The Fandom Portals Podcast

Ready or Not (2019) – Class Satire, Samara Weaving Shines & Wedding Dress Symbolism

• Aaron Davies • Episode 37

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Episode Summary:
Aaron and Brash unmask the twisted charm of Ready or Not, the 2019 horror-comedy that turns wedding bells into warning sirens. In this episode of The Fandom Portals Podcast, the hosts deep dive into the film's class satire, deadly game trope, and the subversive genius behind Grace's blood-soaked transformation. They also break down iconic scenes, behind-the-scenes secrets, and the deeper message hiding beneath the Le Domas estate. From exploding elites to moral betrayals, this episode reveals why Grace might be horror’s most relatable final girl—and how trying to fit in can cost you everything.

Topics:

  • Plot breakdown and sequel speculation for Ready or Not: Here I Come
  • Samara Weaving’s performance and character analysis of Grace
  • Behind-the-scenes: why the film was shot in chronological order
  • Symbolism of the wedding dress and smoking motif
  • The “Eat the Rich” and “Deadly Game” horror tropes
  • Fan reactions from Reddit and Threads
  • Ensemble cast satire: what each Le Domas member represents
  • Alternate ending revelations and why they changed it
  • Trivia showdown in Fandom Fact Face-Off

Key Takeaways:

  • Ready or Not is more than gore and games—it's a brutal takedown of elitism, class violence, and toxic family traditions.
  • Grace’s white wedding dress visually tracks her transformation—from hopeful outsider to blood-drenched survivor.
  • The film’s satirical brilliance lies in how it exaggerates and mocks generational wealth and entitlement.
  • The original ending had Grace die—but the filmmakers changed it to give audiences a cathartic win over the 1%.
  • Each Le Domas family member personifies a distinct vice or elite stereotype, making the film a smart character study.
  • Practical effects, limited sets, and chronological shooting made this low-budget film a visual and emotional standout.

Quotes:

“You don’t just survive this family—you survive what they represent.”
 “Sometimes trying to fit in costs you everything—especially when the table was never meant for you.”
 “The wedding dress became its own character—it ripped, burned, and bled with her.”
 “Every character in this film is a warning sign about the cost of complicity.”


Apple Podcast Tags:
Ready or Not, Samara Weaving, Horror Comedy, Final Girl, Class Satire, Eat the Rich, Wedding Horror, Horror Tropes, Survival Horror, Geek Freaks Network, Fandom Portals Podcast, Horror Analysis, Thriller Movies, Dark Humor, Social Commentary


Contact Us:
Website: https://www.fandomportalspodcast.com/


Instagram: instagram.com/fandomportals/?locale=en
Threads: threads.net/@fandomportals
Email: fandomportals@gmail.com
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/fandomportals




Speaker 1:

Ready or Not is the film that we looked at and deep dove into for this episode of the Phantom Portals podcast. It was made in 2019. And in this episode, you'll learn what a porn wedding dress can really say about a character. Now, costume design there's a lot of the heavy lifting. You'll also learn about the creepy but clever horror tropes, including the ones that are hiding in plain sight in this movie, like Eat the Rich and the Deadly Game, and you'll also learn about how Ready or Not mixes blood, laughs and the brutal truth about wealth and privilege and the surprising ways that satire sharpens this horror movie and why you might never look at rich families the same ever again. Welcome to the Fandom Portals podcast, the podcast that explores how fandoms can help us learn and grow. I'm your host, aaron, and I'm here, as always, with Mr Brash Rackham. Hello, all right.

Speaker 1:

This week, guys, we are looking at the horror comedy satire film Ready or Not, made in 2019.

Speaker 1:

This movie is about a bride's wedding night that takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game.

Speaker 1:

But before we get into that, before we get into our deep dive, we're doing our gratitudes for the week and, brash, I'm going to go first. This week I am grateful for my curiosity. So I'm doing a personal gratitude, because usually I'm grateful for other things, but sometimes it's good to be grateful for the things that you are practicing a bit of self-love. So I am grateful for my curiosity, because my curiosity is sometimes a bad thing, but it is often a good thing too, because it sends me down deep, diving rabbit holes that allow me to do amazing things, like this podcast, and it also helps me to learn new things that grow. And my curiosity is almost like this drive to complete something, and I don't know if I would want to be without it, if I could fix it. You know, if you can get a switch, turn something off your personality and you're just like would you do that? I wouldn't, because I like it. So I am grateful for my curiosity this week. Brash, what are you grateful for?

