Kill the rich...by playing hide and seek? At least, that’s the twist Ready or Not viciously and hilariously employs. This campy dark comedy about a newlywed bride, Grace (Samara Weaving), who discovers that her extremely wealthy in-laws are hell-bent on murdering her (literally), delivers a not-so-subtle middle finger to the 1 percent.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the flick at first seems completely absurd, but that’s the fun of it. Pre-wedding, Grace’s fiancé, Alex (Mark O’Brien), the son of the rich and powerful Le Domas family — their wealth is built upon a generational board game dynasty — gives his soon-to-be-wife a chance to skedaddle. She doesn’t. Sure, his family is made up of passively aggressive and outright rude folks and his parents live in a giant, eerie mansion complete with dumbwaiters, butlers and maids. (Think Richard and Emily Gilmore vibes except instead of casual takedowns and high expectations, there’s buckets of blood, gore and satanic rituals.)
But Grace, who is revealed early on to be an orphan, is in love — and Alex skimped on a few key details.
For starters, his family has a tradition that anyone who marries into the Le Domas family must play a game at midnight. In a room reserved for family-only — decorated mostly with old-timey weapons and taxidermied animal heads — cards are dealt in a puzzle box, which reveals the game they must play.
As shown in an opening flashback scene, we know that hide-and-seek at the Le Domases is played a bit rougher — aka the end objective is a good ol’ fashioned hunt down of the bride. But if Grace can escape the bloodthirsty clutches of her new fam — including Alex’s parents, Becky (Andie MacDowell) and Tony (Henry Czerny); matriarch Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni); clumsy and drugged-out sister-in-law (Melanie Scrofano); frigid sister-in-law (Elyse Levesque); and oblivious brother-in-law (Kristian Bruun) — then, as the family lore goes, the clan will all die a fiery, bloody death. Yay! Alex's older brother Daniel, played by Adam Brody, is the only (mildly) redeemable member of the bunch.
But, again, Grace isn’t clued in until later on. When she finally stumbles upon the truth, as told to her by a frenzied Alex, she gears into full-on fight-or-flight mode. Weaving’s portrayal is honest and enrapturing. As she flees for her life, we cheer her on every step of the way. She’s the lifeblood of this satirical slasher flick and does an excellent job of keeping us at the edge of our seats. In one moment of badassery, she rips off the bottom of her wedding dress. Wearing scuffed up Converse sneakers, and later securing her own weaponry, she becomes the image of survival. We’re taken on Grace’s evolution through the night, from oblivious deer-in-the-headlights to a determined, albeit exhausted, fighter.
Infused with maddening wit and over-the-top gore, the film is not for everyone, especially if you’d rather not see a head chopped off, an arrow slicing through someone’s neck or sacrificial rituals. Infused with biting socioeconomic commentary about class divisions and the pure greediness of our world’s most wealthy, Ready or Not falls along the lines of Scream and What We Do in the Shadows. Its smarmy humor, snappy dialogue and penchant for shock value recall the 1980s cult classic Heathers. (The ending is especially reminiscent of the Winona Ryder film.)
Tinged in a devilish green, Ready or Not doesn’t leave you guessing what the creators were hoping to imply. Instead of layering the film in metaphors and symbolism like Jordan Peele’s Us, Ready or Not dives straight into mayhem and, in doing so, lays it all out on the table. With each escape act, Grace dismantles another piece of the systems working against her — namely, class and the institution of marriage.
Running a bit over an hour and a half, there are missteps and plot holes. Three maids are killed off with little agency, and it would have been interesting to see them as more than thoughtlessly discarded bodies. And there are plot points that could have been performed more seamlessly. Honestly, though, Ready or Not moves at such a rapid-fire pace we’re not given time to ponder these conundrums in the moment.
Ready or Not presents a hell of a game. Drenched in bloody, bloody satire, it’s also a lot of fun, all the way to its explosive ending. (In theaters) Grade: B+
