Truth Serum

Hosting the perfect house-warming party becomes damn-near impossible for couple Abbie and Matt (Olivia Vinall and Killian Coyle respectively) when their liability of a friend Jimmy (Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd) unknowingly spikes the ice with an illicit blue substance causing everyone who consumes it to tell the truth.

Written by Oliver Shuster and directed by Vika Evdokimenko, short film Truth Serum has a lot of strengths to play to. The concept is sharp and cheeky, the cast is a plethora of excellent acting talent, and the atmosphere of reserved British chaos creates an enjoyably unpredictable, fresh experience for viewers. Sadly, the film never knows quite what to do with all these elements and punts for a haphazard and hazy affair that is still a very enjoyable romp.

By using a splatter-gun approach to the honest revelations, viewers may find themselves struggling to keep up with the pace of the truth-telling. The disorder is further enhanced by numerous characters having rather intriguing backstories, such as a man who pretended he was infertile, and a woman who steals candles. There is a rush that comes from watching Truth Serum that is energising as long as you attend in good spirits.

Vinall and Coyle are excellent in their leading roles and find themselves supported by a great array of performers. Gadd is electric as the coke-snorting f-boy whose trail of carnage gets upended in a poignant, if rushed, character revelation in the latter stages of the movie. Hats off to Sophy Kennedy Clark who plays Vera, best friend to Abbie, who has some of the best lines at other people’s expense, as well as her own emotional journey to confront.

The music choices are terrific, leading the audience through a soft yet whimsical start and through the necessary turmoil and into an arresting calm by the final sections of the short film. One of the songs, “Truth Be Told” even had director Vika Evdokimenko’s name listed in the credits. It’s Smog’s “Truth Serum” which feels the most powerful though, a perfect addition to the movie, not least for its titular twinning.

Whilst audiences are likely to come away from a viewing of Truth Serum with more questions than answers, they can’t deny the experience was refreshing. The reckless abandon to our social cues provides a fabulous arena for our true selves to be unleashed and the smorgasbord of offbeat characters cooked up by Oliver Shuster are as delicious as they are worrying.