Synopsis:
READY OR NOT follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.
My Thoughts:
This might be the most fun I’ve had with a movie in a long time. It was, like, Crawl levels of fun, but with less alligators (okay, full disclosure – there are zero alligators in this one). But I think I did about the same amount of scream laughing throughout Ready or Not as I did during Crawl.
I mean, holy shit you guys, this movie is seriously just intensely fun. The premise is just off-the-wall enough, and the performances are good enough that at no point was I not 100% into what I was watching.
In interest of the fact that it is Women in Horror Month, can we pause for a second and talk about Samara Weaving? I’ve loved her in everything that I’ve seen her in (which granted isn’t a ton – just this, The Babysitter, and a few episodes of Ash vs. the Evil Dead).
I know she’s a Hollywood legacy, being the child of Simon Weaving (writer/director) and neice of Elrond, *ahem, I meant to say* Hugo Weaving, but that doesn’t always equal talented. Sometimes it just means a person gets a lot of work in spite of not having a lot of talent. That definitely IS NOT the case here. Samara Weaving is a fucking gem. She’s brilliant (and beautiful, obviously, which I’m sure doesn’t hurt anything).
Okay, back to the movie. Watching Grace’s arc from happy bride to bad-bitch Rambo-type is really wonderful to behold. She doesn’t come off as at all unrealistic. She’s just a scrappy girl from a relatively tough background who finds herself in a fight-or-die sort of situation and she responds, well, scrappily. Is she scared? Absolutely. And I don’t think she (or the movie in general) ever tries to pretend otherwise. But she’s not a quitter.
Fuck your fucking family!
Grace a tough woman, and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty – something all these mega-rich assholes don’t understand at all, in other words. She’s going to survive, and nothing is going to stop her. Point blank: I fucking love Grace. She’s a fantastic character, and a testament to a humanity’s ability to adapt and overcome. She’s a great reminder that a woman in peril doesn’t have to be helpless.
I love the idea, too, that there is a greater reason behind everything that happens. I don’t want to spoil the story for you if you haven’t seen it, so I’m not going to go into the tradition or any of that business. You should see it for yourself. Just know that nothing is quite what it seems (whatever it is it seems to be), and that there are greater elements at play.
And seriously, see this movie. It is such an incredibly good time that I think it would be foolish to sleep on it. It is dark comedy at its absolute apex. It also has one of the most perfect endings I could have imagined.
My Edition:
Blu-ray with digital copy
Features:
Audio Commentary by Radio Silence and Samara Weaving
Gallery
Gap Reel
Let the Games Begin: The Making of Ready or Not
Other Editions:
DVD, digital
Rating:
I really can’t stress enough what a good time this movie is. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it, and I definitely did some yelling at the screen.
Happy Valentine’s Day, and never marry rich – no matter how cool they seem!
Ready or Not Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett Released: August 21, 2019 20th Century Fox Horror, Thriller Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures Rated R 95 Minutes
“This might be the most fun I’ve had with a movie in a long time.” YES! Hahahaha! I laughed SO MUCH. And [spoilers for people who are reading my comment but you haven’t seen the movie] when the kids exploded at the end?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That might have been my favorite part, and I loved the whole movie.
I know. At that part, I was like ‘this better happen!’ so when it did, I was so excited – I think I actually scream-laughed.
I scream-laughed, too! Hahaha!
AH! I can’t wait to watch this!!