Ready or Not is a horror movie about a newlywed couple playing a torturous game of hide and seek. The objective of the game is the death of the new member of the family. The movie stars Samara Weaving (Hollywood, Babylon), Adam Brody (Sleeping with Other People ), Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell. The film was released in theatres in 2019 and is available to stream on Disney+.
The beginning starts with Grace and Alex Le Domas getting married in Alex's childhood home. After the ceremony, the rest of the Le Domas call the couple downstairs to participate in a family tradition where newlyweds play a game. The game is decided from a box, which writes the game on a blank card. The game chosen for Grace and Alex is hide and seek. The family expresses fear while Grace is clueless about the true meaning of the game. The family gives Grace time to hide and gears up to kill her. Alex is taken into a locked room, but he escapes into the servant's halls to find Grace and get her out. Once Alex finds her, he tells Grace the true meaning of the game, that his family is trying to kill her or the family dies. The movie deals with Grace trying to escape and save herself.
I've always strayed away from horror movies because they just don't seem appealing to me. Why would you want to watch something scary as entertainment? I see the real world as scary enough as it is. But this movie wasn't as horror-y as I thought it was going to be. Originally I thought it was going to be more gory since I've seen the screenshot of the final scene of Grace covered in blood in multiple memes. But there wasn't too much gore or scares for that matter. It was mostly suspenseful since the viewer is watching her decisions and moves and is trying to help her.
My favorite part of the movie was seeing Daniel's actions and the hero's journey. A hero's journey is seeing a character go through some events, leading to the climax/breaking point, and then redeeming themselves at the end. Daniel is the first character shown at the beginning of the movie when he confesses where his uncle is hiding, leading his uncle to his death. Throughout the game, he does try to avoid killing Grace, but continues the facade for his family, calling out where she was hiding. In the end, he does help her but it leads to him being shot by a family member while protecting Grace. He had to have been my favorite character since he seemed the most kind and understanding, questioning if the curse was real or not.
Ready or Not was a really good horror movie to start October with. I really enjoyed it! I wasn't expecting it to be tame compared to my expectations of jumpscares and gore. I'm in shock over how the actors were able to be so convincing. I know it's their job but I can't imagine being in their mindset and pretending to be terrified. I'm truly impressed and surprised at how much I like this movie. I would honestly recommend it to anyone who doesn't like horror movies. It feels like a good starter movie for the genre. It's new, suspenseful, and kind of action-y.
Rating: 9/10
