“Ready or Not” Itches Sinister Side of Humor
When you blend the celebration of marriage with a family that built its empire from board games, a midnight game of Old Maid or Hide-and-Seek doesn’t seem too off-script.
Well, maybe until you find out that more than a century ago said family made a deal with the devil to launch their board game empire and the latter of the two options is more of a sacrifice than a joyous way to welcome in a new family member.
Ready or Not, which opens Wednesday and is rated R, is a wacky and sinister movie filled with hyper-violent bloodshed and horror-filled comedic delight.
The movie 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 deadly game with everyone fighting for their survival.
It’s been decades since the game of hide-and-seek has been played with the family.
Sometimes, newcomers have it simple with a game of checkers or Parcheesi – or Old Maid – but Grace draws the one bad card that leaves her scrambling from an ax-wielding Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni), who last played the game on her wedding night, her manic pill hound new sister-in-law Emilie (Melanie Scrofano), and the rest of the crazy lot of inlaws.
If I were, to sum up, this movie quickly, I’d say it’s a blend of The Purge, Heathers, and what we all fantasize going down in the creepiest of mansions.
Ready or Not is gruesome, hilarious, and a must-see.
Standouts are Weaving, who does such a dynamite job in her role.
What is appealing about Weaving and her character is that she is easy to applaud. She is fearless. She is scrappy. She is girl power goals all the way, and I, for one, can’t wait for Halloween to slip into a torn wedding dress and pair or chucks to pay her homage.
The other actor to mention is Adam Brody, who I have not seen since he starred in The O.C.
Brody plays tormented in a way that is worthy of some sort of an award as the deeply depressed alcoholic Daniel (brother of the groom) and has a character that surprised me several times.
In fact, it was the unexpected character moments seen in Brody and his brother that made me love this movie so much.
Don’t you love when something happens in a movie, and you’re like, “wow, I did not see that coming?”
Now, you may be asking: Where does the funny come in?
Well, to start, the Le Domas family are, overall, a bunch of vain idiots.
This is the only the second time someone has drawn the deadly hunt from the pile, and while some of the family seems more than ready to play, the result of the situation results in a lot of mistaken murders, YouTube crossbow tutorials, and several moments of relief that had us in the crowd just laughing our butts off.
If madcap horror and wild dark comedy is your jam, I’d recommend heading out to the theater this weekend to catch Ready or Not.
