Ready or Not (2019 film)


Ready or Not is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. The film stars Samara Weaving as a newlywed who is hunted by her spouse's evil family as part of their wedding night ritual for Satan. Mark O'Brien portrays her husband, with Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell as members of his family.
Ready or Not had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2019, and was theatrically released on August 21, 2019 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It grossed $57 million against a $6 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics, for its blend of subversive humor and crowd-pleasing thrills.

Plot

As a child, Daniel Le Domas is confronted in his family's mansion by a wounded man named Charles, who begs him for help. Instead, Daniel alerts his family, who arrive wearing ceremonial masks and robes. Despite the pleas of his bride, Charles is shot with a speargun and dragged away, as Daniel's mother tells him that she is proud of him. Thirty years later, Daniel's younger brother Alex returns home to marry Grace, a former foster child happy to join his family, who run the successful Le Domas Family Games company. Grace meets the Le Domases: Alex's brother Daniel and his snobbish wife Charity; Alex's cocaine-addicted sister Emilie, her husband Fitch, and their young sons Georgie and Gabe; Alex's dour aunt Helene; and Alex's parents Tony and Becky.
After the wedding, Grace and the family gather, and Tony explains that his ancestor made a deal with a man named "Le Bail" to build the Le Domas fortune in exchange for the family observing a tradition: every new member draws a card from Le Bail's puzzle box, naming a game they must all play. Grace draws "Hide-and-Seek" and is sent to hide, believing they are merely playing a game; the Le Domases arm themselves with antique weapons to hunt her down. Unwilling to participate, Alex escapes into the mansion's secret passages and finds Grace, who witnesses Emilie kill a maid she mistakes for Grace. Alex reveals the Le Domases' curse: everyone who marries into the family must play the game determined by Le Bail's box, or die mysteriously. Only hide-and-seek also requires the family to kill the newcomer; the card was last selected by Helene's husband Charles, on their wedding night thirty years ago.
With the mansion locked down, Alex leaves to disable the security system and allow Grace to escape. She is discovered by Daniel, who is disillusioned with the family and gives her a head start before alerting the others. As the Le Domases bicker, determined to capture Grace and use her to perform a ritual before dawn, Emilie accidentally kills another maid. Alex unlocks the house, but Grace's escape is blocked by the family butler, Stevens. Alex destroys the security system before he is knocked out and restrained by Daniel and Tony. Grace is discovered by another maid, but the maid accidentally crushes herself to death in a dumbwaiter.
Grace escapes to the stables and finds Georgie, who shoots her in the hand. Punching him unconscious, she falls into a pit filled with the corpses of the Le Domases' previous sacrifices and climbs out, impaling her bullet wound on a nail to do so. She squeezes through the property's fence and flags down a motorist, who drives off. Pursued by Stevens, she fights him off and takes his car. She tries to call the police using the car's onboard system, but the operator informs her the car has been reported stolen and remotely shuts off the vehicle. Stevens subdues Grace with a tranquilizer gun and drives her back to the mansion, but she awakens and attacks him. The car crashes, killing Stevens, and Daniel captures Grace.
The Le Domases prepare to sacrifice Grace, drinking from a ceremonial cup. Before Tony can stab Grace, the family all vomit blood, and Daniel frees Grace, revealing he laced the cup with a non-lethal dose of hydrochloric acid. Charity shoots Daniel in the throat, and Grace disarms and pistol-whips her; Daniel succumbs to his gunshot wound. Grace bludgeons Tony with a lantern, starting a fire, and is attacked by Becky, whom she beats to death with Le Bail's box. Alex escapes his restraints and goes to rescue Grace, but she pulls away from him. Realizing that she will never trust him now, he subdues her, and the family prepare to complete the ritual. Grace breaks free, and the family realizes dawn has arrived. When they realize that nothing has happened to them after the failed ritual, Helene still tries to kill Grace, but one by one, the Le Domases explode; Alex begs for Grace's forgiveness, but she rejects him and he explodes as well. Le Bail appears momentarily, nodding to Grace in respect. Soaked in blood, Grace lights a cigarette outside the burning mansion as the police arrive. Questioned about what happened, she replies, "In-laws".

Cast

In November 2017, it was announced that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett would direct the film, from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. Ready or Not was produced by Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, and Bradley J. Fischer, while Tara Farney, Tracey Nyberg and Chad Villella executive produced, under their Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films and Radio Silence production banners, respectively.
From August to October 2018, Samara Weaving, Andie MacDowell, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Melanie Scrofano, Henry Czerny and Elyse Levesque were cast in the film.
Principal photography began on October 15, 2018, and concluded on November 19, 2018. The 26-day shoot took place at locations around the Toronto area, including Casa Loma, Sunnybrook Park and the Claireville Conservation Area, as well as the Parkwood Estate in Oshawa, Ontario.

Release

The first trailer was released on June 17, 2019. The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 21, 2019.
Ready or Not was released on Digital HD on November 26, 2019, and on DVD and Blu-ray on December 3. The release includes a 42-minute making-of documentary, an audio commentary with star Samara Weaving, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and executive producer Chad Villella, as well as a photo gallery and a gag reel.

Reception

Box office

Ready or Not grossed $28.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $57.6 million, against a production budget of $6 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross around $6.5 million in its opening weekend and $8–12 million over its five-day opening frame. Playing at 2,818 theaters, it was the widest release in Fox Searchlight's history. It made $1.9 million on its first day, Wednesday, including $730,000 from Tuesday night previews, and $1.1 million on its second. The film went on to debut to $8 million during its opening weekend, finishing second on its first two days and sixth for the weekend. It fell just 26% in its second weekend to $5.9 million, finishing fifth.

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 275 reviews, and an average rating of 7.19/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Smart, subversive, and darkly funny, Ready or Not is a crowd-pleasing horror film with giddily entertaining bite." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 71% and a 50% "definite recommend."
Peter Debruge wrote in Variety that "This deliciously diabolical sophomore feature, which hails from the resourceful low-budget trio known as Radio Silence, represents a departure for indie distributor Fox Searchlight, which has a real winner on its hands — that rare Get Out-like horror movie capable of delivering superficial diversion alongside deep cultural critique." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a decadent blast to watch a comic takedown of the rich done with the rude energy of a horror thriller and the courage of its own manic anti-marriage convictions."
Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich describes the film as "wickedly entertaining from start to finish, and painted with enough fresh personality to resolve into something more than the sum of its parts." Leah Greenblatt wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "Come for the crossbows, etc., and to watch Weaving's star be born in real time; stay for the socio-economic lessons and sweet, sweet revenge." David Sims of The Atlantic wrote, "The real fun in Ready or Not comes from the ways it subverts its time-tested story, balancing wry commentary and straightforward horror in its portrait of fumbling arrogance and curdled privilege." Bobby LePire rated the film 10/10 and wrote in Film Threat that "The acting is incredible, the directing striking and intense, and the screenplay is unbelievably brilliant and funny. I adore every scary and funny second of this movie and highly recommend it to everyone else."

Other response

Authors Stephen King and R.L. Stine, as well as horror directors Guillermo del Toro and Michael Dougherty, all expressed their enjoyment and approval of the film.