Ready or Not (2019)
Since I can't go to the movies because of my seizures, I tend to load up my Netflix list with movies I really want to see. Ready or Not has been at the top of my list ever since I saw its first preview. It looked like a combination of The Most Dangerous Game (Richard Connell) and You're Next (2011).
The Premise
When a member of the Le Domas family gets married, it's tradition to initiate the new in-law by playing a game on their wedding night. The whole family gets into the spirit of things. Why? Because there's a curse on the Le Domas family and if they don't play, they believe something awful will happen. Sometimes the games are harmless, like chess or checkers. But every once in a while, they are forced to play a deadly game of hide and seek.
My Take
I love a good dark comedy and that's how I viewed this movie, more so than a horror film. The actors played their parts straight despite the somewhat absurd circumstances they were put in. I mean, who plays hide and seek on their wedding night with their entire clan of in-laws hunting them down with antique weaponry?
Samara Weaving and Mark O'Brien play the newly married Grace and Alex Le Domas. You may remember Samara from The Babysitter (2017). Except this time she's on the receiving end of some weird shit from a devil worshiping family. To round out the family, there's Adam Brody who plays Daniel Le Domas. With Daniel's character, you never know which side he is on and that makes it really exciting to watch from scene to scene. Melanie Scrofano plays sister Emilie who, from an actor's standpoint, would have been a lot of fun to play. She seems like the family member that took full advantage of the family fortune and never worked a day in her life. And of course there are dear old mom and dad played by Andie MacDowell and Henry Czerny. My favorite thing about their relationship is thinking about the fact that Andie MacDowell's character, Becky Le Domas, would have had to endure the same initiation right of choosing a game to play that the current bride, Grace, is doing right now. What doesn't kill us, I suppose... That brings us to the other in-laws played by Kristian Bruun and Elyse Levesque. I am familiar with Kristian and Elyse from their work on Orphan Black (2013-2017), one of my favorite shows ever. It's fun to see them paired up in the same movie. And finally, there is what appears to be crazy Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni), but we learn more about her as the movie progresses.
There are many things I enjoy about this movie. The plot moves along quickly and it doesn't give the audience much time to anticipate what happens next. I like that because it makes it less difficult to predict the scriptwriters next move. There's nothing I hate more than figuring it out all in the first act. So thank you very much Guy Buick and Ryan Murphy. The direction was also well thought out I loved the production design (Matt Bettinelli-Olin and Tyler Gillett).
The Verdict
I was not at all disappointed in Ready or Not. I am disappointed in that I feel like it was sleeper in the cinemas. Maybe it will find its footing in its DVD release or in streaming. I recommend you give it try. I give Ready or Not 5/5 pentagrams. And a little word of advice - be careful who you marry.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Return of Horror Fest - Teen Version
Yes Horror Fest made a (small) return to the Romero household this year. But please do not get your panties in a wad if you didn't receive an invite! It was dubbed Horror Fest Returns - The Teen Version for a reason. All of our children (ages 14-18) collectively agreed they wanted to host another 24 hour monster movie marathon. We the parents graciously allowed them to invite their friends over and allow them full fridge access for 24 hours and they could watch whatever Halloween movies they wanted. Here's what they chose this year:
Intruder (1989)
Victor and I picked this flick to start things off. The teenagers wanted a classic '80s slasher flick and this one has always one of our favorites. It's also a bit of a whodunit as one by one the overnight stock crew of a grocery store gets picked off in gruesome ways. Stay tuned till
Jason vs Freddy (2003)
This pick made me laugh because it turns out that half the kids watching the movie never saw the original Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street! How is that possible? So there were a lot of questions about the dream killer, but ultimately they enjoyed the battle between Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger.
Ghostbusters (1984)
Always a classic, though maybe not so much a horror movie, Ghostbusters chronicles three parapsychologists as they capture ghosts around New York City.
Always a classic, though maybe not so much a horror movie, Ghostbusters chronicles three parapsychologists as they capture ghosts around New York City.
Hush (2016)
I'm a big fan of writers and directors taking control of their projects, especially when they're as well done as Hush. Written and starring Kate Siegel and written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Hush is a thriller about a mute and deaf woman terrorized by masked killer.
I'm a big fan of writers and directors taking control of their projects, especially when they're as well done as Hush. Written and starring Kate Siegel and written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Hush is a thriller about a mute and deaf woman terrorized by masked killer.
13 Cameras (2015)
Talk about creepy. Has anyone ever just given you the heebies jeebies? Actor Neville Archambault does a great job of it in Victor Zarcoff's, 13 Camera's. You can't help but feel for this couple that is being unwittingly spied on in this thriller.
Talk about creepy. Has anyone ever just given you the heebies jeebies? Actor Neville Archambault does a great job of it in Victor Zarcoff's, 13 Camera's. You can't help but feel for this couple that is being unwittingly spied on in this thriller.
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
This was a first for many of our teenage guests. They thoroughly enjoyed each and every gory death (especially Johnny Depp's). And they loved Robert Englund's portrayal of Freddy, in this one and in Freddy vs Jason.
