PLOT SUMMARY: When Grace is told to play a game of hide and seek on her wedding night, she doesn't realize the game is anything but innocent.
Marriage can be very tricky when you come to think about it. Sure, you may sort of know your partner for a long time, and who knows how much can you really know about someone?
Then there are the in-laws you need to deal with. Imagine becoming a part of someone else's family, living with them, sleeping and eating under the same roof...I mean, these are people you barely know, but somehow, the second you sign a contract, you're part of the family. Of course, in this situation, the bride has more challenges to face, considering she has to give up her last name and her home to come live with her husband and in-laws.
Ten years down the lane, will your partner still be the same as when you met them first? Or will the pressures of starting a family, growing old, and being financially stable take a toll and crack the marriage?
For some, it may take years to figure out they don't gel with the in-laws or their spouse. For others, it takes a few days, or even the wedding day to realize they are mismatched.
In the case of Ready or Not, the bride is in for a rude shock when she is informed she must play a game on the day of her wedding. In many ways, this movie reminded me of You're Next. In that, the family comes together to celebrate a wedding anniversary when they are mercilessly attacked.
In this, the bride is the only target and, guess what? The love of her life doesn't come to her rescue.
Ready or Not pulls you in immediately, with its fast pace, exciting story, and wittiness. It can be a little gory and stomach-churning, but when you least expect it, you burst out laughing. The situation is rather ridiculous, but what happens to the poor bride, well, you do feel sorry for her.
READY OR NOT Movie Plot
The story begins with a groom running around a manor. Two little boys are up way past their bedtime and the eldest, Daniel, hides his little brother in the closet so he doesn’t have to witness whatever is going on. The groom pleads with Daniel to hide him but Daniel calls out “he’s here!”. The next instant the groom is shot at and dragged away while the bride sobs and screams.
Cut to the present, Grace is getting ready to marry Alex. She knows his family disapproves of her since she isn’t as rich as them, and is very nervous, yet determined to impress them at any cost.
Right before the wedding, Alex gives her an “out”.
He’s giving her a chance to back out of becoming part of his eccentric family. Grace isn’t about to give up the man she loves or his riches. She goes ahead with the wedding, plastering a wide smile as she takes photos with the family.
Later, just as she is having some private time with her husband, a relative walks in and interrupts, inviting both downstairs to play a game.
Grace is ready to play any game to impress the family. Without changing her clothes, she goes downstairs and smiles and chats with the family.
At midnight, she’s taken to a secret room and told the family’s history of Victor, an ancestor who made a deal with a mysterious benefactor to grant him wealth. He’s also given a special box that is passed on to the descendants.
The rule is that every new family member must partake in a game as an initiation into the family. Grace is expecting a game of checkers, and giggles when she receives a card that says Hide and Seek. Everyone quietens and Alex grows nervous.
Grace is asked to hide while a record is played. She still doesn’t think she’s in any danger. It’s a kids game after all and she intends to be found soon before dawn.
The family members give her an honest chance and turn off the security cameras. But they also lock down the house.
At first, Grace hides in a dumbwaiter and after a while, gets out to be found so she can go back to being with her husband.
Meanwhile, the family has armed themselves with weapons belonging to another century. Alex’s sister is completely high and it is she who provides some unexpected laughs as she mistakenly kills off the maids.
Alex leaves the room where he is supposed to wait to go find his wife. He pulls her in just as she is about to be found and asks her to escape.
Grace is still all giggles until she witnesses the death of a maid by Alex’s sister Emilie. When the family chides her for making such a dumb mistake, Grace realizes the family is hunting her and going to kill her.
She freaks out as Alex gives her sneakers and pulls her through the secret door. He asks her to go to the kitchen and wait for him. But Grace makes a wrong turn and ends up near the family. Emilie makes another shot but misses and Grace runs but ends up in the same room as Daniel.
Daniel feels sorry for her but claims it is tradition. He gives her a head start before yelling he has found her.
Bit by bit, Grace tears off the bottom of her wedding dress. Sometimes it’s so she can run properly, other times because she is injured and needs the lacy sleeve to wrap around a wound in her hand.
Her dress also turns red as blood is splattered around and she is thrown into a pit in the goat shed, signifying the gross disintegration of her marriage.
Even the kids are into the game and can’t wait to grow up and partake in it properly.
Grace has only herself to rely on to escape because Alex has been caught and handcuffed. His family members know he will come around because he was the only one who dreamt about Victor.
As the game progresses, Grace learns the family is paranoid that they will all die at dawn if she isn’t killed. She manages to get outside but is captured by the butler who enjoys the opera.
While the butler is conducting an opera in his mind, Grace manages to kick him and stop the car. But Daniel finds her and knocks her out.
READY OR NOT Ending Explained with Spoilers!
She is brought back into the mansion and Grace is tied to an altar.
But somehow Daniel has changed his mind and poisons the drink in the chalice. While everyone is vomiting blood, Grace escapes with Daniel’s help but his wife shoots him.
Grace is then found by her mother-in-law who is desperate to kill her before the sun comes up. Grace manages to kill her with the box but is soon captured by Alex who decides his family may die if Grace doesn’t. After all, the maids are dead, his brother is dead and so is his mother.
Alex is about to bring the dagger down on her when Grace turns to the side and makes a desperate jump to escape.
Before the others can attack her, the curtains are pulled aside and the sun has come up. For a few minutes, the family members laugh, thinking there was no truth to the curse after all. But soon one by one, they all start to explode.
Alex makes a desperate plea to Grace, thinking he will survive considering he is good. But he too explodes and Grace is back to giggling again.
She takes her mother-in-law’s cigarette box and walks out of the house that begins to burn down due to a lantern she had flung before.
By now her dress is black, signifying she is a widow.
She sits down on the steps and smokes while the police and firefighters finally come.
The family and their legacy are no more.
This was an enjoyable movie with some truly engaging scenes. You feel sorry for Grace, you laugh at Emilie’s antics and you chuckle at the ridiculous scene where everyone explodes.
Look closely, and you’ll see a glimpse of the mysterious benefactor nodding at Grace.
Scare scale: 4.5/5
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