Ready or Not mixes humour and horror, a combination that goes so well together.
Samara Weaving plays Grace, a girl searching for the family she never had. Grace is to marry Alex played by Mark O'Brien who is the youngest son of Tony and Becky Le Domas (Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell). On their wedding night, Grace learns the strange induction Alex's family has in store for her. To become part of the Le Domas family, Grace has to play a game of hide and seek with her new in-laws but there's a catch, if they find Grace before sunrise they must kill her.
With an 18 certificate, there is a lot of gore and even a blood-stained lace wedding dress. Weaving does a fantastic job in portraying Grace. We feel her pain and her fear. Weaving is a natural star and her character is put through the mill in this film yet she pulls it off. What is interesting is Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy have created very believable characters, especially with Grace as her wisecracks are evenly paced throughout, which adds moments of relief to all the gore. Along with this we see Weaving use some relatable physical comedy which adds even more to the humour of this movie.
What this film does is mock the rich as the Le Domas are clearly a very rich family yet the money doesn't make them happy. In each scene we see a lot of gore and horror which makes you feel uneasy then there is some humour added. The humour of this film is so important as it makes this film more enjoyable to watch. Without this necessary humour then this film wouldn’t be as good. It would however be more of a classic horror film but then it would need more horror to replace the humour. Grace isn't the only character that adds to the humour of this film, like with the TV show Family Guy there are cut-away scenes from the Le Domas most unskilful members. These cut-away scenes are used with great effect.
The cast is amazing, all the characters are unique in their own way and all add something to this film. Aunt Helene is a particular favourite character as she is stern faced, although it is clear she has an interesting past which we see at the beginning of this film. Tony and Beck Le Domas played by Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell, the rich parents, this pair work really well together on screen. Tony is aggressive as things don’t go to plan while Becky tries to keep her family together yet she knows they are falling apart. Clearly this film is about Grace and Alex who we believe are so in love yet there is unexpected romantic tension between Weaving and Adam Brody who plays Alex's boozy older brother Daniel. Brody's character is so different to the other members of his family. He clearly cares a lot more for his brother yet there is unspoken tension between the bride and brother of the groom.
Everything has been carefully thought about in this film. The house itself has been carefully designed with special rooms like the servant's corridors which means there is more scope for more action in the house. We spend most of our time in this house and its appearance looks grand and becomes into an almost haunted house by the end of the film. Speaking of the ending, the final two scenes are very explosive! You believe that you know what will happen yet there are surprises that no one expects. At first it is surprising and shocking and then it becomes quite humorous. What is interesting is that the writers have created moments that should be scary or shocking but then become funny. The directors and writers have created something which on paper most likely seemed very ambitious and crazy yet audiences will enjoy this remarkable film. This film isn't perfect as there could be moments spent less on certain characters or even too many characters at particular times but none of these things affect the enjoyment audiences have with this film.
Ready or Not, a comedy-horror film full of laughs, blood, guts and gore making it a huge success.
