When’s a family’s fortune is tied to creating board games, it comes as no surprise that they would incorporate it into a family tradition. For the Le Domas family in Ready or Not, it’s this: each new member of the family has to play a game, whether it’s chess, backgammon, or hide-and-seek. Grace, who is about to marry Alex, picks hide-and-seek, but doesn’t realize that she is going to be hunted, ideally to death. The result is a wild and gripping movie that had me screaming in delight, surprise, and shock.
What makes Radio Silence’s Ready or Not funny is that the Le Domas family doesn’t know what it’s doing and Grace is not as docile as they thought. Grace is beautifully portrayed by Samara Weaving, who transitions from a young woman uncomfortable with wealth to a girlboss who’s done with their bullshit. The entire film hinges on her performance and she delivers with aplomb.
The rest of the cast are just as hilarious to watch. Alex’s intimidating parents Tony and Becky (Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell), his troubled brother Daniel and his wife Charity (Adam Brody and Elyse Levesque), his drug-fueled sister Emilie and her husband Fitch (Melanie Scrofano and Kristian Bruun) and the mean Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni) are the perfect and creepy in-laws that test Grace’s strength.
As the title implies, Ready or Not moves at a rapid pace. Not a single scene is put to waste and we are led, breathless, from one gory scene to the next. It’s brimming with thrills and we were either laughing our heads off, shrieking, gasping, or cheering Grace on.
Families are crazy and there must be some scientific rule that dictates that in-laws are crazier. The film ends with a satisfying finale that left me feeling tired, but in a good way. Ready or not, it might do the same to you.
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