Ready or Not review
It’s been five years since Matt Bettinelli-Opin and Tyler Gillett released their breakthrough hit Ready or Not. The success led to two hit installments of the Scream franchise and this year’s Abigail. The blueprint started in 2019.
Classic movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Ready or Not
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy
Starring Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano and Kristian Bruun
Ready or Not Review
Five years doesn’t seem like a long time. Consider, however, 2019’s Ready of Not. More specifically, the launching pad that it became for directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. In the five years since its release…the duo has released three more movies. They resurrected the Scream franchise, delivering two big commercial successes. This year’s Abigail failed to hit at the same level at the box office…but continued their streak of critical success.
Ready or Not wasn’t the first movie for Olpin and Gillett. We covered the ten-year anniversary of their horror feature debut Devil’s Due earlier this year. They had also created memorable segments for both the V/H/S and Southbound anthologies. But Ready or Not is a clear turning point in their careers. It’s surprising box office success opened the Scream door for them. It also began their run of well received horror comedies. Devil’s Due wasn’t trying to deliver the same tone that Olpin and Gillett have homed in on since Ready or Not. Being the first of four collaborations with writer Guy Busick certainly has more than a little to do with it. Looking back at the 2019 hit…you can start to see it as a roadmap for their future success.
The success of Ready or Not begins with Samara Weaving’s Grace. Understanding that a strong final girl is a great starting point for any successful horror movie…writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy pen themselves a memorable one. Olpin and Gillett make sure she looks iconic in her bloodstained wedding dress. Weaving crushes the performance and boom…one of the best modern final girls is born.
The plot of Ready or Not needs a strong protagonist to work. Frankly, it’s a little silly when you think about it. Silly…in a good way. Grace is marrying into a wealthy family that became so due to their board game empire. Whenever someone marries into the family…they play a game together. The game is random. There is only one bad option. Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if Grace picked Battleship. We learned that in 2012. Grace draws Hide and Seek…unaware of what that means.
The family believes that a deal with some dark external force binds them to follow an age-old tradition. Grace must hide. They must kill her. Failure to do so before sunrise will result in the deaths of the entire family. Grace tucks herself away in a dumbwaiter. The family gears itself up with deadly weapons.
What follows is a comedic, location locked version of The Most Dangerous Game. Maids drop like flies. The bickering family members become more desperate. Grace begins to fight back. A couple of things elevate Ready or Not above what could have been a simple good time. First, the comedy lands hard. This is a genuinely funny movie. Clever dialog from start to finish. It even ends with a perfect punchline. Second, characters are afforded different levels of depth. Aunt Helene, the last person that this happened to, is laser focused on the mission at hand. New brother-in-law Daniel (Adam Brody) becomes a surprising ally.
Ready or Not never forgets to think about how this tradition has effected the family that’s played this game before. You’re either an awful person…or it has irrevocably damaged you. Unfortunately for Grace…the family is filled with overwhelmingly awful people. People who hunt down their newest member without even knowing if the consequences are real. Grace’s new husband is heavily conflicted until push comes to shove. He shows his true colors when the ticking clock and fear of death takes hold. Daniel dies an unlikely hero. At least he is spared Ready of Not’s climactic bloodbath.
The end of Ready of Not is its finest hour. Grace manages to (barely) survive until sunrise. Time stands still as…nothing happens. It would have been an entertaining choice to end the movie right there. Instead, Ready or Not gets every second it can to put the idea in your head…and then pays off the promise. Everyone but Grace explodes into buckets of blood. The satisfying pops put the perfect punctuation on a perversely entertaining horror comedy. Grace laughs, enjoys a smoke, and delivers a final punchline.
The Scream franchise was approaching its 25th birthday when Olpin and Gillett received their tap on the shoulder. As one of the biggest Scream fans in the world…I remember exactly what I was thinking the day they were picked to fill Wes Craven’s directing chair. Having seen Ready or Not…the selection made perfect sense to me. They’d shown an ability to marry horror and comedy in a unique and effective way. Five years later…it’s become their calling card.
Two Scream movies and Abigail…all, like Ready or Not, collaborations with Busick’s screenwriting. Four crowd-pleasing dark comedies not afraid to spray blood on every inch of the screen. The template for Olpin and Gillett’s current success is firmly rooted in the little movie that blew up big five years ago.
Scare Value
Despite some creative hits before Ready or Not…this is the movie that elevated Olpin and Gillett to a larger stage. It showcases a mix of fun and blood that has become a hallmark of more recent works. Samara Weaving creates a memorable modern final girl. There is no shortage of entertaining characters. The story ends with a bang. Or, more accurately, several pops. Whether it is their best work or simply among them, Ready or Not was a major turning point.
4/5
Ready or Not Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from Amazon and Fandango at Home