This was a first for many of our teenage guests. They thoroughly enjoyed each and every gory death (especially Johnny Depp's). And they loved Robert Englund's portrayal of Freddy, in this one and in Freddy vs Jason.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
This was solely for the thespians in the crowd, though the other guys loved Audrey II and Bill Murray's masochistic Arthur Dent. The theatre crowd was more into Ellen Greene and Rick Moranis. But overall, it was a win! (Of course)
This was solely for the thespians in the crowd, though the other guys loved Audrey II and Bill Murray's masochistic Arthur Dent. The theatre crowd was more into Ellen Greene and Rick Moranis. But overall, it was a win! (Of course)
The Conjuring (2013)
My daughter loves scary movies and she loves this one. Obviously it starts off the Annabelle series, but that's not why we like this one. It's very Amityville Horror (which we watched next) in that a family is haunted by an unknown presence. And it's supposed to have been based on a true story which always makes a haunting even scarier.
My daughter loves scary movies and she loves this one. Obviously it starts off the Annabelle series, but that's not why we like this one. It's very Amityville Horror (which we watched next) in that a family is haunted by an unknown presence. And it's supposed to have been based on a true story which always makes a haunting even scarier.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
This is one of my my husband's favorites, because of Margot Kidder, but that's okay. Of course by this time we started losing some of the teenagers. Haha They were dropping like the flies on Father Delaney. This one is also supposed to be based on a true story which always makes a story even better, in my opinion.
This is one of my my husband's favorites, because of Margot Kidder, but that's okay. Of course by this time we started losing some of the teenagers. Haha They were dropping like the flies on Father Delaney. This one is also supposed to be based on a true story which always makes a story even better, in my opinion.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
I have to tell you I don't know why I own this one and not any of the others, but I do. And it was the first time I watched it. It was a little long, and a little strange, but it was also a little unsettling, which is exactly what it was supposed to be. I obviously can't say much because it gives away the ending, but I did enjoy Paranormal Activity 3.
I have to tell you I don't know why I own this one and not any of the others, but I do. And it was the first time I watched it. It was a little long, and a little strange, but it was also a little unsettling, which is exactly what it was supposed to be. I obviously can't say much because it gives away the ending, but I did enjoy Paranormal Activity 3.
House of Wax (2005)
This one is kind of my guilty pleasure. I enjoy that in the end it's a brother/sister duo that team up (Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray) and not a romantic link. Have you ever had a hot wax massage treatment? It's super satisfying. So being covered in the stuff seems like a great idea. But I guess these killers just take it way too far.
This one is kind of my guilty pleasure. I enjoy that in the end it's a brother/sister duo that team up (Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray) and not a romantic link. Have you ever had a hot wax massage treatment? It's super satisfying. So being covered in the stuff seems like a great idea. But I guess these killers just take it way too far.
Death Note (2017)
Imagine having the power to kill anyone you want - and then giving that power to a teenager. That's Death Note. A great movie that keeps you in suspense up until the very end, Death Note is a great movie to add to any Halloween movie fest.
Imagine having the power to kill anyone you want - and then giving that power to a teenager. That's Death Note. A great movie that keeps you in suspense up until the very end, Death Note is a great movie to add to any Halloween movie fest.
The Babysitter (2017)
This is another one of our guilty pleasure movies. The Babysitter has all the elements - it's sexy, has dark comedy, and gore. A group of teenage Devil worshipers didn't count on the young boy they were babysitting spying on them. Hilarity ensues. Watch it.
This is another one of our guilty pleasure movies. The Babysitter has all the elements - it's sexy, has dark comedy, and gore. A group of teenage Devil worshipers didn't count on the young boy they were babysitting spying on them. Hilarity ensues. Watch it.
Student Bodies (1981)
This movie was a total spoof and the only one filmed in Houston, as far as I know. (Yay hometown!) If you loves spoof and don't mind the silliness of it all, this one's for you.
This movie was a total spoof and the only one filmed in Houston, as far as I know. (Yay hometown!) If you loves spoof and don't mind the silliness of it all, this one's for you.
The Banana Splits Movie (2019)
This is a new movie we added to our collection this year. My husband grew up watching The Banana Splits so it was only natural he would gravitate toward this movie. It was pretty good, considering the main characters had giant animation robots chasing them all around a TV studio for the duration of the film. Not as silly as it sounds.
This is a new movie we added to our collection this year. My husband grew up watching The Banana Splits so it was only natural he would gravitate toward this movie. It was pretty good, considering the main characters had giant animation robots chasing them all around a TV studio for the duration of the film. Not as silly as it sounds.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
We can't have a Horror Fest without Tucker and Dale vs Evil. This is our favorite movie about mistaken identities. A group of college kids think that Tucker and Dale are hillbilly killers. After a freak accident in which the hillbillies save one of the college girls from drowning, the rest of the group meet their untimely ends in hilarious freak accidents.
We can't have a Horror Fest without Tucker and Dale vs Evil. This is our favorite movie about mistaken identities. A group of college kids think that Tucker and Dale are hillbilly killers. After a freak accident in which the hillbillies save one of the college girls from drowning, the rest of the group meet their untimely ends in hilarious freak accidents.
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