Ready or Not is a black comedy/horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. When I first saw this movie listed, it had 100% rotten tomatoes. A few days later it had been adjusted to 91%. The film is about a newly-wed woman who becomes hunted by her in-laws. I felt I had to see it. It was the biggest waste of my time, ever.
“Ready or Not” follows the ultra-rich Le Domas family. They are in the business of games and are about to add a new member, Grace (Samara Weaving) to the family. After courting Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien), the youngest brother of the family, the two have decided to tie the knot. The wedding is taking place on the enormous family estate where Alex’s parents, Tony Le Domas (Henry Czerny) and Becky Le Domas (Andre Macdowell) have always lived along with their oldest son, Daniel Le Domas (Adam Brody), Tony’s sister, Aunt Helene Le Domas (Nicky Guadangi), Daniel and Alex’s sister, Emilie Le Domas (Melanie Scrofano), Daniel’s wife, Charity Le Domas (Elyse Levesque) and the butler, Fitch Bradley (Kristian Bruun).
Right after the wedding ceremony, Grace’s wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws convince her to take part in a terrifying game. Grace draws a card that says “Hide & Seek”, the one card nobody wanted Grace to get saddled with. After confirming they were actually going to play, Grace gets her set of rules and goes off to hide. After the maid accidentally gets shot and killed, Grace overhears a conversation that reveals she is the one being hunted for the kill.
“Ready or Not” makes an attempt to mimic “Get Out” but fails miserably. The movie is not funny and how it got 91% “Rotten Tomatoes” is one of those things that make you want to say “um”. The aura surrounding Ready or Not seems childish and didn’t make much sense. The reason for the game is survival of the Le Domes family but why did it come to this? It was suggested that an invisible person named Mr. Baile was seated at the dining room table. The invisible Mr. Baile was never really explained nor what happens if a different card were drawn. The sequences of events were beyond anyone’s understanding. There’s a car scene where the vehicle is shut down by the security company because the person driving wasn’t the owner. However, that person was in danger and hurt, needing medical assistance. The security company abandoned the situation leaving the person to possibly die. That is not funny, just crazy. I do not recommend seeing “Ready or Not”, even when it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray. If you decide this movie is for you, SEE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!