READY OR Not: Gore Horror-Comedy has courage (and brain) to spare

Ready not ready keeps the promise of The hunt without the exhaustive (and rather performative) political controversy that surrounded its publication. The new film by Radio Silence (V / H / S) is a bit like a Trojan horse, attracting viewers with a simple but engaging premise – a young woman getting married into a wealthy family with a macabre tradition – to reveal a much more ruthless and incisive film lurking in the world. ; inside. Samara Weaving, in what is surely her long-deserved session, takes the lead as Grace, a down-to-earth, realistic woman delighted to marry with the love of her life, Daniel Le Domas (Mark O & # 39). Brien) to his folly wealthy family estate. In the first 10 minutes, the film skilfully establishes the relevant context: despite Daniel's conviction that his family is monstrous, he returned home after a relatively long absence at the request of his future wife, who grew up in families of many years. And is more sensitive to the concept of family. The De Lomas clan has amassed its fortune through an empire of the game and with the help of a mysterious benefactor, with whom he has entered into a pact to perpetuate a particular tradition: when a newcomer joins the family by marriage, he must draw a card from a strange box and play the game shown on the card. Unfortunately for Grace, she draws "Hide and Seek" – the only game that requires violence and bloodshed; in particular, the family must track down Grace and kill her before sunrise, otherwise … well, let's just say "or else".

A dark dismemberment, deliciously violent and quite clever of the 1% in all their gratuitous absurdity, Ready not ready is even more smart that his marketing leaves on. For those who fear that the trailers will yield too much, this is certainly not the case; the film has its share of twists, each delivered with a flawless precision, devoid of any nauseating and important reluctance. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, as well as screenwriters Ryan Murphy (not this one) and Guy Busick, have an obvious respect for their audience's intelligence that gives the movie a head start on himself. Even beyond the socio-political commentary, there is an extremely entertaining horror comedy, not lacking in gut-wrenching guts and laughter. Weaving is electric as Grace, a woman about whom little is known outside of her youth in foster care. From this alone, we can understand that Grace is self-sustaining and has suffered from her lot of scratches – certainly a lot more than the Le Domas family. So it's not particularly surprising that Grace is more formidable than her so-called killers, pushing them into the bloody pursuit of their own home.

Obviously, the family Le Domas should have the upper hand: they are very rich, ruthless and have access to a myriad of rifles, crossbows and at least one hatchet – brandished by their proverbial battle ax, Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni ), who lost her husband last game of the hide-and-seek family. In the years that followed, Hélène internalized her inner grief, where she was impressed by a cold and zealous commitment to the tradition of Le Domas. But generations of privileges, cheats and glitches have made Grace's new in-laws quite incompetent, exacerbated by an awkward girl and drug addict (Melanie Scrofano), an apathetic son (Adam Brody, MVP movie's second), and their respective gourmet brides. The ensuing battle between Grace and her eventual family-in-law offers a series of violent gags, each more delicious and morbid than the last – intermixed throughout a bitter commentary on the rich 1% and the ridiculous, almost superstitious manners they cling tightly to their wealth. Ready not ready is absent from any higher political discourse or attitude, but rather creates a cinematic microcosm that reflects the world as we know it, in which Grace represents the average American ("us"), as opposed to the 1% who accumulates insensibly all his wealth ("them"). Grace, like most people, just wants to fuck to surviveand she was opposed to a rich group with a surplus of means and a ruthless refusal to share them with those who need them. Working with this is the idea that Grace, an unprivileged stranger, is encroaching on this wealth, potentially tarnishing the family's name with its unworthy past and taking a share of the pie that is not hers – but it does not really belong to the De Lomas clan, either; as stated explicitly in the first act, their wealth is the result of an evil pact. They never earned their money – not really – and as such, they never learned its value. Or how to fight for that.

Without saying too much about the film's glorious bloodbath, there's a photo in Grace's third act that's up there with icons of the latest girl like Sally in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Sidney in Yell. And there is a distinct sense of cathartic joy to be derived from watching the De Lomas family fight each other in the throat, in an absurd attempt to maintain their wealth as Grace cuts through the shit, just trying to get it right. come out alive.