It’s quite an accomplishment when a film is able to leave me genuinely unsettled on top of laughing hysterically, which is what Fox Searchlight’s new horror satire Ready Or Not pulls off. Some movies will have me asking to myself “what the f*** did I just watch?”, but that could equally be as much of a negative as it is a plus. And oh boy, it’s definitely the latter this time around.
It follows the exploits of a newlywed couple- Grace, a former foster child played by Samara Weaving, and her new husband Alex (Mark O’Brien) who comes from the super-wealthy Le Domas family who specialize in producing board and card games. Grace is an everywoman feeling out of place amongst the snooty clan who turn their nose up at her, but she’s willing to take the risk of a new experience. So she’s fine with participating in a ritual game, chosen by drawing from a mysterious box, in order to be “initiated”.
The family appears nervous when Grace draws “hide and seek”, but she casually plays along not thinking it to be a big deal. She soon discovers the Le Domas’ brand of Hide & Seek involves live firearms, axes, and crossbows in a fatal game of death. Alex informs her shocked wife she’s been caught up in a bizarre family ritual involving sacrifices and hidden corpses, and the two then try to survive the rampaging silver spoons before dawn arrives.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett somehow are able to easily blend together genuinely suspensful moments throughout Ready Or Not, alongside bloody but still sharp comedy. At some points in the movie, I was left wondering at first “maybe they’re making the Le Domases look too dumb”, as it’s through their incompetence and fear that allows Grace a few opportunities to escape from some situations.
Still, our main character easily takes advantage of them and holds her own as an exciting horror protagonist who’s easy to get behind. Weaving’s performance as Grace is a fun mixture of sass, genuine terror and a survivor’s determination, and this allows her to walk a good comedic and dramatic tightrope. As her hubby Alex, O’Brien has some nice moments of vulnerability for his part as well.
The audience will likely wince at how banged up Grace gets, while also cheering during fight scenes and laughing at some of her exasperated reactions. And there’s plenty of those since the villains are complex and funny in their own right. There are a lot of jabs at how rich and disconnected from the real world the Le Domases are, but it’s eventually revealed they’ve got…problems. Problems that go far, far deeper than mere class issues.
Henry Czerny is extremely compelling as the patriarch Tony, still threatening while panicking over the mess the family is in, while Adam Brody draws sympathy as Alex’s brother Daniel whose allegiances are torn. Kristian Bruun gets some good understated comic relief as Fitch (getting some big laughs from a simple text message: “Just family shit.”. Nicky Guadagni has great presence and energy as the ominous grandmother Helene, and John Ralston is having plenty of fun as an evil butler who loves to hum classical music while stalking his victims.
As far as a social satire of the rich, Ready Or Not is both extreme and fairly understated, and luckily far more interested in making a wacky horror-comedy than lecturing the viewer about class structure. It’s terrifying, intelligent and mischevious all at once, so I’ll easily recommend it. If you’d taken time out to play the Le Domas’s deadly game at a theater, as always you can head towards @Official_FAN as always to share your take on it!