Movie Breakdown: Ready Or Not

Pre-Screening Stance:

Ready Or Not is either going to be really fun or a total waste of time.  Side note, before you read my review I want to make sure you’re aware that it’s Samara Weaving, not Margot Robbie, that stars in the movie.  This didn’t dawn on me until right before my screening got underway, and it kind of twisted my brain.  They look so alike!

Post-Screening Ramble:

Surprisingly, Ready Or Not is one of the best movies I’ve seen this summer.  The film, which is a wonderfully swift hour and a half, follows Grace (Samara Weaving), a brand new bride who abruptly learns that she must play a game with her husband’s super wealthy family in order to be accepted into it.  This all seems simple enough, but things quickly flip upside down when Grace discovers that she’s actually taking part in a family ritual that must end with her death.  From there, you get nothing because coughing up anything else about Ready Or Not would ruin quite a few of its best moments, but trust me when I say that it’s a really fun ride from start to finish.  I give a lot of the credit here to directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.  They definitely deliver a nice slice of horror in Ready Or Not, but there’s never a doubt that they mainly just want to slap a smile on your face.  This is a movie with a fantastic sense of humor (especially in its bonkers lore), but there’s still moments where people get their heads smashed in or receive an arrow to the throat, which is nice.

I definitely recommend seeing Ready Or Not in a theater.  It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a damn good time.

One Last Thought:

This is 100% Samara Weaving’s movie, but the next best performance definitely goes to Andie MacDowell.  Her character is sweet and endearing while also being completely desensitized and ruthless.