Blonde women are the queens of modern horror, especially in 2019, and there is nothing anyone can do to convince me otherwise. Samara Weaving proves this incredibly well as she continues this reputation in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Ready or Not, an incredibly hilarious horror-comedy and one hell of a fun ride. This film, although clouded by its B-level premise and standard screenwriting, is definitely enhanced by the performance from the lead and its impeccable direction. While this movie might not be the most original horror film of all time or the most original comedy of all time, it does a stupendous job of blending the two genres to make a bloody and ridiculously good time. I desperately wish I would have had more time to get around to seeing this last year because I know for certain it would have ended up being one of my favorites. I guess now is as good of a time as ever to catch up on underrated gems I missed out on and now that I've finally seen this film, I absolutely understand the hype that everyone had been talking about.
On the day of her wedding, Grace's (Samara Weaving) soon-to-be-husband Alex (Mark O'Brien) offers her an out and suggests that the two of them practically elope. Wanting to be with the love of her life, they decide to go through with it but Grace eventually finds out about a twisted tradition that Alex's family holds: playing a random game the night someone new enters the family. As she unknowingly picks hide and seek, Grace soon finds out that Alex's entire family is tasked with killing her before dawn and she must fight to survive until the sun rises. Class warfare was an unexpectedly huge theme throughout cinema in 2019 and I never would have believed how well a film like this could have tackled it. Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy's script was incredible and they show how capable they are of writing a very appealing story. The dialogue might have been a bit generic and the story plays out in a typical, horror structure but this script is able to provide so many little twists and turns that definitely help keep the audience engaged, with the help of its brief runtime. Ready or Not also never tries to be as heavy-handed or impactful as something like Parasite but it really does not have to be. The sprinkles of dialogue about doing what your family has always done and never breaking tradition regardless of wealth are so effective. They may only rear their head once in a while throughout the film, as it rather focuses on the bloody, never-ending chase, but they never seem out of place either. This world established by the writers was brought to life by all of the simple but beautiful technical pieces too. The set design, costuming, and cinematography were all so stylistic and made this horror story so lively. As simple as wedding garb and an exquisite mansion might sound, these filmmakers made great use of this environment and its limited space to create a fantastic world for the characters to play hide and seek in.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's direction is what helps tie all of these pieces together in the most entertaining fashion. They absolutely know how to make a fun horror film while keeping the jokes and tone rather humorous and lighthearted, despite the bloody gore and action scenes. I loved their direction throughout this entire movie but what stood out to me the most was how they handled exposition. Most horror films would have fully explained the premise at the beginning in some fashion and then took one precise turn into madness but Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett took this a bit differently. Pieces of exposition and characteristics of the different family members were revealed slowly but carefully throughout the movie and one of the biggest pieces of plot information was not shown off until the chase for Grace was already on. I found this method of direction to be wildly effective and I love how they were able to save little surprises for particular moments throughout the film. The unbelievable standout of Ready or Not, however, was Samara Weaving's performance as Grace. The way that Weaving personifies the cute and innocent wife stereotype until she is broken down and built back up is spectacular. Most horror heroines just happen to have extensive background training in martial arts or something ridiculous like that but Grace's development was so natural and felt very earned. Weaving was perfect in this role and I earnestly wish that she could become a household name as her talent has more than proved her worth.
Ready or Not is a great horror-comedy that succeeds in delivering everything it promises. I absolutely adored the performance from Weaving and the simultaneously powerful and humorous ending that she embodied. Never would I have thought one of the most effective deliveries of a class warfare theme could be imbued within a horror-comedy with a goofy premise such as hide and seek but here we are. And we have Weaving, Bettinelli-Olpin, and Gillett to thank.
My Rating: ★★★★
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