Ready or Not (2019)

[Proclone]

I just got back from seeing this.  I really quite enjoyed it.  I'm not a huge horror person, and I mostly went to see Melanie Scrofano and Kristian Brunn (Emilie and Fitch) on the big screen, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm not sure how really scary I thought it was, but it did have a few legitimate creepy moments (mostly from the barn scenes).  And I did find it quite funny.  I also didn't find it overly gruesome (I'm guessing some people will disagree with me about the end), and most of the gore seemed to have a point and was fairly restrained.

I really liked Samara Weaving as Grace.  I liked that she was smart and resourceful and never was never handed the idiot ball.  She didn't really make any stupid decisions, which seems fairly rare in horror movies.  She was also quite funny and had really good comic timing.  I also find it rather refreshing that the villains were rather hapless in a realistic, we only do this every few decades, kind of way.  You get snippets of it in the trailer, but Fitch watching youtube videos about how to use a crossbow, and Emilie accidentally killing the maids because she's both a terrible shot and coked-up, tickled me to no end. Tony bitching about having a tee-time the next morning was also quite amusing.

Overall I found this to be a really fun horror-comedy.  Like I said I didn't really find it all that scary, but it was funny.  The characters were likable (even the villains).

[AimingforYoko]

This was a fun trifle. I liked that while Grace was tough and not stupid, she also wasn't some closet badass. She got the hell beat out of her.

Fridge Logic scene: So when Grace called OnStarRoad Assist, Justin said the car had been reported stolen. By who? Stevens was choked out, and as far as anyone else knew, Stevens had the car. Then, when Stevens tranqued Grace, the car was operational again. How?

[kiddo82]

8 hours ago, Proclone said:

I really liked Samara Weaving as Grace.  I liked that she was smart and resourceful and never was never handed the idiot ball.  She didn't really make any stupid decisions, which seems fairly rare in horror movies.  She was also quite funny and had really good comic timing.

She was terrific in 3 Billboards.  Haven't seen this yet but maybe I'll venture out today cause I'm hearing mostly positive things.

[Spartan Girl]

As someone who is heartily fed up with the trope of the rich snobby in-laws and the boyfriend/girlfriend that does little to nothing to defend their significant other from their parents, this movie was long overdue.

I knew Grace's husband would turn out to be a Nice Guy Weasel. If he loved her so much, why didn't he warn her about his family before, or you know, cut them completely out of his life and run away if he disapproved of their traditions so much? And he turns on her because she would leave him anyway. Yeah, NO SHIT, asshole. Good for Grace. She did what Greg Focker should have done a long time ago -- minus the bloodshed of course.

[methodwriter85]

I kind of wish Grace had managed to kill everyone instead of the curse taking effect, but she did indeed make a worthy Final Girl.

[AimingforYoko]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of wish Grace had managed to kill everyone

Except Daniel, of course. The drunk was the only one with a soul.

[wingster55]

6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And he turns on her because she would leave him anyway.

This is the one point you made that I disagree with...I’m not sure if he would have turned on her if he hadn’t seen her kill his mom. Of course pledging an oath to the devil isn’t a normal reaction either. 

[krankydoodle]

I really enjoyed this, too! Samara Weaving and Adam Brody were great. And I've missed seeing Henry Czerny. I hope he turns up in the Mission Impossible series again.

The two moments that really made me cringe both involved Grace: when she slammed her injured hand down on the protruding nail in the barn and when her back slowly got ripped open as she tried to squeeze through the front gate. She definitely earned her final girl status.

[Proclone]

4 hours ago, wingster55 said:

This is the one point you made that I disagree with...I’m not sure if he would have turned on her if he hadn’t seen her kill his mom. Of course pledging an oath to the devil isn’t a normal reaction either. 

Also to be fair to Alex he also didn't know that Danny had helped Grace and Charity had shot him.  I'm guessing he assumed that Grace killed Danny too....and then he walked in on her beating his mother's face in.  Yeah, Alex is a douche, but he did seem to love his family, turning on Grace seemed to be in character as he decided to protect what family he had left.

14 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

This was a fun trifle. I liked that while Grace was tough and not stupid, she also wasn't some closet badass. She got the hell beat out of her.

Fridge Logic scene: So when Grace called OnStarRoad Assist, Justin said the car had been reported stolen. By who? Stevens was choked out, and as far as anyone else knew, Stevens had the car. Then, when Stevens tranqued Grace, the car was operational again. How?

