Ready or Not is an American comedy-horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Plot
As a child, Daniel Le Domas is confronted in his family's mansion by a wounded man named Charles, who begs him for help. Instead, Daniel alerts his family, who arrive wearing ceremonial masks and robes. Despite the pleas of his bride, Charles is shot with a speargun and dragged away, as Daniel's mother tells him that she is proud of him. Thirty years later, Daniel's younger brother Alex returns home to marry Grace, a former foster child happy to join his family, who run the successful Le Domas Family Games company. Grace meets the Le Domases: Alex's brother Daniel and his snobbish wife Charity; Alex's cocaine-addicted sister Emilie, her husband Fitch, and their young sons Georgie and Gabe; Alex's dour aunt Helene; and Alex's parents Tony and Becky.
After the wedding, Grace and the family gather, and Tony explains that his ancestor made a deal with a man named "Le Bail" to build the Le Domas fortune in exchange for the family observing a tradition: every new member draws a card from Le Bail's puzzle box, naming a game they must all play. Grace draws "Hide-and-Seek" and is sent to hide, believing they are merely playing a game; the Le Domases arm themselves with antique weapons to hunt her down. Unwilling to participate, Alex escapes into the mansion's secret passages and finds Grace, who witnesses Emilie kill a maid she mistakes for Grace. Alex reveals the Le Domases' curse: everyone who marries into the family must play the game determined by Le Bail's box, or die mysteriously. Only hide-and-seek also requires the family to kill the newcomer; the card was last selected by Helene's husband Charles, on their wedding night thirty years ago.
With the mansion locked down, Alex leaves to disable the security system and allow Grace to escape. She is discovered by Daniel, who is disillusioned with the family and gives her a head start before alerting the others. As the Le Domases bicker, determined to capture Grace and use her to perform a ritual before dawn, Emilie accidentally kills another maid. Alex unlocks the house, but Grace's escape is blocked by the family butler, Stevens. Alex destroys the security system before he is knocked out and restrained by Daniel and Tony. Grace is discovered by another maid, but the maid accidentally crushes herself to death in a dumbwaiter.
Grace escapes to the stables and finds Georgie, who shoots her in the hand. Punching him unconscious, she falls into a pit filled with the corpses of the Le Domases' previous sacrifices and climbs out, impaling her bullet wound on a nail to do so. She squeezes through the property's fence and flags down a motorist, who drives off. Pursued by Stevens, she fights him off and takes his car. She tries to call the police using the car's onboard system, but the operator informs her the car has been reported stolen and remotely shuts off the vehicle. Stevens subdues Grace with a tranquilizer gun and drives her back to the mansion, but she awakens and attacks him. The car crashes, killing Stevens, and Daniel captures Grace.
The Le Domases prepare to sacrifice Grace, drinking from a ceremonial cup. Before Tony can stab Grace, the family all vomit blood, and Daniel frees Grace, revealing he laced the cup with a non-lethal dose of hydrochloric acid. Charity shoots Daniel in the throat, and Grace disarms and pistol-whips her; Daniel succumbs to his gunshot wound. Grace bludgeons Tony with a lantern, starting a fire, and is attacked by Becky, whom she beats to death with Le Bail's box. Alex escapes his restraints and goes to rescue Grace, but she pulls away from him. Realizing that she will never trust him now, he subdues her, and the family prepare to complete the ritual. Grace breaks free, and the family realizes dawn has arrived. When they realize that nothing has happened to them after the failed ritual, Helene still tries to kill Grace, but one by one, the Le Domases explode; Alex begs for Grace's forgiveness, explaining that it was their love for each other that was still keeping him alive, but she rejects him and he explodes as well. Le Bail appears momentarily, nodding to Grace in respect. Soaked in blood, Grace lights a cigarette outside the burning mansion as the police arrive. Questioned about what happened, she replies, "In-laws".
Cast
- Samara Weaving as Grace Le Domas, Alex's young bride and wife
- Adam Brody as Daniel Le Domas, Emilie and Alex's alcoholic brother, Charity's husband, Tony and Becky's son, and Helene and Charles' nephew
- Etienne Kellici as young Daniel Le Domas
- Mark O'Brien as Alex Le Domas, Grace's husband, Daniel and Emilie's brother, Helene and Charles' nephew, and Tony and Becky's son
- Chase Churchill as young Alex Le Domas
- Henry Czerny as Tony Le Domas, Daniel, Emilie and Alex's father, and Becky's husband
- Andie MacDowell as Becky Le Domas, Daniel, Emilie and Alex's mother, and Tony's wife
- Kate Ziegler as young Becky Le Domas
- Melanie Scrofano as Emilie Le Domas-Bradley, Daniel and Alex's cocaine-addicted sister, Fitch's wife, Georgie and Gabe's mother, Tony and Becky's daughter, and Helene and Charles' niece
- Kristian Bruun as Fitch Bradley, Emilie's husband, and Georgie's and Gabe's father
- Elyse Levesque as Charity Le Domas, Daniel's wife
- Nicky Guadagni as Helene Le Domas, Daniel, Emile and Alex's aunt, and Charles' wife
- Elana Dunkelman as young Helene Le Domas
- John Ralston as Stevens, the Le Domas family butler
- Liam McDonald as Georgie Bradley, Fitch's and Emilie's son, and Gabe's brother
- Ethan Tavares as Gabe Bradley, Fitch's and Emelie's son, and Georgie's brother
- Hanneke Talbot as Clara, a maid
- Celine Tsai as Tina, a maid
- Daniela Barbosa as Dora, a maid
- Andrew Anthony as Charles, Helene's late husband, and Alex, Emile and Daniel's uncle
- Nat Faxon as Justin, a telephone helplines employee
- Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, the film's writers, as the "How to Use a Crossbow" instructors (uncredited)
- James Vanderbilt, the film's producer, as the demon Le Bail (uncredited)
Release
Ready or Not was released on August 21, 2019 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Before its release in United States, it was premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2019.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, it gets 88% Tomatometer, and 78% Audience Score. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart, subversive, and darkly funny, Ready or Not is a crowd-pleasing horror film with giddily entertaining bite."
On IMDB, the film gets average rating 6.9/10.0, and on CinemaScore, it gets grade B+.
On Box Office Mojo, the film earned $28,714,231 in North America, and $28,901,546 in other territories.
In North America, the film released in total 2,270 theaters and earned $1,876,458 on its opening date and $3,028,148 in its opening week.
In other territories, the biggest market is France, which earned $1,483,921 at opening week and $3,721,893 in total.
In total, the film earned $57,615,777.
Trivia
- The Pepper Box revolver wielded by Emilie has been the version of the gun weapon in the North American edition of the board game "Clue" since 1972. It was adopted by the European "Cluedo" edition in 1996.
- The Le Domas family empire of board games is based on now-defunct game manufacturers Milton Bradley Company and Parker Brothers.
- Despite appearing as an American in many of her film roles, Samara Weaving is Australian.
- Grace's yellow Chuck Taylor sneakers were actually custom painted for the film, as Converse no longer makes that color.
Videos
