Ready or Not (2019 film)

Ready or Not is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. The film stars Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell. Ready or Not follows Grace (Weaving), a newlywed who is hunted by her spouse's evil family as part of their wedding night ritual for Satan.

Ready or Not
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Written by
  • Guy Busick
  • R. Christopher Murphy
Starring
Music byBrian Tyler
CinematographyBrett Jutkiewicz
Edited byTerel Gibson
Production
companies
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release date
  • July 27, 2019 (2019-07-27) (Fantasia)
  • August 21, 2019 (2019-08-21) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[1]
Box office$57.6 million[2]

Preperations for the film began in November 2017, when Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, members of the Radio Silence filmmaking collective, were hired as co-directors. After setting an initial release date, casting took place between August and October 2018. Principal photography began later that month and concluded in November, filming in locations in or around Toronto and the surrounding Ontario area.

Ready or Not premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 21, 2019, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the screenplay, acting performances (particularly Weaving), direction, and comedy. It was also a commercial success, grossing over $57 million worldwide on a $6 million budget.

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.

Thirty years later, Daniel's brother Alex, who runs the successful Le Domas Family Games company, is set to marry Grace, a former foster child. On her wedding day, Grace meets the Le Domases: Daniel and his snobbish wife Charity; Alex's cocaine-addicted sister Emilie, her husband Fitch, and their young sons Georgie and Gabe; Alex's aunt Helene, and his parents Tony and Becky.

After the ceremony, Tony explains 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 and play a game. Grace draws "Hide-and-Seek". The Le Domases arm themselves, and 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 curse: every new family member must play a game determined by the box, or the family will die at dawn; hide-and-seek requires the family kill the newcomer. It was last played by Helene's husband, Charles.

With the mansion locked down, Alex disables the security system to 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, leading Emile to accidentally kills another maid. Grace's escape is blocked by the family butler, Stevens. Alex destroys the security system and is restrained by Daniel and Tony. Grace is discovered by another maid, but the maid accidentally crushes herself in a dumbwaiter.

Grace escapes to the stables and finds Georgie, who shoots her in the hand. She falls into a pit filled with the corpses of the Le Domases' previous sacrifices, but impales her bullet wound on a nail to escape. She squeezes through the fence and flags down a motorist, who drives off. Pursued by Stevens, she fights him off and takes his car, and 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, but she awakens and attacks him, leading the car to crash, killing Stevens. Daniel captures Grace.

The Le Domases drink from a ceremonial cup and then vomit blood as Daniel frees Grace; he laced the cups with a non-lethal dose of hydrochloric acid. Charity shoots Daniel and Grace disarms and pistol-whips her. 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, he subdues her to complete the ritual. Grace breaks free, and as Helene tries to kill her, the Le Domases explode at dawn as Alex begs for Grace's forgiveness. Le Bail appears and nods to Grace.

Cast
  • Samara Weaving as Grace Le Domas, Alex's young bride and wife
  • Adam Brody as Daniel Le Domas, Alex and Emilie's alcoholic brother
    • Etienne Kellici as young Daniel Le Domas
  • Mark O'Brien as Alex Le Domas, Grace's husband, Daniel and Emilie's brother
    • Chase Churchill as young Alex Le Domas
  • Henry Czerny as Tony Le Domas, Daniel, Emilie and Alex's father
  • Andie MacDowell as Becky Le Domas, Daniel, Emilie and Alex's mother
    • Kate Ziegler as young Becky Le Domas
  • Melanie Scrofano as Emilie Le Domas-Bradley, Daniel and Alex's cocaine-addicted sister
  • Kristian Bruun as Fitch Bradley, Emilie's husband
  • Elyse Levesque as Charity Le Domas, Daniel's wife
  • Nicky Guadagni as Helene Le Domas, Daniel, Emile and Alex's aunt
    • 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
  • Ethan Tavares as Gabe Bradley, Fitch's and Emelie's son
  • 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 the voice of Justin, employee of the car onboard assistance company
  • Guy Busick & 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)

Production

In November 2017, it was announced that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett would direct the film, from a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. Ready or Not was produced by Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, and Bradley J. Fischer, while Tara Farney, Tracey Nyberg and Chad Villella executive produced, under their Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films and Radio Silence production banners, respectively. From August to October 2018, Samara Weaving,[3] Andie MacDowell,[4] Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Melanie Scrofano, Henry Czerny and Elyse Levesque were cast in the film.[5][6]

Principal photography began on October 15, 2018, and concluded on November 19, 2018. The 26-day shoot took place at locations around the Toronto area, including Casa Loma, Sunnybrook Park and the Claireville Conservation Area, as well as the Parkwood Estate in Oshawa, Ontario.[7]

Release

The first trailer was released on June 17, 2019. The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 27, 2019,[8] and was theatrically released in the United States on August 21, 2019.[9]

Ready or Not was released on Digital HD on November 26, 2019, and on DVD and Blu-ray on December 3.[10] The release includes a 42-minute making-of documentary, an audio commentary with star Samara Weaving, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and executive producer Chad Villella, as well as a photo gallery and a gag reel.[11]

