Ready or Not

Ready or Not is an entertaining and easy-going mischievous comedy with a relatively interesting cast (Andie MacDowell playing a role unconventional for her), a relatively fast-paced plot, and a pretty healthy amount of ghoulish entertainment. Do not expect to be terrified, it is really just a sort of action movie loaded with black humor. (09/19/2019)

Since I’m not rich yet, I’ve no problem sympathising with this peculiar fairytale. An entertainingly lively spin on the concept of the human hunt that turns into a morbid carnage in the popular setting of a big baroque mansion. Although it grinds at times with the cheap way it delays the climax and the helplessness of the hunters associated to it, the viewer can always cling to the brilliant, badass main character (Samara Weaving was really born for roles like this), and in the ending rely on an unpredictable wave of foreshadowing, thanks to which the film can be taken as perverted and openly trashy fun in A-movie clothes. I’d love to see more brainwashers like this in the cinema, and all of them could be with Samara. 75% (09/16/2019)

Jordan Peele's open arms for horror social satire might suggest that the genre is being given some relevance again after the era of stupid ghost flicks, but that would be to forget that combing social ills in extreme hyperbole was already in the job description of the Purge tetralogy. And that was a load of crap. Ready or Not isn't that bad, and there's definitely a bigger head behind it, as revealed by some witty dialogue (for me, the argument about how tradition is important, but when you're leaking in your shoes, you start to consider that after all, its author would also have used contemporary technology if it had been available to him at the time) or the hilariously bestial ending. But the problem is that the whole thing is terribly unbelievable – the characters of the rich are simple caricatures without a shred of respect, the violence doesn't hurt, the fire doesn't burn, the vulgarities ring false, you don't trust the actors to take a drag from a cigarette, and the violence is the kind of cool domestic hurt where blood spurts, brains stick to walls, and wounds open, but in that safe movie way where it's actually kind of funny. Luckily, Samara Weaving is a wild one who gets it all right, and her clucking at the end will probably be the only thing I'll remember from the film a year from now. (11/25/2019)

A decent, inventive slasher, which turns an ordinary family dinner into something you won’t forget easily. Moreover with the lead role of the bride played by the fair Samara Weaving, who has witchcraft, fear and mysteriousness already in her name. Even though nothing that happens in the film is actually her fault. (02/28/2020)

I actually feel sorry for the film. The reviews here are not exactly favorable, but I won’t be as strict. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having fun. Granted, it was incredibly silly, and it would be considered a horror film only by someone who gets scared by fairy tales. It worked great as a black comedy, though. I’ve never been horrified by the sight of blood and guts, so I appreciated the funny moments in Clara, Tina and Dora’s best scenes, I also enjoyed Grace’s (fuck!)monologues, and the finale sure beats any film featuring a minefield. If you share my twisted sense of humor, go for it. (01/06/2020)