The car being reported stolen isn't the part I found to be the plot hole, Stevens sits up just as Grace pulls away in the car.  We know he has a cellphone, I assume he called "Road Assist" shortly after.  The car being operational again is a plot hole, with those kinds of services you generally can't call and say, "Opps found the car, it was parked in the drive all along, could you turn it back on."  They would typically require the police to arrive before they would allow the car to be operational again.

[TiffanyNichelle]

On 8/25/2019 at 2:05 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of wish Grace had managed to kill everyone instead of the curse taking effect, but she did indeed make a worthy Final Girl.

Me too. I thought it was interesting that the majority of the deaths that happened early was the help and that the family lasted until almost the end. The only person she really hands on killed was the mother right? I can't remember how the butler died. I was at first disappointed that the groom turned in the end but thinking about it, it was much more satisfying that way. It would have been too easy for him to still be trying to save her and having to die tragically in the end. They pretty much told us that he would go along with it when he was crying with his mother as he confessed to liking the animal sacrifice stuff.

[phalange]

This was fun with the right amount of humor to balance out the gore. The high on crack sister who kept accidentally killing the maids and her husband who had to watch a crossbow tutorial were hilarious. I lost it when he googled "family pacts with the devil, real or bullshit." 

Grace was far braver and more resilient than I could manage. I'd be done in after falling in the dead body pit and slamming my hand on a nail. Watching her walk away from the burning house was super satisfying.

Alex was such a douche, begging for forgiveness after he lied to her from the beginning and then tried to kill her. Bye, asshole. I actually didn't think the curse/pact with the devil was real until everyone started exploding. It was funny how they all reacted like vampires being exposed to the sunlight, nothing happened, and then...kaboom. 

[Jazzy24]

On 8/25/2019 at 10:39 AM, Spartan Girl said:

As someone who is heartily fed up with the trope of the rich snobby in-laws and the boyfriend/girlfriend that does little to nothing to defend their significant other from their parents, this movie was long overdue.

I knew Grace's husband would turn out to be a Nice Guy Weasel. If he loved her so much, why didn't he warn her about his family before, or you know, cut them completely out of his life and run away if he disapproved of their traditions so much? And he turns on her because she would leave him anyway. Yeah, NO SHIT, asshole. Good for Grace. She did what Greg Focker should have done a long time ago -- minus the bloodshed of course.

Didn’t Alex say that when someone refuses to play that they die? I know he mentioned how his great uncle refused and him and his wife died the next morning. 

Alex was too selfish. He knew if he told Grace that she would leave. I think he would have been fine not getting married because Grace said that “Alex would be fine living in sin” but Grace wanted family and marriage so he married her to keep her. 

I liked the movie and everyone was so damn likable IMO. I was actually rooting for Grace and Alex but when he turned on her ugh. 

I actually was like, I got their motivation for this which is self preservation. It was fucked up and evil but it was kill or be killed and I got it. I still rooted for everyone to die. 

[johntfs]

I kind of want Grace to team up with Sharni Vinson's character, Erin from You're Next just going on a road trip around the country killing rich assholes. 

[calliope1975]

I really enjoyed it; it was a bunch of fun. Adam Brody needs to be in more things. A tiny detail, but I liked that Grace snorted when she laughed. And I liked that she started cracking up at the end when the 'spoding started. I also appreciated Satan's tip o' the hat to her. 

[kiddo82]

On 8/30/2019 at 8:41 PM, calliope1975 said:

 I also appreciated Satan's tip o' the hat to her. 

And I loved that her only response was a dumbfounded "Fuck."  