Reception

Box office

Ready or Not grossed $28.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $57.6 million, against a production budget of $6 million.[2]

In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross around $6.5 million in its opening weekend and $8–12 million over its five-day opening frame. Playing at 2,818 theaters, it was the widest release in Fox Searchlight's history.[12][13] It made $1.9 million on its first day, Wednesday, including $730,000 from Tuesday night previews, and $1.1 million on its second. The film went on to debut to $8 million during its opening weekend (and $11 million over its first five days), finishing second on its first two days and sixth for the weekend.[14] It fell just 26% in its second weekend to $5.9 million, finishing fifth.[15]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 275 reviews, and an average rating of 7.19/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Smart, subversive, and darkly funny, Ready or Not is a crowd-pleasing horror film with giddily entertaining bite."[16] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 71% (including an average 3.5 out of 5 stars) and a 50% "definite recommend."[14]

Peter Debruge wrote in Variety that "This deliciously diabolical sophomore feature, which hails from the resourceful low-budget trio known as Radio Silence, represents a departure for indie distributor Fox Searchlight, which has a real winner on its hands — that rare Get Out-like horror movie capable of delivering superficial diversion alongside deep cultural critique."[18] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a decadent blast to watch a comic takedown of the rich done with the rude energy of a horror thriller and the courage of its own manic anti-marriage convictions."[19]

Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich describes the film as "wickedly entertaining from start to finish, and painted with enough fresh personality to resolve into something more than the sum of its parts."[20] Leah Greenblatt wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "Come for the crossbows, etc., and to watch Weaving's star be born in real time; stay for the socio-economic lessons and sweet, sweet revenge."[21] David Sims of The Atlantic wrote, "The real fun in Ready or Not comes from the ways it subverts its time-tested story, balancing wry commentary and straightforward horror in its portrait of fumbling arrogance and curdled privilege."[22] Bobby LePire rated the film 10/10 and wrote in Film Threat that "The acting is incredible, the directing striking and intense, and the screenplay is unbelievably brilliant and funny. I adore every scary and funny second of this movie and highly recommend it to everyone else."[23]

References
  1. Faughnder, Ryan (August 21, 2019). "Now in theaters: Every movie that didn't want to compete with Disney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. "Ready or Not (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  3. McNary, Dave (August 22, 2018). "Samara Weaving to Star in Thriller 'Ready or Not' for Fox Searchlight". Variety. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  4. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 20, 2018). "Andie MacDowell Joins Fox Searchlight Thriller 'Ready Or Not'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. N'Duka, Amanda (October 18, 2018). "Adam Brody & Mark O'Brien Join 'Ready Or Not' Thriller At Fox Searchlight". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  6. N'Duka, Amanda (October 23, 2018). "Eden Brolin Joins Vince Vaughn In 'Arkansas'; Fox's 'Ready or Not' Adds Elyse Levesque". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  7. Marc, Christopher (September 13, 2018). "Fox Searchlight's Thriller 'Ready Or Not' Starring Samara Weaving Shoots October-November". GWW. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  8. Kay, Jeremy (June 27, 2019). "Fox Searchlight's horror 'Ready Or Not' joins Fantasia line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  9. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 7, 2019). "Disney-Fox Updates Release Schedule: Sets Three Untitled 'Star Wars' Movies, 'New Mutants' Heads To 2020, 'Ad Astra' To Open Fall & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  10. Maison, Jordan (October 22, 2019). "Ready or Not Blu-Ray Release Details Revealed". Cinelinx.
  11. Miska, Brad (November 26, 2019). "'Ready or Not' Featurette: Henry Czerny as the 60-Year-Old Petulant Child [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  12. McClintock, Pamela (August 21, 2019). "Box Office: 'Ready or Not' Gets the Widest Release in Fox Searchlight's History". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  13. Rubin, Rebecca (August 21, 2019). "'Ready or Not,' 'Angel Has Fallen' Enter Box Office Race". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  14. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 25, 2019). "Gerard Butler's 'Angel Has Fallen' Rises Near Franchise's 'London' Sequel With $21M+ Opening – Sunday Final B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  15. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 1, 2019). "'Angel Has Fallen' Still In Flight At Sluggish Labor Day Box Office With $16M+ 4-Day". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  16. "Ready or Not (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  17. "Ready or Not Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  18. Debruge, Peter (August 13, 2019). "Film Review: 'Ready or Not'". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  19. Travers, Peter (August 22, 2019). "'Ready or Not Review: Here Kills the Bride'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  20. Ehrlich, David (August 14, 2019). "Ready or Not Review". IndieWire. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  21. Greenblatt, Leah (August 20, 2019). "'Ready or Not offers splattery black comedy with real socio-political bite'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  22. Sims, David (August 22, 2019). "'Ready or Not Is a Clever Horror Comedy About Entitled Rich People'". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  23. LePire, Bobby (August 26, 2019). "'Ready or Not'". Film Threat. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
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