Year of Release: 2019
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Starring: Samara Weaving, Andie MacDowell, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Elyse Levesque, Nicky Guadagni, John Ralston, Liam McDonald, Ethan Tavares, Hanneke Talbot, Celine Tsai
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
Watch it on Hulu
Synopsis and Review
"Ready or Not" is Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's sophomore directorial endeavor, following their debut with "Devil's Due". This film opened the doors for them to tackle two episodes of the "Scream" franchise (episodes 5 and 6). The film follows the story of Grace MacCaullay, who is about to marry Alex Le Domas, who is part of a wealthy family, one that has made their money on what started as board games business but eventually grew up to a much larger financial empire. Alex has been estranged from his family, but comes back to the fold and to the estate to have his wedding ceremony with Grace. Grace is a former foster child, and has no family of her own, but loves Alex and is happy to be along for the journey. She meets Alex's brother and sister and their spouses, Alex's parents and his aunt. After the ceremony, Alex's father Tony explains that his great-grandfather Victor Le Domas made a deal with someone named "Le Bail" to build the family fortune. In exchange for doing so, a peculiar and unique tradition must be observed: at midnight of their wedding day, every new member who joins the family must draw a game card from Le Bail's puzzle box and then everyone must play that game accordingly. What Tony failed to reveal, is that whatever game is chosen, the family will then play it and kill the person who chose that game, or they will die themselves (the whole Le Domas family). Grace is surprised when she hears of the tradition, but decides to play along. She chooses "Hide and Seek", and while she goes off to hide from everyone, they all arm up with various killing devices, while Alex is kept in a room to avoid disrupting the game. However soon enough things start going askew."Ready or Not" is one of those films that promises a lot more than what it eventually delivers. While the film may initially promise a cat and mouse deadly game, with the hunted turning the tables on the hunters, the truth is, this isn't "First Blood", nor is it a feminist empowering statement. What we end up having is a rather anemic take on a powerful family with secrets, who must do horrible things, mostly with gusto, in order to stay in power. The film sadly never truly embraces the satire of the rich with little scruples who take a literal bite from those who serve them, nor does it ever embrace the savagery of the oppressed who decide to turn the tables and wreak havoc (and destruction) on the oppressors. What we end up getting in the end is a rather generic tale of a family with a dark secret, who is rather inept and playing the game, and a woman (always a woman as a victim) as the target who eventually escapes, but who never takes solid decisions of her own, even if those involve saving herself. The film never reaches the satire of Craig Zobel's "The Hunt", nor does it capture the blood drenched mayhem of Coralie Fargeat's "Revenge" for instance. Grace is in victim mode for the most part of the film, and while the character has some evolution, for the most part her characterization, much like all the characters of the film, are quite flat and ultimately one-dimensional. The cast tries their best to bring this film to life, but Andie MacDowell is ultimately the one having all the fun, with good support also coming from Henry Czerny and Kristian Bruun. Samara Weaving, herself such a talented performer, and a queen of these polished B-movies, deserves a better vehicle for her talents. The production team is unremarkable, which ultimately is a very suitable definition for this film: unremarkable and forgettable.
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