Ready or Not (2019)

★★★
Ready or Not is the kind of horror movie for which the creators probably had a blast brainstorming different ideas and compounding those ideas with more to arrive at a final draft that is simply fun to make and fun to watch once filmed. It can be produced at a reasonable cost and marketed purely on an idea, and if that idea is sufficiently intriguing, it can act as a hook that can reel in curious viewers and reward them with a good show. The movie isn't scary in the sense that it's terrifying. It isn't scary all that much, but it is inventive. If a horror movie doesn't deliver on the usual expectations by design but has a different agenda, then it can still be deemed a success. Yes, there is blood, violence, screaming and suspense, but they are the foundation for the clever and sometimes humorous unraveling of a story that starts simple enough before leading to surprising places.

Samara Weaving stars as Grace, who is getting ready to marry into a rich family. Her fiancé is Alex le Domas (Mark O'Brien), who was featured in the movie's opening scene as a child. The scene establishes that all is not right with this family, and Grace will become the next victim. The family gathers at a mansion after the ceremony, where patriarch Tony (Henry Czerny) relates to her a little of the family history before introducing a small box, which is the key component of a tradition to which the family has adhered for generations. Grace's task is to select a card, which will reveal a game that all new members of the family must play. Grace is baffled but plays along. Her card says hide and seek. Her fiancé looks worried, but the true nature of the game is yet to come. There's no mention of "base," but the rule here is she must hide in the mansion and remain undetected until dawn.

She snickers at the whole idea of the game, but she plays along. Before long, the other family members grab their weapons to hunt her down. This is not an ordinary game played by an ordinary family. The movie becomes a cat-and-mouse chase, as Grace slowly becomes aware of her plight and does everything possible to evade capture. The mansion is a labyrinth of hidden corridors and vast hallways. She can trust no one, not even the servants. Alex expresses his dissatisfaction with the whole affair, but his brother Daniel (Adam Brody) is even more distant and might be an ally, though she can never be too sure. The search covers the inside of the house and outdoors as well. Grace tries to stay one step ahead of her tormentors, whose motivation is a mystery. Close calls and near misses ensue.

Samara Weaving as Grace is physically adept and nicely exhibits a range of emotions in a situation that started innocent enough before becoming a real struggle for her life. Contrast that with the in-laws, who display indifference and cunning. They've done this before, so this is just another post-wedding social occasion at the family mansion. Henry Czerny is ice cold as Tony. He projects warmth at first but veers violently into a psychopathic mindset that carries him up until the resolution. His wife is Becky le Domas, who is played by Andie MacDowell in an atypically menacing role. There are various other relatives and children in the house, all of whom have some stake in a game that has stripped them of their humanity and left them only with a sense of survival. They inherited a fortune, but their wealth came at a steep price.

Co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett manage a decent balance between the gore and the humor. Getting the opportunity to work with this script was exactly what they needed. Their installments in the Scream franchise (parts 5 and 6) couldn't match the clever winks and nods of the first two films. Maybe they just couldn't fit their style into an existing franchise with its own distinctive approach. Ready or Not is the perfect vehicle for their talents. It allows them to start fresh and forge a new path without iconic director Wes Craven casting a shadow over them. This is a wild ride from the moment the game starts until its conclusion, which is completely unexpected but also logical given the clues left in the story earlier. With its plentiful twists, the plot matches the complexity of the mansion's interior, making this an entertaining film to watch.

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