‘Choose or Die’ Review: A Mostly Watchable ‘Bandersnatch’ Copy – CNET

Asa Butterfield provides charming comic relief as games programmer Isaac, who’s clearly in love with Iola Evans’ Kayla. He brings just enough Sex Education awkwardness to make lines such as “It’s a date” earn a sigh with a smile.
We follow Kayla and Isaac down a straightforward rabbit hole mystery, until about two-thirds of the way in, where you’ll find the majority of the movie’s squeamish moments. A woman forced to eat glass is one example earlier on. It’s wince-worthy, but Choose or Die never gets gory, which might suit a wider range of tastes.
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Choose or Die’s final destination doesn’t necessarily make any sense, bringing in supernatural elements and a strange message about life being the real curse. Still, the flick features tense, gripping moments, and the video game concept never fails to be an addictive, entertaining draw.
The glass-eating scene from the trailer.
A straightforward horror mystery with a few tricks up its sleeve, Choose or Die’s nostalgia factor and charming leads will ensure you make it to the unnerving end.

The main point-scorer for Choose or Die are its ’80s references and retro video game nostalgia. Isaac listens to Fad Gadget on his walkman and lives in a gaming shack, surrounded by shelves of cartridges and secondhand consoles. Yes, he was asking for a video game to curse him.
Kayla and Isaac are the unfortunate gamers who dust off CURS>R, an old video game from the ’80s (did they learn nothing from Jumanji?). The game torments them with a series of deadly levels, putting their families on the line and incorporating people and objects in their immediate vicinity. Asa Butterfield in Choose or Die.