Movie review: Ready or Not (spoiler-free)
There’s something to be said about taking a concept that’s been done to death and giving it one last breath of life. “The Most Dangerous Game” is one of the most rehashed, remade concepts in the history of entertainment media. There are dozens of copycats from the cult-classic “Battle Royale” and it’s estranged daughter “The Hunger Games” to episodes of long-running cartoons “Archer”, “Futurama” and “American Dad.” While the homages and the borrowing have worked positively for all of the former, sometimes taking the bones of the concept and building around it with light lore and a meta message can make hunting man a lot more engaging than it has become in the past 100 years.
“Ready or Not” doesn’t exactly flip the concept of manhunting on its head, but rather asks the question “How far can tribalism and riches take a person?” rather than focus on the cruelty of human nature. When lovingly sarcastic bride Grace (Samara Weaving) is thrust into a game where she is hunted by the Le Domas family, who she expected to take her in and contribute to her life, the themes of class struggles and the many archetypes of the people caught in the web of rich lies and elitism come to the forefront more than the gory kills “Ready or Not” offers. The rich father, Tony (Henry Czerny), with the will to order anyone to do anything for him to win. The reluctant but willing brother in-law, Fitch (Kristian Bruun), dopey but still benefiting from the evils the family hides in plain sight. Charity (Elyse Levesque), the shameless came-from-nothing gold digger with a name so on the nose it will smack you in the face if you think about it too long. With a trailer full of blood and jump scares, the poignant, eccentric character motives and personalities are not the intended stars based on the marketing but carry the entire movie.
Which is not to say the movie is not full of thrilling moments and scenes to make the viewer want to curl up into a ball while peeking through their fingers. Between raunchy, hilarious interactions of the family as they hunt down their would-be new family member the story beats and scares are matched with well-timed musical cues and honestly surprising turns in the plot. The genuine worry the viewer has for Grace is never sidelined by the dark comedy of siblings dumping body parts or the bumbling idiocy of coke-addict Emilie (Melanie Scrofano) and the less motivated cast members. Grace is put to the test with moments of realizing the severity of her situation, near-death defiance and flawed perception of the story at hand. As an imperfect protagonist, Weaving has a solid performance and a knack for flipping the switch from intentional, light jokes during the setup to full-on dark, gallows humor based beats.
The comedic aspect was the most surprisingly enjoyably factor of the film, adding to the atmosphere without taking the viewer out of the moment. When the focus shifts to the Le Domas family as they hunt Grace, the matter-of-fact, blase blase attitude is on full-blast. The reactions to gruesome deaths are mere anger at the mess, mirroring the real-life reactions of billionaires to tragedies. Fitch learning to use a crossbow is a gaff played for laughs even though his intention with the weapon is to murder and innocent woman. Every time Grace is nearly caught by the family and is whisked away to temporary safety by her own wit, Tony explodes like an angry Elmer Fudd after he’s come up empty handed. The humor adds to the roller coaster of emotive manipulation. Grace’s situation is never downplayed or dampened, but it truly feels like a game when the Le Domas family takes point. The viewer might even feel gross about how haphazardly casual the Le Domas family is on their quest for blood.
Pacing throughout “Ready or Not” is admirably well-timed. The setup isn’t drawn out and no sense of pretentious beating around the bush takes place past the initial setup. The directors (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett) have no intention to drawl through the concept. The foundation of a greedy, delusional family hunting a person with a less than fortunate past is made easily perceptive with odd stares from guests, a black sheep of a groom (Mark O’Brien) with better morals than his parents and the satanic imagery throughout the first act. Once the game begins, the mood darkens considerably and the blood gushes. Risks are taken and options the viewer would think are viable become moot. The game is cheated. The rules are ignored and callbacks are satisfying when they impact the story.
While the deeper themes of class inequality, familial manipulation and tribalism, and moral flexibility push “Ready or Not” as a not-so-average horror flick, the references to the larger point at hand can be a bit too heavy handed. Some lines from the Le Domas family are so eye-rollingly blunt that it dampens the reward of understanding how “Ready or Not” is parodying current class wars. The amped up stereotypes of each family member, such as the morally devoid but sweet on the surface, rich mother Becky (Andie MacDowell) are boons for the film while extended conversations doing the heavy lifting for the viewer can be repetitive. The harder hitting jokes in conversations work because of the subtlety, while some big one-liners can be a bit rough to sit through, intentionally or not. Still, some lines are so stereotypical of snotty, grossly rich families that all one can do is laugh their ass off for the majority of the film.
“Ready or Not” is a movie that is much, much more engaging and thrilling than it had a right to be. The final scene of the movie, which combines the strong violence, biting humor and tense aura throughout and weaves it into an unforgettable moment is worth the price of admission alone. With a timely and focused setting and agenda, a rockstar cast with excellent performances all-around (especially Adam Brody) and humor so dark it could only happen in human hunting horror movie, the film succeeds at entertaining while giving the reader questions to ponder days after viewing with friends. How far would you go to be wealthy? What does family mean to you? Does wealth breed a lack of humanity? Where the hell did Grace get such a tough wedding dress?
Rated: R
Runtime: 1hr, 35min
Recommended for: Horror fans, fans of dark comedy, date night, group viewing.