Review: Ready or Not

Title: Ready or Not

Release Date: August 21, 2019

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Starring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell

Review: If you have a sick personality like I do, you’re going to love this movie. It’s so original and so funny and dark and demented. I can’t give away much but it’s one of the few movies I’ve seen that actually picked up steam as it went along. I left the theater in such a giddy mood. It gave me exactly what I wanted. I haven’t been this impressed with a horror comedy since The Cabin in the Woods.

The premise of this movie is insanely original. Who would’ve thought to make a movie about Hide and Seek? And a horror film too! Add in the fact that the family thinks they have to kill her or they themselves will die. It’s an all around good time. At first I was a little worried that the explanation for why they feel they need to do this wouldn’t be very good. But, it’s kind of brilliant in the campiest, silliest kind of way. Personally, I’m not sure whether their reasoning is considered a spoiler or not, but the trailers didn’t give it away so I’m not going to either.

But, a horror comedy is only as good as it’s funny parts and this movie shines brightly here. There are several laugh out loud moments and every character gets their chance to shine. I will warn you though that the humor is dark so it may not be for everyone. You have to be willing to laugh at some messed up stuff. I’ve got something wrong with me, so I loved it.

Selling everything perfectly is our lead actress. I didn’t know Samara Weaving going into this, but I will never forget this performance coming out. Her transformation from innocent girl who just wants a family to scared wife who just wants to get out of this to life a happy life with her husband to badass who’s tired of this bullshit is perfect. A lot of the humor here too relies on her well placed and pitch perfect “fuck you”s. I’m excited to see more of her in the future. This is a star making role for sure.

While it’s definitely Weaving’s movie, all of the members of the family also have their time to shine. There’s the groom that just wants to live a happy life with his new spouse. There’s Adam Brody as the super conflicted brother. He probably has the best emotional beats in the movie. I didn’t know Brody could act, but he came close to stealing the show a couple of times. Then there’s the aunt who’s way too into this. She is both funny and terrifying. And, getting a lot of laughs as well is the sister who is just awful… like really bad. But, the overall idea that this family likes the bride but they feel like they have to kill her is a lot of fun to play around with. It gets a lot of laughs and some genuinely heartfelt moments. I imagine this movie was a lot of fun to act in.

Also, the ending. Holy crap. Not getting into it but they gave me exactly what I wanted. It’s one of those rare movies that keeps getting better as you watch it. At first I thought “this is pretty good.” Then, “Wow. This is awesome.” And finally, I had the thought “If they do what I think they’re going to do at the end of this, I will be completely in love with this movie.” And they fucking did it. They went there. It’s pitch perfect. I haven’t been this into a horror comedy in a while. If you like these types of movies, I guarantee this one is for you.

TL;DR: Ready or Not has a brilliantly simple concept that makes for an excellent, funny movie. And, it’s one of the rare flicks that really sticks the landing. I left the theater grinning from ear to ear.

Score: 5 Stars and My Heart (I loved it.)