Ready or Not (2019) - Not ready - 4/10 (23/08/19)

Ready or Not tries to be a mixture of a comedy and a horror movie and fails at both. The movie is never atmospheric, intense or scary enough to be a great horror movie. The film is never clever, surprising or vibrant enough to be an entertaining comedy movie. Even by poor b-movie standards, the story of this film is completely ridiculous in a way that it's almost insulting.

If you were wondering why this film still deserves four points, the movie isn't entirely bad. The settings look great and especially the mansion where the sinister hide and seek game takes place is really gorgeous, including hidden hallways and elegant gardens. The movie features a few intense action scenes that make you root for the desperate lead character. The film has a fast pace and doesn't overstay its welcome with plodding storytelling. Lead actress Samara Weaving does her best with a poor script and has enough charisma to be the only great actress in this film.

Ready or Not should be ignored since it's neither a gripping horror film nor a clever comedy. It's a shallow action film with a few gore elements. Movies like You're Next are similar in style but executed much better. The overtly positive reviews for Ready or Not show that expectations for horror movies have significantly decreased in an era of prequels, remakes, sequels and overall rehashed ideas. Refer to European or Asian cinema to find some creative horror movies these days.