Ready or Not (2019)

Movie Info

Let the games begin!

Grace Le Domas (Samara Weaving) is getting a family for the first time and she’s about to join the Le Domas board game empire.  When Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien) brings Grace home for the wedding, she meets Alex’s brother Mark (Adam Brody), his father Tony (Henry Czerny), his mother Becky (Andie MacDowell), his sister Emilie (Melanie Scrofano), his aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni), and the rest of the family.  Grace learns that to really be a member of the family that she must play a game on the wedding night…but when she draws Hide-and-Seek, it turns into something more deadly.  Ready or not?

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Ready or Not is a comic fantasy survival horror movie.  The film premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival and received positive reviews.

I’m glad the nail from Home Alone and The Quiet Place is still finding work, but it seems like typecasting now…

I saw the trailers for Ready or Not and thought it was kind of silly looking.  The tone of the trailers doesn’t quite match the tone of the movie which closer resembles something like Cabin in the Woods than a traditional horror film.  The movie was a lot of fun, and due to the story, a ******spoiler alert****** exists for the rest of the review.

What makes Ready or Not a different type of movie is that the movie has a weird fantasy element that is a real aspect of the story.  The horror and hunting part of the movie is fast and furious, but like Cabin in the Woods, Grace is being set-up for sacrifice.  There is a question through the whole movie if the supernatural element is real, but in the end, the curse is real…and explosive.

The cast is good.  Samara Weaving is good as the woman who really, really wants to be part of family, but discovers that having a family isn’t always easy.  Adam Brody plays the most likeable character of the bunch while Mark O’Brien is a little nondescript.  I liked the crazed aunt Helene played by Nicky Guadagni and John Ralston’s psychotic loyal butler also has some great scenes.  I always like Andie MacDowell and had hoped for a little more from her.

In-laws are hell

The movie is pretty bloody and much of the humor comes from the killings (both unexpected and expected).  The repeated death of the help is funny and the explosive ending is a solid pay off for the story.  The movie can be pretty grueling at points, but in comparison to other bloodbath type movies, this film keeps the humor.

Ready or Not was a fun surprise.  The movie isn’t too heavy, too gory, or too funny, so it can appeal to a wide audience.  The movie feels both familiar and original and this too makes it an easy film to enjoy.  With a pretty definitive ending, I don’t see Ready or Not 2 popping up anytime soon…but Hollywood finds a way.