242.
Ready or Not
7/10
It had been a long time since Odeon had released a Scream Unseen, one of their horrors that you don't know what you are going to watch until it starts. There is no better time for them to chuck another in front of us than Halloween and this time I didn't look at any clues ad just went in blind and on a last-minute ticket. Turns out, we are watching Ready or Not and I've actually seen a trailer to this one. No lie, I honestly thought Margot Robbie was the lead. Turns out its Samara Weaving, who could definitely charge at parties to fill in for Robbie. The one other cast member that I recognise by face is Andie MacDowell. I have seen her in anything that I remember but she just has one of those faces that has been around a while. Let's get stuck in and play a game. I'm ready.
The whole premise of this movie is Weaving's character marrying into a famous board game creating family and with them being filthy rich, she is obviously nervous. The Aunt is the only one that seems to hate the new bride but this soon changes. They have a tradition that they need to play a game that is drawn at random from cards from a box. This box has magical powers and if they don't play the game, they won't accept the girl into the family. One problem, she pulls hide and seek and unknown to her, it's not the normal version.
Once the family finds her, they need to kill her. It has to be by sunrise otherwise the family will die. The old owner of the box had apparently made a deal with the devil and he demands a sacrifice every now and again. As the movie progresses, the husband catches up with the wife and explains it all and things become apparent to her as she witnesses a maid being killed by accident.
The movie progresses quickly with escaping, plenty of killing and Grace, our new wife, turns out to be quite a badass when backed into a corner. She ends up getting caught twice and the second time is tied to the sacrificial table, ready for the slaughter. This all whilst the husband is handcuffed upstairs as he reveals himself as helping her escape. This time it's his brother and her brother-in-law that steps up. He poisons the family wine and quickly unties her.
His wife catches up with them and after a tussle with Grace, she accidentally shoots him and Grace then makes a run for it. Problem is, the husband comes across his dying brother and instead of finding out that Grace didn't do it, nothing is said. Grace is found by her husband in the dining room, like a game of Cluedo, after she has just struck down the mother-in-law with the card box that she drew from. Hubby is in bits and turns on her, holding her down and is ready for the sacrifice. He can't wait but a last-minute move of the head from Grace, he misses and up sprouts Grace, pulling the knife and grunting like an animal in the corner. The remaining family notices a bit of light from between the curtains and it's sunlight. Shitting themselves and being spotted doing so by Grace, she draws back the curtains and everyone scream, cowering behind tables and chairs, ready for death. Nothing. Absolutely nothing happens and some of the members that married into the family are calling bullshit. That's until one explodes. One by one, even the children, end up as nothing more than blood on the ceiling, blood on the floor, actually there's blood everywhere. That includes our bride who had her husband begging her to save her life until he explodes. The movie ends with Grace sitting on the same steps she got married on, covered in blood, lighting a cigarette she is approached by the police until the screen fades to black.
I have to say, this was a lot more fun than I was expecting. After seeing the trailer a while back, I thought it was going to be just another stupid horror flop but it also had a lot of comedy to help carry through the silliness. You couldn't go into this with any seriousness otherwise you wouldn't take it for what it is. After seeing this for a second time, I really did appreciate this a lot more.
The story was quite a unique one and because of this, it was that bit more enjoyable. It was a bit crazy but with it starting a silly game, bordering onto a cult and then becoming a pact with the devil-like I said, you couldn't take this as a full our horror. The humour was there for a reason and this wasn't through many jokes, although we did have comic relief in the shape of a usual guy who married into the family and one of the drug addict daughters. The laughter a lot of the time actually comes from the killings. Now I know that sounds pretty awful but the way in which some deaths occur brings a bit of laughter to the fold.
Samara Weaving played a great role for me. We watched her quickly develop from a dizzy bride to an absolute badass killing machine and usually I hate this but because of this type of movie, it worked this time around. It all ties in with the silliness of what is unfolding. Each character brings something different to the table and that alone is enough to keep you guessing if the tide will turn and who will either kill or be killed.
