Ready or Not (2019)

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Written by: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy

Stars: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien

Alex (Mark O' Brien) and Grace (Samara Weaving) are newlyweds. Grace is nervous but eager to join his family's gaming "dominion", which is how they came about their enormous wealth. The couple go for a photo-shoot prior to the ceremony, along with other members of Alex's family. Daniel (Adam Brody) is joined by his wife Charity (Elyse Levesque), who is open about the fact that she only married Daniel for his family's money. Their father Tony (Henry Czerny) is visibly disapproving of Grace, but not nearly as much as Helene (Nicky Guadagni), who shoots Grace a death glare. More approving is Alex and Daniel's mother Becky (Andie MacDowell), who tells Grace that only Alex's opinion matters. Moments later, everyone gathers for the ceremony, and Grace and Alex are married.

After they get married, Alex tells Grace that per tradition, the family partakes in a game at midnight. Alex's father Tony explains to Grace that this tradition was started by his great grandfather Victor, who made a deal with a mysterious benefactor known as Mr. Le Bail. He granted Victor and his future generations their wealth, as well as a special box, while Victor was told to give his own part in the bargain. The family passes Grace the box to draw a card from it and pick the game. Grace picks Hide-and-Seek, and she goes to hide. What she doesn't know is that Alex's family are hunting Grace down as part of a deadly game gone wrong.

This film is a darkly comic satire based around the theme of class struggles, and I enjoyed the first 2 acts of the film respectively. The film is violent at times, but the characters act in such an over-the-top way that it comes off as fun. The team behind Ready or Not put together a very creative film. Having said that, the third act of the film does feel rushed, like they didn't want to make the film longer than 90 minutes. I felt that the film would've been better if they added at least 15-20 more minutes. In regards to acting in the film, I enjoyed Weaving's performance. I think she is a really talented actress. The whole family is very eccentric and crazy at the insane lengths they go, in particular Andie McDowell and Henry Czerny as the mother and father. They give some great one-liners in the film. I liked the pacing of the film in the first two acts, but the 3rd act is a bit disappointing that I thought that the film overall was decent.