Netflix’s marketing pitch for Asa Butterfield’s new movie, Choose or Die is accurate. The trailer does look like it will appeal to fans of Alice in Borderland, Squid Game, and even Black Mirror. It features a horrific game and the trailer sets up a bleak ending for our two protagonists. The subgenre of survival horror reached new heights after Squid Game debuted on the platform, and it would be stupid of Netflix not to commission survival horror projects now. The premise may also remind you of Robin Williams’ classic, Jumanji, except that this is darker and not at all kid-friendly!

Asa Butterfield and Lola Evans risk death and horrifying choices in Choose or Die

The chilly trailer opens with the line, “reality is cursed”. The first “worthy gamer” fails to make a choice and dies. Cut to the next scene, Kayla is fired from her job. She has an ailing mother to look after but she’s penniless. To make matters worse, she hasn’t paid her rent in months and receives an eviction notice. Desperate, she comes across a retro video game, Curser.

The game promises a cash prize of $125,000. That much money would solve all of her problems and Kayla is tempted to play the game. But unknown to her she unleashes a new horror. The game forces her to make terrible choices or risk dying. Appalling choices like making a waitress eat up the glass shards to clean it up. A terrified Lola tries to shut her laptop and end the game unsuccessfully. What’s worse is that she and her boyfriend, Isaac, realize the game can bend reality.

Netflix’s official synopsis: 

“Tempted by a chance to win unclaimed prize money, two friends reboot a mysterious 1980s video game and step into a surreal world of next-level terror.”

When will it arrive on Netflix?

Choose or Die previously named CURSER marks Toby Meakins’ feature film debut. The retro horror game movie stars Sex Education star Asa Butterfield and Lola Evans in the lead. Other cast members include Eddie Marsan, Robert Englund, and Kate Fleetwood. The supernatural thriller will drop on Netflix on April 25, 2022.