Ready or Not (2019) ****

 

It's nothing new to say that the whole in-laws thing is weird. One day you've got your own family, with whom you've built up memories, traditions, and in-jokes over the years. Then you get thrown into the midst of another family, who have their own secret language that you don't speak. For Grace (Samara Weaving), an orphan who grew up in foster homes, family is a foreign concept altogether. Her fiance, Alex, is estranged from his family, but has agreed to return with Grace to be married at the family estate. The Le Domases have a family fortune built on board games and sports franchises. They also have some weird traditions, some of which involve a barn full of goats out behind the mansion. Their weirdest tradition, though, is that whenever a Le Domas marries, the new in-law has to play a randomly-chosen game with the family. Usually it's something like chess or Old Maid, but if the Hide-and-Seek card comes up, things get serious. The family has to hunt down and kill the new bride or groom before dawn. Good, clean, family fun!

“Ready or Not” is a horror comedy that nails the balance between horror and comedy. Filmed for only $6 million, the movie takes full advantage of its talented cast, including Andie Macdowell and the gorgeous Melanie Scrofano (Mrs. McMurry from “Letterkenny”). Samara Weaving is excellent, even if she does look a bit too much like Margot Robbie. (If history has taught us anything, it's that Hollywood can always make room for another blonde bombshell.)

There's a lot of talk about the movie's socio-economic commentary, or whatever, but it's a bit overblown. A bunch of rich people try to kill a poor person for trying to join their ranks. Nothing particularly ground-breaking there, but I guess these days everyone wants to view things through the lens of class warfare. This is not a biting social satire on the order of, say, “Get Out.” I'm content to enjoy the movie for what it is – a funny, tightly-wound thriller that puts a new face on family game night.

4 stars out of 5