Ready or Not (2019)

Ready or Not is the sort of horror movie that gets moving and doesn't let up. It has an outrageous premise, strong performances, some genuinely nasty effects and a sense of humor that never takes away from the danger. Revisiting it before the sequel reminded me just how well the movie works, and I may have enjoyed it even more this time around.

Samara Weaving is the key. I can't imagine a better actor for Grace. She begins as an ordinary woman joining a wealthy family through marriage, and the horror works because she's not secretly a trained fighter. She's someone who has to figure out how to survive a situation that no reasonable person could have anticipated. Weaving gives her fear, anger and disbelief in a way that feels convincing throughout.

I particularly like how the film handles its pacing. You get enough setup to understand the family and their bizarre tradition, then the game begins and almost everything from that point moves forward. It doesn't spend long stretches explaining why every character does what they do. It lets you watch the danger unfold and figure out the stakes along with Grace.

The comedy works because the family is so absurd. These people behave as though their horrifying game is an ordinary obligation, and that contrast creates some great moments. There are also some wonderfully gruesome effects. Even when a kill isn't shown in detail, the sound and the reactions tell you enough to make it effective.

The story never loses sight of the character at its center. Grace becomes tougher because she has to, and you root for her the entire time. I think that's what separates the movie from a collection of elaborate horror set pieces. It gives the audience someone worth following.

Ready or Not is a great combination of survival horror and dark comedy. The performances, practical-feeling effects and relentless pace make it easy to revisit. It's exactly the kind of movie I love recommending to people who want horror that's intense without forgetting to be entertaining.

Ready or Not is one of those horror movies where I am rooting for the main character almost immediately. Grace is such a good character, and Samara Weaving plays her perfectly. She's getting married and thinks she's joining a family with a strange little game-night tradition. That wouldn't worry me at first, either. I like games, and I'd probably be ready to play along. Obviously, this family has a very different idea of fun.

What I love about the movie is how quickly it gets going. There isn't a long stretch where I'm waiting for something to happen. Once things take a bad turn, Grace is running, hiding and trying to figure out how to survive. I wanted her to make it from the beginning, and I never got tired of watching her fight back.

Samara Weaving is amazing at showing both fear and anger. She's not just screaming because she's frightened. You can feel how furious she is that these people are doing this to her. I loved seeing that change in her as the night went on. She's an ordinary person who turns out to be a lot tougher than anybody expected.

The movie has some gross scenes, and there are moments when I didn't want to look. But there's enough humor that I could enjoy the chaos instead of feeling miserable. The family is ridiculous, and some of their behavior is so strange that it makes the situation almost funny, even though it's awful.

I also liked that I couldn't predict every little thing that would happen. The story kept me interested all the way to the end, and I wanted to know how Grace would get out of such an impossible situation. There are plenty of horror movies where I don't care if the characters survive. This is the opposite.

We've watched Ready or Not more than once, and I would happily watch it again. It's tense, funny and entertaining all the way through. I love Grace, I love the way the movie keeps moving, and I think it's one of the better horror comedies around.