Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)
'Hide and Seek? Are we really going to play that?’
Want to play a game? How about Hide & Seek where if you’re found – you die… Yes, this crazy new part horror /part dark comedy flick from the makers of Devil’s Due - a twisted and very violent romp based on the children’s game.
Meet Grace (Samara ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ Weaving), a young bride who has just married her true love, Alex Le Domas (Mark ‘Arrival’ O'Brien). He hails from an obscenely wealthy family that made its fortune by manufacturing board games. The Le Domas clan, however, seem to have made something of Faustian pact as whenever someone new joins the family, they must play a game.
'Till death us do part...'
Grace is initially up for this odd midnight game ritual, until she discovers the game is Hide & Seek, and her new relatives will be hunting her down with real weapons. What follows is her attempt to stay alive for the entire night as the try their best to murder her.
The whole caper is played for maximum fun and yet doesn’t skimp on the jumps and gore too. The cast which includes Herny Czerny as patriarch Tony Le Domas, Andie MacDowell as his wife Becky, and Adam Brody as Alex's brother Daniel all bring their ‘A’ game and seem to be having a whale of a time.
The directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett don’t hold back – Ready or Not earns it’s 18 rating with strong language, bloody deaths and grim subject matter. But it is also laugh-out-loud funny and had the feel of a potential cult classic like ‘You’re Next’.
'Hunting for a bride'
It’s perfect Friday night thrills for this time of year as we start to think about Halloween. The script packs sinister laughs, courtesy of wickedly quotable dialogue. The elder aunt of the family played by Nicky Guadagni is a caustic old crony who disses everyone – for example, she refers to her niece only as ‘brown-haired niece, you continue to exist’…
As the body count rises and the dawn ticks closer – things get seriously out of control. It might just be that their fate of all the other family members depends on their killing young Grace. So it becomes a literal fight to the death.
Ready or Not is a wild ride – a fun and irreverent hunt -em-up which will please those looking for some dark fun…
Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:
ööö1/2
(3.5 - Lots of fun minor cult classic in the making)
Awesomeness öööö – Brutal fun and 'games'
Laughs ööö – Very funny in places
Horror öööö – Gets nicely grim
Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - Families can be murder!
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