Image courtesy of wall.alphacoders.com
Since the summer is about to end with Labor Day Weekend, and the year’s offerings of horror movies are only about to get bigger with the release of It: Chapter Two, it was about time I reviewed another horror movie or thriller. As with Crawl a few weeks ago, with this one, the marketing also made it look at least okay… but then I started hearing the word of mouth for it was actually really good, and it was another one of the biggest surprises of the year. To start off the long weekend, I decided to check it out for myself, and everything I had heard was true. This really is one of the biggest surprises of the year.
So here I come… with my review for Ready or Not.
The story follows the Le Domas family, who are not only rich, but have a particular tradition. Any time someone in the family gets married, on the night of the wedding, they play a game. One of the sons, Alex, marries a young woman named Grace, thus allowing for the tradition to continue. When the clock strikes midnight, Grace learns how the tradition works: The newest addition to the family draws a card from a wooden box and whatever game was put on the card is the game they play. This time, the game is Hide and Seek. She has to hide, and the rest of the family has to find her. However, it turns out that there’s a catch to the game which is also part of the tradition: The family has to hunt down their newest member before dawn.
What Worked: The main thing that makes this movie so surprising is the tone. It may have been sold as just another horror movie with a ridiculous premise, but what wasn’t revealed well in advance is this: There’s a sense of self-awareness to it. It knows its premise is ridiculous, and just runs with it. As a result, it becomes more of a horror comedy*. I had heard a little bit about the self-awareness going in, but what really caught me off guard while watching it was how funny it was. When there’s either a witty line of dialogue, a kill that comes out of nowhere (the latter of which does happen a couple times), or even a moment of downtime, it’s hilarious, and sometimes it’s all three. Both the movie and the experience become that much more fun because of it.
The mix of horror and humor benefit from a clever script, as there are some intense moments here with some comedy thrown in. The biggest example for me was a scene set in the kitchen; for anyone interested in checking this movie out, look out for that.
All of this especially shows in the performances, particularly Samara Weaving as Grace. She’s fantastic in this movie. In fact, everyone is really good, even Henry Czerny as the father Tony, and Andie MacDowell as the mother Becky. They all play off of each other very well with their performances, which in turn shows in the interaction between the characters.
There are four other things that stand out here: The set design, the cinematography, the direction and the score. I mentioned the kitchen scene, but the set design throughout the whole movie is excellent. The same goes for the cinematography and the direction, because this movie is well shot throughout. It’s also moments like the kitchen scene and the ones that focus on scares**, regardless of whether or not they set up a comedic moment, where Brian Tyler’s score really shines.
One more thing that’s worth noting: It’s fast-paced. The movie is only a little over an hour and a half, and it does go by quickly, but not once does it feel like it’s going by too quickly.
What Didn’t Work: I do have a couple minor flaws. There are some questionable decisions, an example being how something is established with one of the women in the family, and yet one of the men gives her his weapon. The moment that happens, you just know it’s clearly going to go well. However, it does lead to a running gag and one of the funniest moments of the movie, which involves that character and weapon.
The reason why the family is trying to hunt Grace down is brought up several times, which makes the ending kind of predictable because of it. It does build up to an ultimately very satisfying payoff, though. What happens is predictable, but how it happens is not. I honestly thought it was going to happen in one of several different ways, and that was not the first one that came to mind for me. Plus, it’s so unexpected that it becomes another hilarious moment.
Otherwise, that’s really it.
Overall: Ready or Not is the latest example of taking a horror movie or thriller that at first glance sounds ridiculous, and then revealing that there’s more to it than you thought. As with Crawl, this is another case of “Looks can be deceiving” or “Don’t judge a book by its cover” (or rather a movie by its trailer; same difference), because you never really know what you might be in for until you see it for yourself. It’s also a movie that uses the absurdity of its story to its advantage by playing it silly rather than straight, and it’s much better for it.
With just the right balance of horrific and hilarious moments, a great score, smart writing, terrific set design, cinematography and direction, and fantastic acting featuring an excellent lead performance from Samara Weaving, Ready or Not is one of the biggest surprises of both the summer and of the whole year. If you’re looking for a movie to see before you start your Fall Movie Season off, be it with something like It: Chapter Two or even Rambo: Last Blood, I’d say give this one a shot, especially if you’re someone who feels horror movies are best experienced at night and with as big a crowd as possible. You might just end up having one of the most fun experiences you’ve had all year, as I did.
*Yes, horror comedy is an actual sub-genre of horror (Scream, need I say more).
**Including a scene involving a nail, which is so unsettling… even if it’s not quite as unsettling as the nail scene in A Quiet Place.