Somewhere between “The Most Dangerous Game” and all those artfully designed board games littering Kickstarter lies “Ready or Not.” It’s hard to believe that this is the inaugural Fantasia Film Festival for directorial team Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively credited as Radio Silence. The filmmaking duo previously cut their teeth with segments in “V/H/S” and “Southbound,” as well as making their feature-length debut with “The Devil’s Due.” Making its World Premiere at the Montreal genre festival, “Ready or Not”—with its acidic humor and copious gore—is a tailor-made fit for Fantasia’s famously rowdy audience. A Fox Searchlight production, Radio Silence has dipped into studio resources for the first time, crafting an accessible horror comedy that’s heavy on the blood spatter but soft on ambition.
It seems like a picture-perfect wedding when Grace (Samara Weaving, “The Babysitter,” “SMILF“) marries the love of her life, Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien)—heir apparent to a board game dynasty—on his family’s sprawling estate. When it comes time to consummate the union, the bride is informed of the Le Domas family’s unusual ritual—at midnight, the newest member must draw a card from a Lament Configuration-like box which will dictate which game they play into the night. Grace pulls the proverbial short straw by drawing hide and seek; in this deadly variation, she is the quarry of her in-laws. She must survive until dawn while her new relatives hunt her wielding period weaponry like crossbows and derringers.
READ MORE: Summer Horror Movie Preview: 15 Films To Watch
When Grace takes up a shotgun and throws on an ammo belt, she convincingly inhabits the Ripley/Sarah Connor moment that we’re all waiting for. There is nonetheless a millennial bite to Weaving’s performance, expressed through the film’s relentless and modern wit—think a cousin looking up YouTube videos on how to load crossbow bolts. Like the heroines before her, Grace refuses to become the victim, and moreover, she seems acutely aware of the genre tropes and commentary on class and gender at play in “Ready or Not.”
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019
As scathing as “Ready or Not” is, a few members of the murderous Le Domas clan are painting with unexpected sympathy and depth, most notably Alex’s alcoholic brother Daniel (Adam Brody) and mother (Andie McDowell), who clearly serves as the family’s moral core, relatively speaking. Daniel’s demons, and the maternal traits of the Le Domas’ matriarch, are critical to identification in the almost anachronistic old-money world of “Ready or Not.” Writers Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy (no, not that Ryan Murphy) are wise to balance the ensemble with more dynamic characters, especially when the other players—including ax-wielding Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni)—are straight-up caricatures. Composer Brian Tyler has lent his sound to plenty of blockbusters in recent years, so it’s no surprise that the serviceable score latches on to the absurdity of “Ready or Not” rather than Grace’s grim prospects.
READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2019… So Far
Considering Radio Silence’s memorable contribution to found-footage horror anthology “V/H/S”—“10/31/98,” in which a haunted house turns deadly—the Le Domas manor is a fairly standard location as far as death traps go. Cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz (a veteran of no-budget early work by Lena Dunham and the Safdie Brothers) bathes the high Gothic mansion in rich yellows through spaces sparsely lit by fireplaces or lamplight. It’s an impressive, but one-note, look that mirrors the lack of variety in torture chambers on display. When Grace observes the presence of hidden doors, Alex dismisses them as entrances for the servants. Mostly a means of drawing attention to the class disparity between the couple, it’s disappointing that this indeed is all the dwelling has to offer when “Ready or Not” could have gone full Grand Guignol.
READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss
The house may not conceal more than its surface appearance but there is more to the Le Domas’ and their board game wealth than meets the eye. Radio Silence is playing in the studio sandbox for the first time, but the duo brings in a few their favorite high-concept toys to appeal to the horror faithful. A highlight is the climax, which pays off in a sequence that rivals the frame-to-blood ratio of the elevator opening in “The Shining.”
There’s something innately irresistible about the wacky premise of “Ready or Not,” and its gallows humor should play well with wider audiences even if some of the nastier impulses—close-ups of maimed visages are consistently held a few frames too long—scream niche horror. However, with the bar for breakout genre flicks being set so high in recent years, one can’t help but feel that Radio Silence is capable of something more substantial and memorable in its craft. Like most of Grace and Alex’s wedding gifts, “Ready or Not” is certainly diverting but hardly essential. [C+]