The idea of hunting humans are there in cinema history, most recent we were served by the trilogy of The Hunger Games. The challenge in making this movie were still the same, how to keep the audience interested enough to the whole story, whether it’s a skillful hero like Jean-Claude Van Damme on Hard Target (1993), the must-survive heroine like Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, or a sweet young girl like Grace on this recent Ready or Not movie.
Ready or Not is centered around the new bride Grace (Samara Weaving, niece of Hugo Weaving) who just married the youngest son of Le Domas game empire, Alex (Mark O’Brien). Grace loves Alex so much that she’s tolerated the bad signs she caught on his family: alcoholic brother Daniel (Adam Bordy) was hitting on her, mother Becky (Andie MacDowell) being somewhat rude about her blessings, sister Emilie (Melanie Scrofano) not even showing up in the ceremony, father Tony (Henry Czerny) concerns about his displeasure at Grace’s status and aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni) whose black stares could froze even the warmest celebration.
After the wedding ceremony, Grace starts to relax, but Helene shows up unannounced in Alex’s bedroom to remind him that there’s one more ritual before the two can live happily ever after. Alex neglected to mention that every time someone enters the Le Domas dominion, they have to play a game. Soon after Grace pulls “Hide And Seek” from the box of games, the entire family has a collective intake of breath and it’s clear something is off.
Don’t ever imagine that Grace in her big wedding dress would be somehow as badass as The Bride on Kill Bill. Nevertheless, Grace quickly realized that the supposedly-safe game she drew was a deadly one, and she is witty enough to turn the game into playing one family member to another. The comedy works when the family have to use the traditional weapons rather than modern ones, and the scene where Filch excuses himself to the bathroom to look out the way to use his crossbow is something that most of us can relate to. The whole movie was actually more comedy than being a dedicated thriller, although it still serves us the gory details to remind us that Ready or Not is still a horror movie. One scene involving a nail may serve as grotesque scene, but Ready or Not makes its bones with its sometimes inappropriate humor.
You can smell the Blumhouse taste, although Blumhouse didn’t involve in the production. This movie depends on its low-budget approach, and it somehow works. With directors that mostly recognized in their short movies and contributions to anthology films, and lead actor that bears uncanny resemblances to Margot Robbie, Ready or Not is a summer boxoffice’s best surprises and it would please the horror/comedy fans.
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett | Produced by: Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, Willem Sherak, Bradley J. Fischer | Written by: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy | Starring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell | Music by: Brian Tyler | Cinematography: Brett Jutkiewicz | Edited by: Terel Gibson | Production Companies: Fox Searchlight Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films | Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures
8.4/10
The Lady in Pink 