READY OR NOT

Marital bliss, achieved through the matrimony of two people very much in love and willing to spend the rest of their lives together in sickness and in health, until "death do us part". In the hands of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, that death may come sooner than you'd expect into the marriage with Ready or Not, a thunderously entertaining black comedy horror.

When Grace (Samara Weaving) and Alex (Mark O'Brien) become newlyweds, Grace doesn't get the wedding night she'd expect when Alex's family force her to take part in a murderous game of hide and seek in which she must survive the night to be officially welcomed to the family.

If done right, films like Ready or Not can be absolute crowd-pleasers, as long as you go along with the lunacy served up by the filmmakers. Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy have conjured up a devilishly funny screenplay, full of put-downs as sharp as knives and plenty of gleeful violence. It's a film that wears its 18 certificate like a badge of honour, decorating the hallways with blood as the game of hide and seek ramps up in intensity, and it's really great to see a film not hold back in this sense.

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett do a slick job of directing the chaos, Brett Jutkiewicz's cinematography opening up hiding spaces amidst the glorious country house setting for the film while Brian Tyler's score possesses an energy that accompanies Grace's fight for survival so fittingly.

Samara Weaving may well look like Margot Robbie however, she's well on her way to attaining star status on her own merits thanks to a fantastic lead performance in Ready or Not, the combination of sheer terror and comedy she brings to the film no doubt making her a future icon of the genre. The supporting cast really do make this such a treat as well, Henry Czerny and Nicky Guadagni in particular going all out in the insanity department for our entertainment.

I had an absolute blast watching Ready or Not, a film that will most likely be experienced best with the biggest audience possible. Both my future wife and I came out thoroughly entertained however, if any of her family suggest playing hide and seek on our wedding day, I'm running for the hills.

Verdict: ★★★★