Ready or Not (2019)

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett | 95 minutes | comedy, horror | Actors: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Elyse Levesque, Nicky Guadagni, John Ralston, Liam MacDonald, Ethan Tavares, Hanneke Talbot, Celine Tsai, Daniela Barbosa, Chase Churchill, Etienne Kellici, Andrew Anthony, Elana Dunkelman

It’s the day you’ve always dreamed of. A stark white dress. A radiant smile. Nervous bridesmaids. A rich, but somewhat strange in-laws. But hey, what’s the point? After all, it is about your happiness and that of your partner. Want to play a game with your new in-laws to perpetuate a decades-long tradition? What could go wrong there?

A lot, as appears in the delicious pulp thriller ‘Ready or Not’. What at first seems like a weird but harmless game of ‘hide-and-seek’ quickly becomes a bit more complicated when new bride Grace (played by Australian actress Samara Weaving) discovers that there are guns involved and her new in-laws get it all right. takes anything too seriously. From that moment on, a delightful cat-and-mouse game ensues in which Samantha must escape the depths of the grand estate to stay out of the clutches of the maddened nobility.

What follows is escalation upon escalation (both in plot and film). Family traditions prove persistent, and blood is inevitable. It works very well, especially since after ten minutes you can let go of all pretensions: this is not a film to show off at elite culture festivals or parties where you want to impress your snobbish film friends. So what is it? Entertain with a capital V.

‘Ready or Not’ is the perfect B-movie in all respects: the plot developments are ridiculous, the characters cartoonish and if you value subtlety you don’t have to run to your digital video store, but who cares? ‘Ready or Not’ is shameless movie fun, the type of highly enjoyable B-movie that has everything on paper not to work, but works extra well because of it. This is partly due to the fact that the makers themselves do not take it too seriously, so that the film is mainly a wonderfully dark comedy instead of a horror film that takes its own concept dead serious.

What helps is that Weaving carries the film with gusto and instantly puts itself on the map as a new discovery. The rest of the cast also enjoys the insane premise with visible pleasure. We see, among others, Andie MacDowell (who especially caused a furore in the eighties and nineties with ‘Groundhog Day’ and ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’) in a wonderful supporting role as Grace’s mother-in-law.

In short, ‘Ready or Not’ is the ultimate escapism, in which there is even very careful room for a touch of social criticism: ‘Fucking rich people’ can thus be interred in the museum of iconic film quotes. But the strong final shot, after an insane finale, also speaks volumes. A potential cult classic? Could just be. But from now on, in any case, watch out if your in-laws propose to play a game on your wedding day.