A newly married bride gets more than she bargained for when her new in laws invite her to play a traditional game of hide and seek in this riotous and quite wonderful black comedy horror!
Now and again a film comes along in horror that once watched, you just know it’s going to be a guaranteed cult classic.
In an an age where there are many unnecessary sequels and remakes, Ready Or Not explodes onto the genre like a much welcome and needed delight, with its 18 rating used to fantastic maximum effect.
The film itself, a variation of the old tale The Most Dangerous Game, mocks the rich and gets the viewer onside virtually from the off, thanks to a lead character who we share this journey and ending up desperately wanting to survive the night ahead.
Honestly, key to the success of this modern update is Samara Weaving who totally steals the whole show as Grace, a young woman who has found her rich Prince Charming in the shape of Alex (Mark O Brien) whose family fortune comes from selling board games.
As the day goes as expected, it’s when night falls and Grace has to honour an old family tradition of playing a board game on her wedding night – a must to be considered a true Le Domas- that things take a terrifying turn.
On drawing the Hide and Seek card, Grace happily runs away to play the old children game, unaware that her new family are loading themselves with weapons to hunt her down, find her and then sacrifice her, all before sunrise.
What follows is a delicious game of errr….hide and seek, or a cat and mouse chase in which the family encounter their new daughter in law as someone who is more than willing to play the game to stay alive.
Weaving is sensational as each minute passes, with her beautiful white wedding dress becoming a register of all her battle scars as it becomes more bloody and torn, resulting in an iconic mirror scene that screams out for future Halloween dress ups for fans of this.
Also and it’s rare in film, Grace on many occasions will do the right thing. Not once are we shouting at the screen “don’t do that”, as the film thankfully, does not rely on dumb decisions by it’s lead character for tension.
Much like modern times, the film is gory when it’s needed to be, but helped with a deft touch of black macabre humour that will have you laughing as each situation unfolds.
Combine those with some surprisingly tension soaked set-pieces -just wait for the gruesome but stunning ladder scene – and what you have is a film laced with every essential quality needed for a rip roaring time, with a sprinkle of much needed satire about how the rich live.
By the time you get to the finale -and without spoilers- WOW!!….I honestly can’t think of another horror film in recent times that has ended in a horrific and yet quite stupendous blood soaked climatic way thay will have you laughing and in awe, long after the credits have rolled.
If you are willing to play the game, Ready Or Not is a much needed shot in the arm for the horror genre, it’s a demented and hilarious package all wrapped up in it’s short 95 minute running time and for me personally, a modern classic!!
Hacked 2 Pieces 