Ready or Not movie review & film summary (2019)

Grace (Samara Weaving) loves Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien) so much that she’s tolerated the hoops through which his family have made her jump: Alcoholic wastrel Daniel (Adam Brody) hitting on her, mother Becky (Andie MacDowell) being somewhat cagey about her approval, sister Emilie (Melanie Scrofano) not even showing up in time for the ceremony, father Tony (Henry Czerny) outright voicing his displeasure at the girl’s status and aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni) staring daggers at her from the moment they met. They’re a bizarre bunch but Grace sees the light at the end of the tunnel now that they’ve all congregated at the Le Domas manor for the nuptials. With the ceremony out of the way, Grace starts to relax, but then Aunt Helene shows up unannounced in Alex’s bedroom to remind him that there’s one more ritual before the two can live happily ever after. Alex neglected to mention that every time someone enters the Le Domas dominion, they have to play a game.

The Le Domas family name is in the world of the film, meant to be as ubiquitous as Parker Brothers or Milton Bradley. They’re world renowned for their board and card games, so Grace takes the little moonlit challenge as a quirk because of their chosen industry. However when Tony explains the origin of the family fortune, how it was only after Great Grandfather Le Domas had chance encounter with a traveler that he made his millions, and Grace pulls "Hide And Seek" from the box of games, the entire family has a collective intake of breath and it’s clear something is off. Grace hides in a dumbwaiter for as long as she cares to, missing the sight of the entire Le Domas family arming themselves to the teeth before they begin to look for her. It’s only when Emilie accidentally kills one of the family’s three maids that Grace fully understands that this isn’t just a game.

It can be easy to overstate the case of a movie like “Ready or Not.” It’s replete with ‘badass’ images of Grace in her wedding dress wearing post-"Kill Bill" swagger heading to do battle with the batty Le Domas progeny, covered in blood, sporting a bandolier, a half-baked quip, and a ripped wedding dress. It’s filled with easy jokes about the insanity of the rich and the callousness with which they take to their task of hunting and killing a woman on the grounds of their mansion. It’s got cavalier work from Brody, MacDowell (who struggles a little with the tone), and Kristian Bruun as Emeilie’s jackass husband, but they should all be funnier and they should all have been given a little more to chew. Czerny and Weaving are the only ones who fully seize every second of their screen time, showcasing the full bodied comedy and crazy eyed horror this might have been.