The Choking Game 2014

Taryn, Freya Tingley, is starting her first day as a high school senior. Her overbearing mother Heidi, Peri Gilpin, keeps a tight leash on her, pushing relentlessly from SAT prep to the prom. Heidi even reworks Taryn’s schedule, swapping her free period into the yearbook club, a trap that leaves Taryn with little room for the activities she actually enjoys and for the downtime a teen needs. The pressure mounts as Taryn endures constant reminders about perfection, a weight that rubs against her independence and her growing desire to chart her own path.

Taryn confides in Elena, her nonconformist best friend, Beverly Ndukwu, about a crush she has on her childhood friend Ryder, Mitch Ainley. Ryder recently broke up with his girlfriend over the summer, which unsettles Taryn even more because she worries that her feelings might not be returned. The dynamic at school thickens when Courtney, the most popular girl, Ferron Guerreiro, announces that a new girl has arrived—Nina, Alex Steele—rumored to be into some “hardcore stuff.” Courtney’s bullying ways set a tense tone, but the girls pay little attention to her doom-and-gloom rumors.

In a private moment, Taryn encounters Nina in the girls’ washroom. Nina is passed out on the floor, next to a toilet, and begs Taryn not to tell anyone she’s seen. Taryn covers for her by explaining to Courtney that Nina was just helping her look for contact lenses, a lie that marks the beginning of an uneasy alliance. Nina’s presence injects a new, unpredictable energy into Taryn’s life. Nina’s home life is starkly different from Taryn’s; she lives with her mother, Nina’s mother Julia Arkos, a busy woman who is rarely home and frequently goes on dates with younger men. This absence of parental oversight fascinates Nina and becomes a catalyst for the kind of risk-taking that both girls start to explore together. Nina, in turn, admires the stability of Taryn’s more traditional, supportive family life.

Soon, Nina introduces Taryn to a dangerous pastime she calls “the choking game”—a method of achieving a high without drugs by cutting off oxygen to the brain, whether by pressing on one’s own neck or by having a proxy do it. The girls try it, and it becomes a troubling ritual they rehearse in secret. The danger is not theoretical: there are close calls when Taryn’s mother overhears their panic and begins to suspect something is very wrong, and later when Courtney stumbles upon them in a hidden corridor of the gym. Yet the lure of the game persists, and it starts to alter Taryn’s behavior in more ways than one. Her grades slip, she starts snapping at her parents, and she questions the very values that used to guide her, including her commitment to Elena and her athletic, studious self.

As autumn fades, Taryn and Nina crash Courtney’s house party. In front of the crowd, Taryn makes a bold, reckless move—she tries to force an encounter with Ryder. The moment is a public humiliation for everyone involved: Taryn’s birthday plans evaporate, and she instead lashes out at Elena, who can only watch as their friendship strains to the breaking point. Elena confronts Taryn about the path she’s taking, but Taryn pushes back with anger, and the two drift apart for a time. The fallout from the party underscores a rift that will test every relationship in Taryn’s orbit.

After a difficult night, Taryn’s mother and father confront her again about her behavior. The family tension builds as Taryn unknowingly steps toward a deeper crisis. On the way to Nina’s house, a grim scene unfolds: an ambulance arrives, and Nina is being carried out on a stretcher, unconscious and bleeding. Her mother sobs outside the doorway, overwhelmed by what has happened. The school atmosphere shifts in an instant; the whispers spread, and everyone avoids Taryn—everyone except Elena, who tells her that they may never be friends again, or they might someday be, but for now, they’re estranged.

In a tense moment inside the school bathroom, Courtney appears again, but this time the mood shifts. She has started to experiment with the choking game herself, and though she storms off, there are tears in her eyes as she nods toward a shared, painful understanding of what this can do. Taryn finds a quiet kind of solace in offering Courtney a lifeline, saying she will be there if Courtney ever needs to talk, a gesture that signals a potential, fragile bridge back to something resembling trust.

That afternoon, Taryn and her mother drive to Nina’s house. Inside Nina’s bedroom, Taryn encounters a devastating sight: Nina lies severely brain-damaged, dressed in dark, elastic pants and unable to stand or speak clearly. A large, purple bruise covers most of Nina’s left eye, a stark reminder of the violence the “game” has inflicted. Nina can barely vocalize, making guttural noises as she attempts to communicate. Taryn’s relief from the weight of guilt becomes a burden of accountability as she realizes the true consequences of their actions. She apologizes to Ryder for her part in the reckless mistakes, explaining that Nina hit her head during the game and that the resulting injuries are permanent. Ryder accepts the apology, and a new, complicated chapter begins as they begin a fragile romantic relationship, aware of the damage that has been done and the uncertain future ahead.

This story unfolds as a stark, unflinching look at pressure, risk, and the ways friendships can fracture under strain. It centers on Taryn’s struggle to balance the expectations placed upon her by her mother and the dangerous allure of rebellion she discovers with Nina. It also explores the emotional landscape of Elena as she watches her best friend drift away and then tentatively begins to consider whether there could ever be a path back to trust. The film ultimately leaves viewers with a sobering meditation on adolescence, autonomy, and the lasting impact of choices made in moments of desperation.