Released in 2019, Ready or Not follows Grace, who marries the heir to the wealthy Le Domas family.
On her wedding night, she must comply with an unusual tradition : drawing a card to play a game with them.
She draws “Hide and Seek,” unaware that it is a satanic ritual in which her in-laws must sacrifice her before dawn to avoid death.
Created by Radio Silence, the team behind Scream 6 (which explains Samara Weaving‘s presence in the opening scene of this newer installment)
They are also behind Abigail, which I have already mentioned, where the deaths have a very similar style.
A dysfunctional family and generational trauma
The cliché of the dysfunctional family works here because of their joint decision to respect tradition, hunting Grace based solely on an urban legend passed down through generations.
It’s like good old generational trauma bonding.
We see the drug-addicted sister doing whatever she wants, the sister-in-law blinded by money, the nonchalant brother who ignores everything, and the disturbed aunt with a taste for blood seeking to win at all cost…
So it’s only natural that Grace puts on her sneakers and gradually destroys her wedding dress in an attempt to escape.
Final girl energy
There are some scenes that make you shiver, particularly the moment when she climbs out of the corpse pit, which shows that this film isn’t afraid to go for gore despite the comedy.
The ultimate, almost laughable audacity comes when her husband tries to help her, even though he clearly threw her under the bus by marrying her without even warning her about the family tradition involved.
There’s a brief moment of relief before everything goes to shit for our protagonist.
From complications to betrayals, she gives everything she has to final girl her way through it.
In-laws : the true horror
The final scene is just FABULOUS.
I particularly liked the explosions and the splatters of “meat” and fake blood everywhere.
I can almost smell that room through the screen.
The realization that the curse is real was so satisfying, and the fact that the husband only explodes after she asks for a divorce? Serves him right, honestly.
When the authorities finally ask what happened, she simply replies: “In-laws.”
The cliché that has persisted for generations finally meets the horror universe.
Ready or not 2
The cast includes Samara Weaving from Scream 6 and The Babysitter, Adam Brody from Scream 4 and Nobody Wants This, and Andie MacDowell from Groundhog Day.
It’s honestly a very enjoyable movie with a well-crafted storyline that keeps you entertained throughout.
Am I worried about the second installment currently in production? Yes.
Will I go see it? Absolutely.
Grace will be back, along with Sarah Michelle Gellar from Buffy and Kathryn Newton from Lisa Frankenstein and Abigail, so I’m looking forward to it.
Fingers crossed.
My rating : 4,5/5 bats
🦇🦇🦇🦇🩸
(Picture a half-eaten bat here, the emojis won’t let me do it)