Ready or Not
A bride’s wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game.
Cast
Samara Weaving – Grace Le Domas
Adam Brody – Daniel Le Domas
Mark O’Brien – Alex Le Domas
Andie MacDowell – Becky Le Domas
Henry Czerny – Tony Le Domas
Nicky Guadagni – Helene Le Domas
Melanie Scrofano – Emilie
Elyse Levesque – Charity
Kristian Bruun – Fitch
Ready
This movie is absolutely fucking insane (as you may have probably guessed from its trailer, advertisment artwork, etc.). A woman stood in her blood-soaked wedding dress is enough of a tragic image, but just wait until you get into the carnage of the story itself..
Ready or Not takes top prize in this year’s ‘so ridiculous it’s entertaining’ category for me. I have sat and watched some bizarre things, but the story of a newly-wed woman being offered up for sacrifice – on the actual night of her wedding – so that a family can continue their exquisite lifestyle is something else.
The dramatics delivered by Weaving are truly brilliant; her screaming through tears and running mascara leave an echo that pulsates through the movie long after it has finished. And the way in which her character turns from victim to predator is deliciously intriguing. There’s something satisfying about seeing Grace quivering with fear.. and then switching to defence mode, grabbing the nearest weapon, and strutting down a plush hallway ready to fight back. The bride tearing the bottom of her wedding dress off and changing into sports shoes heightens the hysteria of the situation, it’s wickedly funny.
This is the ultimate nightmare vision in getting one over on your in-laws, with a feeling of pure betrayal running underneath it. The movie raises the question of loyalty between a man and his family as he is torn between them and the woman he loves, but doesn’t portray this in a classic or modern way. On the contrary it’s the polar opposite of stories you might have seen before and does it in an utterly unfathomable fashion.
But back to the juicy action and the people who play the deadly game which gives the production its apt title.
Not in years have I seen such a highly animated character in a movie as aunt Helene (played by Guadagni). Even in the trailer I sniggered, but watching her throughout Ready or Not made great entertainment. From her first appearance where she sits perched on a chair at Grace and Alex’s wedding ceremony staring at the pair intensely, she personally invents a new term for ‘bitch’. Stiff mannerisms and taut facial expressions look as though someone just pulled her out of a hundred-year sleep on ice. And whilst her fellow cast members make the most of the sinister screenplay she owns the screen itself with her acid-tongued insults and cold stare that would probably turn a character to stone if this was a kids’ feature.
Ready or Not opens with the camera panning across various board games, and a scene where the viewer gets a look at the Le Domas dark family history. Giving it such a traditional base was a good move as it gradually builds anticipation of what is to come later on, as well as being slightly claustrophobic with the restictive setting of one single house. Good work there.
I saw this at the cinema the day after I flew back from a week in the USA, so I had a bit of jet lag going on. I was shattered. And being smacked with something like this on the big screen was like an assault on my nerves – especially as I’d spent a week frolicking with gun-wielding people in Texas. Although to be honest, watching MacDowell get lethal with a weapon or two felt completely normal given the incredible activities I’d seen – and taken part in – in the southern states (I was an expert with a rifle).
The final scene of Ready or Not is absolutely bonkers, beyond description. I was left speechless and could actually feel my mouth hanging open. Make sure you listen carefully too – the final line spoken sums up the macabre events in just a few simple words. It’s just hilarious.
Definitely give this a watch.
Ricky's Film Reviews 