There are plenty of movies out there about snobby rich people hunting poor people. Ever since the 1924 story “The Most Dangerous Game,” the idea of aristocrats treating themselves to the sport of killing humans has been a minor fascination in Hollywood. That, naturally, often blurs the line between adventure and horror, with movies like Hostel or The Purge taking the latter perspective. That branched out a bit in things like You’re Next with rich people hunting each other and/or interloping newcomers. Now we get Ready or Not, a candlelit fight for survival in a giant mansion. Looks pretty funny, too. Oh, and it’s a Red Band trailer, so swears and violence aplenty.
The film stars the endlessly watchable Samara Weaving as a woman newly married to a wealthy board game heir. It all seems pretty idyllic until her new in-laws reveal a shocking family secret. Seems anyone new to the family has to survive a “ritual” wherein they’re hunted. Yes, with guns and crossbows and what not. The family includes Andie McDowell, Henry Czerny, Adam Brody, and Kristian Bruun. They might think hunting a woman in a wedding dress is easy, but they clearly haven’t seen Samara Weaving in other movies. She’ll eff ’em up for sure.
The directors of Ready or Not are Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, a team who contributed to the first V/H/S movie. This one looks really enjoyable; the warm and shadowy lighting gives it a suitably pagan tone. I’ll also always like seeing movie killers who suck at killing. It fills me with glee. And it just shows to go ya — don’t marry old money. It’s just a bad idea.
Ready or Not hits theaters August 23, 2019. Be sure to finish watching “Get to Know Your Crossbow” before then.
Images: Fox Searchlight
Kyle Anderson is the Editor at Large for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!