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‘Ready or Not’: Unlikely marriage between genres goes for jugular

Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, August 23, 2019

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‘Ready or Not’: Unlikely marriage between genres goes for jugular A still from 'Ready or Not.' (20th Century Fox/File)

T

he phrase “till death do us part” takes on a literal meaning in Ready or Not, an original comedy thriller about a marriage gone awry that serves as a sorely needed oasis in a wasteland of belated sequels and franchise revivals.

Directed by budding horror duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Ready or Not finds Grace (Samara Weaving) in a literal life-and-death melee against her in-laws, mere moments after her nuptials with filthy rich beau Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien). 

It’s an evening of music, champagne and occasional bloodbath as the Le Domas dynasty has a rather quaint habit of hunting down and casually slaughtering new members of the family in honor of a sinister pact that has purportedly rewarded the bloodline with untold wealth. In other words, a totally normal wedding reception. 

If the idea of mixing plot contrivances from Battle Royale (along with its derivative, The Hunger Games), Get Out, REC 3 and pretty much every romantic comedy in existence sounds strangely appetizing, that’s because it is. You never know how much you needed this stepchild of disparate genres until you’ve seen it. 

The high-concept premise, which chronicles Grace’s gradual transformation from a charming bride to a battle-hardened survivor, doubles as an audacious farce that pokes fun at the very notion of marriage itself. Every scimitar-wielding aunt is essentially a heightened image of that one disapproving relative who grumpily joins the reception dinner out of mere obligation. The Le Domas’ traditional free-for-all itself stands in as a comical metaphor for everyone’s fears of having to keep up with the quirks and absurdities of their partner’s extended family. 

Read also: ‘47 Meters Down: Uncaged’: Not your average shark week

This is where Ready or Not truly excels. The screenplay – written by Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy (not to be mistaken with the famed Glee creator) – always taps into real-life paranoia, making every outrageous situation seem somewhat believable. The film’s perfectly balanced mixture of tones allows it to effortlessly zig-zag through slapstick sequences and unrelenting gore without once coming across as jarring. Ready or Not might really be this year’s most successful hybrid thus far; its comedic impulses never undercut its delicately cultivated suspense. 

Although it is not exactly billed as a slasher, Ready or Not doesn’t skimp on deliciously gory kills. There is a steady supply of fake blood for gore aficionados, as well as bits of intestines and brain matter for exploitation picture enthusiasts. You can’t help but be inclined to bask in the bloodbath as audience-surrogate Grace takes down one annoying in-law after another to make it through the night. The action is thoroughly visceral, even cathartic at times. 

It’s only appropriate that Ready or Not comes out at the tail-end of the 2010s, a period when the millennials’ faith in social institutions such as marriage is at an all-time low. The film’s central conceit might sound ridiculous, but the fear it evokes is real. Its explicit anti-bourgeois stance is not only universal, it’s also surprisingly resonant as the world we know it today is ruled by actual dynasties and wealthy oligarchs – the so called 1 percent. Compared to its real-world counterparts, the Le Domas clan is child’s play. (kes)

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