Ready or Not: Review

Samara Weaving shines bright in this taught, stylish and exquisite horror with plenty of suspense, dark humour and twists to make this a movie you should definitely seek out

Samara Weaving in 'Ready or Not' (CREDIT: Fox Searchlight/Disney)

by Jack Linsdell

As children, we all played countless games of hide and seek around the homes of relatives and friends to pass the time or just for fun. But, what if your in-laws made you partake in a violent version that left you fighting for you life? Well...that's exactly what happens to Grace in Ready or Not. I can imagine future Christmas dinners will be awkward. 

Ready or Not, the new horror-dark comedy from Tyler Gillet & Matt Bettinelli-Olpin is a well hidden gem amongst the latest theatrical releases, and although it's caught fire in America a little ($28 million domestic for a $44 million worldwide cume on a mere $6 million budget), still remains under most people's radar. Look, if your a horror fan, or just after something a little different in your Saturday night cinema trip, then this is defiantly worth seeking out. Much like (the also terrific) Crawl earlier this summer, Ready or Not feels like a refreshing take on a genre that has become so clichéd and worn through over-saturation. Okay, it's not the best movie ever made, but within the horror-thriller genre, this not only looks and feels original (to an extent), but is also plays around very nicely with it's morality and thematic explorations, which does deepen this into really a domestic, family drama.

Penned by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, the script is your standard "lean and mean" thriller length, coming in at a sturdy 90 minutes, and feels well-paced. Unlike most thrillers which build and build in pace, stakes and incident until we just can't bare it any longer, Ready or Not plays a little different in that it allows time for breathing, especially with the structure of key emotional/dramatic dialogue scenes between the family members interspersed with the whole "fight for your life" plot. As I mentioned earlier, our protagonist Grace (played by the sublime Samara Weaving) has just married into the wealthy Le Domas family by tying the knot with now-husband Alex (Mark O'Brien) at their countryside estate. However, instead of spending her special night in bed with the love of her life, she's required to take part in a family tradition where the new son or daughter-in-law has to play a game. Grace, seemingly a little confused and at this point naïve, is made to pick a card to determine which game she'll play. Of course, she picks the only one with violent consequences, namely hide and seek. Whilst the family hunt her down, Grace has to survive in their house until dawn when she will be granted acceptance if still alive. Why the family have to uphold this tradition, I will not spoil. But, what I will say is that the very original hook is paid off well by a solid screenplay. 

Although I'd have liked a little more characterisation of Grace (we find out she was brought up with foster parents, which gives her the fight inside of her), Weaving absolutely has a field day playing the character. Fun fact: Weaving's Uncle is the actor Hugo Weaving (Mortal Engines). She's terrific, capturing the terror, confusion, yet steely determination of Grace with incredible judgement and ability. One standout scene in a stable in which Grace injuries both of her hands is a fine example of a top quality performance, one that Weaving should be immensely proud of. And, maybe above all else, Ready or Not works so well despite it's little characterisation and at times thin plot because we have invested so much in Weaving's portrayal of Grace, despite knowing and seeing very little about her. That's the biggest credit I can give for how exciting it was to watch Weaving take on this character, as she truly turned what could have been a very bland protagonist into a layered heroine well-supported by the audience. 

But, back to the script, and the movie works best as a construct for family and true love. Yet, its relatability to most young couples is so immense because the writers have captured the essence of the conflicts people have day-to-day with getting their families to accept their choice of partner/true love and allow them to become part of the family. Ready or Not, and all the violence, physical fighting and action-type events in it are therefore entertaining constructs for the struggle Grace has at being accepted into Le Domas family, like any other bride. Yes, some of the members are more accepting of her than others, yet all ultimately cannot abandon their family and/or traditions to fully save/protect her except for one. Thematically, you can draw parallels with how the rich mistreat the unprivileged (consider Grace came from working-class foster parents) and the lengths your willing to go to protect your true love (a hint, the groom isn't as supportive as you might expect).

Yes, Ready or Not, is immensely entertaining, wholly unique, and with gorgeous cinematography, a script filled with lashings of dark comedy and a mood-setting score, is without a doubt a well-made, stylish movie. Yet, it's at it's best when exploring the moral/thematic notions of it's story and characters, which is what makes it a much better film than it really has the right to be. For me, the movie's plot (although an original hook) can best be described as "The Hunger Games meets Agatha Christie" which we've all seen before. And, yes although it has several "false endings" and one surprising minor plot twist, it's fairly run of the mill horror-thriller storytelling. Yet, it's this exploration of family and taking such a relatable subject (conflict with the in-laws) and presenting it in an entertaining way which the movie should take the most credit for. Similar to (thematically speaking) Four Christmases starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, in which the writers use the comedy genre to explore conflicts with the in-laws, Ready or Not originally manages to do the same but with horror-thriller conventions.

The rest of the cast, including Andie MacDowell are all excellent embodiments of their distinct characters (one of which is inept at shooting weapons, another whose reluctant to take part and so on), to the point it does remind you a little bit of an Agatha Christie novel or Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (in a good way). And, what's more, the faults/flaws of at least some of the family enable us to feel that little bit more hopeful for Grace's chances of survival, which is always neat.

So, Ready or Not is another fine example of modern horror movies managing to do the genre right, by becoming refreshing, solidly-entertaining, domestic-family-dramas first, tense and stylish horrors second. Joining the likes of Insidious: Chapter 3, Halloween, Greta and The Purge/The Purge Anarchy, Ready or Not is just waiting for you to seek it out at your local cinema.

4/5 STARS