Howdy there, Scream Freaks! Hope you’re doin’ well and beatin’ this summer heat with some well-deserved downtime watchin’ scary flicks at your local air-conditioned theater. That’s what we’ve been doin’ after all! In fact, we just got back from watchin’ a 5/5 treat we didn’t expect to like so much, Ready or Not.
When we first saw this flick advertised, we didn’t give it a whole lot of thought. It looked like a bland period piece and felt a little hackneyed with that tired ol’ Most Dangerous Game plot with folks huntin’ other folks for sport. But then a trailer was released showin’ characters in cars and on their cell phones which clued us in this is a modern story, and we caught wind Stephen King was singin’ its praises. So, our rowdy gang of misfits headed for the big-screen for what would turn out to be the best weddin’ horror flick we’ve ever seen!
The plot’s as follows. Grace marries Alex, the estranged son of board game barons, at his family’s estate, but as soon as they say, “I do,” she’s hurried into a weddin’ tradition where new members of the family are initiated by playin’ somethin’ like game roulette. The family reveals through some convoluted backstory how they came into their fortune thanks to a satanic box or somethin’ an ancestor won in a gamble forever ago, and some deal with the devil was struck. In return for their fortune (and their lives), new spouses have to play a randomly selected game on their weddin’ night. Some joke ’bout havin’ played checkers or Old Maid for their initiations, but Grace unfortunately ends up with hide-and-seek which turns out to be devil code for sacrifice. Grace eventually gets a clue she’s in actual danger durin’ the game and spends the rest of the movie fleein’ her satanist in-laws who believe they need to kill her to avoid their own death by mornin’.
Full of fun tension, Ready or Not hits on all pistons with escalatin’ dangers, solid characters, dark humor, thoughtful cinematography, and went above and beyond any expectations we had for it. It’s still the tired ol’ Most Dangerous Game plot essentially, yeah, but the satanist detail really adds somethin’ special with the whole movie keepin’ us on the edge of our seat regardin’ Grace’s fate while wonderin’ if the demonic dealin’s are real or a bunch of hookum. You know it’s a great movie when any endin’ you imagine happenin’ feels equally satisfyin’. The only thin’ sweeter is Grace bein’ played by Samara Weaving, who honestly should’ve been ‘nough reason for us to run our asses to the theater to begin with.
Samara Weaving first made our radar with her head-turnin’ performance as the killer bombshell in Netflix’s The Babysitter then caught our attention again when she played a memorable deadite casualty in the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead (which someone wrongfully used her gory behind the scene photos as fake evidence of violence at President Trump rallies to stir online controversy). Followin’ those notable acts with a kick-ass performance as a rage fueled woman out for blood in Mayhem, we knew she was securin’ a foothold in the horror genre as its next superstar. After seein’ her stretch her actin’ range to include a final girl who can compete with Carrie White in a horrific fashion show by the end of Ready or Not, it’s clear she’s destined for hall of famer status. Killer, victim, fighter, last girl . . . is there any horror role this gal can’t tackle?!
So, to wrap this love letter up, go seek Ready or Not! It’s a perfect date night movie, there’s plenty of dark humor without it feelin’ stupid for a gang of friends to laugh at, and Samara Weaving is well worth the ticket price alone!!
Other than that, be sure to catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films and comics we’re checkin’ out in our blogs, R-Rated Reviews and Sequential Slime, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV and Sluggo’s The Vortexx!
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