If you like horror comedies along the lines of Happy Death Day, then this could well and truly be up your street. It's not a long movie by any stretch of the imagination and is quite a close-knit story location wise. It takes place in a mansion and its grounds, which keeps the action flowing, the audience on its toes everyone wondering if she will actually get caught. Of course, she wouldn't be massacred. Movies in this genre mostly end in a 'happy' outcome, depending on your definition of happy.
The whole premise of this movie is Weaving's character marrying into a famous board game creating family and with them being filthy rich, she is obviously nervous. The Aunt is the only one that seems to hate the new bride but this soon changes. They have a tradition that they need to play a game that is drawn at random from cards from a box. This box has magical powers and if they don't play the game, they won't accept the girl into the family. One problem, she pulls hide and seek and unknown to her, it's not the normal version.
Once the family finds her, they need to kill her. It has to be by sunrise otherwise the family will die. The old owner of the box had apparently made a deal with the devil and he demands a sacrifice every now and again. As the movie progresses, the husband catches up with the wife and explains it all and things become apparent to her as she witnesses a maid being killed by accident.
The movie progresses quickly with escaping, plenty of killing and Grace, our new wife, turns out to be quite a badass when backed into a corner. She ends up getting caught twice and the second time is tied to the sacrificial table, ready for the slaughter. This all whilst the husband is handcuffed upstairs as he reveals himself as helping her escape. This time it's his brother and her brother-in-law that steps up. He poisons the family wine and quickly unties her.
His wife catches up with them and after a tussle with Grace, she accidentally shoots him and Grace then makes a run for it. Problem is, the husband comes across his dying brother and instead of finding out that Grace didn't do it, nothing is said. Grace is found by her husband in the dining room, like a game of Cluedo, after she has just struck down the mother-in-law with the card box that she drew from. Hubby is in bits and turns on her, holding her down and is ready for the sacrifice. He can't wait but a last-minute move of the head from Grace, he misses and up sprouts Grace, pulling the knife and grunting like an animal in the corner. The remaining family notices a bit of light from between the curtains and it's sunlight. Shitting themselves and being spotted doing so by Grace, she draws back the curtains and everyone scream, cowering behind tables and chairs, ready for death. Nothing. Absolutely nothing happens and some of the members that married into the family are calling bullshit. That's until one explodes. One by one, even the children, end up as nothing more than blood on the ceiling, blood on the floor, actually there's blood everywhere. That includes our bride who had her husband begging her to save her life until he explodes. The movie ends with Grace sitting on the same steps she got married on, covered in blood, lighting a cigarette she is approached by the police until the screen fades to black.
I have to say, this was a lot more fun than I was expecting. After seeing the trailer a while back, I thought it was going to be just another stupid horror flop but it also had a lot of comedy to help carry through the silliness. You couldn't go into this with any seriousness otherwise you wouldn't take it for what it is. After seeing this for a second time, I really did appreciate this a lot more.
The story was quite a unique one and because of this, it was that bit more enjoyable. It was a bit crazy but with it starting a silly game, bordering onto a cult and then becoming a pact with the devil-like I said, you couldn't take this as a full our horror. The humour was there for a reason and this wasn't through many jokes, although we did have comic relief in the shape of a usual guy who married into the family and one of the drug addict daughters. The laughter a lot of the time actually comes from the killings. Now I know that sounds pretty awful but the way in which some deaths occur brings a bit of laughter to the fold.
Samara Weaving played a great role for me. We watched her quickly develop from a dizzy bride to an absolute badass killing machine and usually I hate this but because of this type of movie, it worked this time around. It all ties in with the silliness of what is unfolding. Each character brings something different to the table and that alone is enough to keep you guessing if the tide will turn and who will either kill or be killed.
If you like horror comedies along the lines of Happy Death Day, then this could well and truly be up your street. It's not a long movie by any stretch of the imagination and is quite a close-knit story location wise. It takes place in a mansion and its grounds, which keeps the action flowing, the audience on its toes everyone wondering if she will actually get caught. Of course, she wouldn't be massacred. Movies in this genre mostly end in a 'happy' outcome, depending on your definition of happy.
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