A few months back when I saw the trailer for Ready or Not, I thought to myself, “have I seen this before?” And with a little bit of thought, two movies actually came to mind, You’re Next and The Invitation. Both movies focus on a night of survival from attackers, but while those two films were their own thing, so was Ready or Not, and I was definitely ready to see it!
The film opens with the marriage of Alex and Grace. Alex comes from a “board game dominion” family, and after the celebration, Alex informs Grace that she has to play a game in order to truly become part of the family. Other in-laws got to play checkers or Old Maid, but Grace ends up pulling the one card you don’t want, Hide and Seek. Grace finds this silly as the world’s creepiest song plays while she picks her hiding spot, but the rest of the family is doling out weapons.
That’s right, this game of hide and seek is deadly, as a pact the family made a long time ago, every year a blood sacrifice needs made, and sometimes a goat just won’t cut it. Alex is distraught, and is hell bent on finding Grace to help her escape. He succeeds, but only for a short bit; otherwise, Grace is on her own, but truthfully, she holds her own quite well. She’s crafty and tough when she needs to be, and it also helps that not all the family members are totally on board. A few times you think she’s going to manage to escape, but someone is always quick to cut her off.
I don’t want to spoil anything else, but just know that while the movie is tense and thrilling, there is also a healthy dose of humor peppered throughout, and there’s even a small supernatural element thrown in. It’s fun to see who makes it to the end, and my friends and I kept trying to guess how it would end up (all wrong assumptions, I might add). If you want something fun, definitely go see this film! Might I also recommend the grittier, You’re Next and slow burn, The Invitation if you really end up liking it – both films are fantastic!