Ready or Not

Nobody’s going to lose money on a slasher film that flips the conceit to a plucky bride killing a crowd of wealthy creeps on her wedding night – and Ready or Not plays like a movie that didn’t have to give much thought to its high concept. Unfortunately, Ready or Not kind of coasts on some anticipated good will. It’s apparent early on that the script isn’t going to do anything daring. There’s plenty of room to both please the crowd and come up with a twist, but a big finish can’t hide that that the R-rated movie has a genial PG-13 mentality. The politics are just as adolescent as the frequent stabs at comedy – with Ready or Not arriving just as The Hunt got yanked from theaters over a similar theme of rich folk hunting the poor. The Hunt, however, was set to be released during a time when powerful politicians already urge their followers to chase deplorables out of restaurants. The fantasy of Ready or Not seems a lot more tired in a world of rich creeps like Jeffrey Epstein. It’s a mindless good time for the dreary days of August, but there’s much more to be said about the evil rich in the grindhouse ethos of 1989’s Society.

[R]