad as it was.
    7Thom-P

    Top notch low budgeter

    After reading the other reviews of this film, it seems many people measure quality by the amount of money that went into a production. Go figure... Truth or Dare? - A Critical Madness was indeed made on a shoestring, but writer/director, Tim Ritter displays more imagination in 5 minutes than any of today's big budget horror films can manage in 2 hours. Ignore the naysayers and see this little gem from the 80s. Serious horror fans need only apply.

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    Related interests

    Roger Jackson in Scream (1996)
    Slasher Horror
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On the 4 September 2013 episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005), Elijah Wood said that he was five years old when he watched his first horror movie - Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness (1986), which was a then-newly released. He said that it was what made him fall in love with horror films, that it remains one his all-time favorite horror movies, and that he has introduced it to several of his friends over the years.
    • Goofs
      During the campfire scene, Mike Strauber is dared to rip out his tongue. Later, he is able to talk frequently. This is explained in the film as being through speech therapy, however, this would not help a man lacking a tongue.
    • Alternate versions
      The wide-screen DVD from Sub Rosa features a redone version of the opening credits in a different font (the title graphic, however, remains the same) giving Tim Ritter back his directing credit (producer Yale Wilson took it on the previous VHS release).
    • Connections
      Featured in Arbeitslos (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Critical Madness
      Written by Johnny Britt and Ken Karlson

      Performed by Kay Reed with the Church Of Our Savior Choir

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    FAQ14

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1, 1986 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Truth or Dare?
    • Filming locations
      • Palm Beach, Florida, USA
    • Production companies
      • Peerless Films
      • Twisted Illusions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $250,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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