This was a perfectly fun end of summer movie.  In fact, it may have been my favorite movie all summer.  (and I was initially going to skip it.)  Samara Weaving was a pleasure and Adam Brody brought a lot to the table as well.  Just echoing that I really enjoyed Grace as a believable heroine and the ending was complete catharsis.  I also liked how Grace was a good person but she's also not abnormally perfect.  She smokes!  She curses freely!  She engages in premarital sex!  I know that the final girl trope has already been subverted numerous times but it's still refreshing to see a realistic character in that role.  Loved the strung out sister accidentally shooting the maids ("She was my favorite.") and the brother-in-law youtubing how to use a crossbow, and the delay between the sunrise and the family meeting their doom.  The OnStar conversation may have been my favorite.  (Justin:  "Is there anything else I can do for you?"  Grace:  "You can go fuck yourself.")  Anyone else like the subverted "Behind you!" trope with the family acting as the audience, Stevens acting as the victim, and Grace acting as the killer?  I thought that was clever.  I also thought that overall there was a good use of 2019 technology without being overly reliant on it. This can be a difficult balance to strike.  The filmmakers are acknowledging that those things exist, and using them to good effect, without using them to solve the conflicts of the story.  Although, here's a fridge moment now that I think about it, where was Grace's phone?  Alex tells her to bring it with her when he's trying to usher her out of the house but I don't recall a moment where she drops it or anything.  It's just as well because something would have had to happen to it anyway for the events of the movie to unfold.  Couple of other questions, do the Le Domas' specifically choose their partners based on the possibility of playing wedding night games of death?  For example, Grace was a foster child and literally had no one for her at the wedding, (kinda bullshit that she wouldn't have friends or someone in her life caring about her but whatever) so was Alex hedging his bets that should his family have to murder her, no one would question what happened to her?  Even Daniel's wife says something to effect of playing hide and seek to the death is better than going back to where she came from so it seems like she was kinda in the same boat as far as outside family/friends.  Also, did the devil (whatever the guy's name was) specifically choose Grace because he thought she at least had a chance to win thereby ending his pact?  There is no way either of those in-laws would have survived.  Just some food for thought.  

[kitmerlot1213]

On 8/25/2019 at 7:25 PM, wingster55 said:

This is the one point you made that I disagree with...I’m not sure if he would have turned on her if he hadn’t seen her kill his mom. Of course pledging an oath to the devil isn’t a normal reaction either. 

I think Alex also thought Grace killed his brother and Daniel seemed to be the only one in the family he genuinely cared for.  It would have made me laugh even harder if it was Alex who turned away from Grace, saying she was too blood-thirsty and he couldn't be with someone who had a higher body count then him.

Re:  Grace's phone:  when Alex was telling Grace to put her sneakers on he asked where he phone was and then he muttered "they must have took it" so I guess one of the servants came in and swiped it.

So does Grace inherit if there's any of the family fortune left?

Edited September 4, 2019 by kitmerlot1213

[calliope1975]

4 hours ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

So does Grace inherit if there's any of the family fortune left?

I was wondering that as well, and I hope the answer is a resounding YES.

[Ceindreadh]

On 9/4/2019 at 1:43 PM, kitmerlot1213 said:

I think Alex also thought Grace killed his brother and Daniel seemed to be the only one in the family he genuinely cared for.  It would have made me laugh even harder if it was Alex who turned away from Grace, saying she was too blood-thirsty and he couldn't be with someone who had a higher body count then him.

Re:  Grace's phone:  when Alex was telling Grace to put her sneakers on he asked where he phone was and then he muttered "they must have took it" so I guess one of the servants came in and swiped it.

So does Grace inherit if there's any of the family fortune left?

On 9/4/2019 at 5:47 PM, calliope1975 said:

I was wondering that as well, and I hope the answer is a resounding YES.

She’d probably be in line to inherit, assuming she can come up with a good story for the cops so they don’t pin everything on her.  Then again, there aren’t going to be any bodies to find (except those in the pit) so she might get away with it. 

[methodwriter85]

Quote

She’d probably be in line to inherit, assuming she can come up with a good story for the cops so they don’t pin everything on her.  Then again, there aren’t going to be any bodies to find (except those in the pit) so she might get away with it. 

I'm pretty sure the official cover story is going to be that everyone died in the fire and it got hot enough that their bodies were incinerated. They already hinted at that when they talked about another family who didn't win and they "died in a fire." I'm sure Satan probably ties up any strings left behind so that the status quo remains. And nobody is going to believe the pretty 115-pound grieving blonde bride could possibly slaughter an entire family.

I think she's pretty much in the free and clear. If she does inherit the money, I like to imagine her getting a bitchin' sports car and driving across the country and having non-lethal adventures before eventually settling down with a real man.

Edited September 28, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Cobalt Stargazer]

"Goddamn it, Emilie! Aim for the center of gravity!"

"And sweetheart, try not to kill anyone else."

Such encouraging parents. 😛   

[Anela]

"Pumpkin, try not to kill anyone else."

This movie is better than I expected it to be. I'm really loving Samara Weaving, and the brother-in-law who was googling "pact with the devil real or BS" then just texting someone back, like everything's great. 

"Go fuck yourself, Justin!" 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Anela