Speaker 2:

I am ungrateful. Oh, here we go, ungrateful for a I. It's going false, but um, I missed out on voting because I forgot and I was watching wrestling. So because I missed voting, I got a fine in the mail for $161.

Speaker 1:

So in Australia, it is mandatory for every person over the age of 18 to vote in all federal elections, and Brash was a naughty boy and decided to stay home and watch WrestleMania instead of go to his local voting booth and have his say. So the government charged him $160 for the convenience of not hearing his opinion.

Speaker 2:

But I don't like any of the people. I just go to work, get paid so I can play video games and watch movies.

Speaker 1:

It's a simple life. Yeah, I think you had an enjoyable day watching WrestleMania.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, All the same. Yeah, I just have to fork out some money.

Speaker 1:

It's fine, would you pay? Somebody says you can't watch WrestleMania unless you pay $160. Would you pay that money? Yes, problem solved. You're fine, all good.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm trying to save off as much as I can at the moment because I want to try and get to Perth for the crown jewel. This will be the last time anyone likes to see John Cena in a ring, ever since it's his last year Take care and he's coming to Australia.

Speaker 1:

All right, ready or Not? Is the film that we looked at. Stick around, guys, it's going to be a good episode. This movie, directed by Matt Batinelli, oplin and Tyler Gillette, also known as Radio Silence they're famous for the Scream movies and also Abigail, written by Guy Busick for Final Destination Bloodlines, a movie you recently saw. Brash yes, he is a horror veteran. The movie stars Samara Weaving and Screen Rant actually rates this movie Ready or Not as her best horror performance.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've got to say she has been in a lot of horror movies, but I find there's horror movies and then there's like sort of B-grade horror movies that a lot of actors, like even famous actors, are in but they just don't cross that sort of threshold of being extremely popular Yep. Either way, there's a second one coming out of being extremely popular Yep. Even though there's a second one coming out, I feel like probably at the time of its release, even though it might have done all right, probably didn't hit the same numbers as like your Screams or your Chainsaw Massacres, or your 13th Night at Miranolam Streets and stuff like that, or your Friday the 13th.

Speaker 1:

It was an unsung hero. It only made $57 million at the worldwide box office over its release, but it was made on a budget of $6 million, so it's considered a financial success. But yeah, you're right, it didn't get as much as the Scream franchise, which is now birthed over seven or eight movies, I think. But it is indeed getting a sequel and, funnily enough, they've actually secured, according to some announcements, some pretty big names in the sequel. So Samara Weaving is set to return and Sarah Michelle Gellar is also involved. Obviously, famous for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, elijah Wood, my favorite Hobbit, is going to be in it as well. He's no stranger to horror as well.

Speaker 2:

You're a favorite Hobbit's proto. Well he's in my top four. He's my favorite, hobbit's Frodo. Well, he's in my top four.

Speaker 1:

He's my favourite Hobbit.

Speaker 2:

Oh, so who's the fifth one who got left out, epin?

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, he's been a bitch. Yeah, I'm like Gandalf. What a joke. Come on, what about second breakfast? I want to get that tattooed on my arm. Anyway, my digress. Another person in the movie coming out in Ready or Not, here I Come is what the sequel's called is Kevin Durant, who played Proxima Caesar. He does a good creepy.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, he's just cool in general. He's just a cool dude.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, same directors, same writers, and filming began this April, in 2025, so it should be released early next year, but there is no date confirmed for the sequel. But yes, samara Weaving, australian actress, very famous for us growing up as millennials as she played Indy Walker on Home and Away. Home and Away yeah, she actually appeared in over 300 episodes of Home and Away, which is an Australian soap opera you've heard us talking about a lot. And she's also in Ash vs Evil Dead, which I think we should put on the list Brash, because that's another comedy horror mashup that I've never seen. And this movie also stars our favorite TV nerd, the man himself, adam Brody. I love Adam Brody From the OC, seth Cohen and also plays Noah in the hit TV show Nobody Wants this. He's a famous nerd, a famous Jew and, in this movie, a famous alcoholic.

Speaker 1:

He's probably my favorite character in this movie.

Speaker 2:

honestly, he is mine, he is 100% mine, second only by the younger sister F7.

Speaker 1:

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's crazy funny, but yes, this movie was actually also nominated for a Saturnurn award the best horror film in 2021. It lost to the invisible man, but it was also up against dr sleep and midsummer, so, or midsummer, uh, it was kind of swept under the rug, wasn't it? We talked about it a little bit earlier, but yeah, yeah, it didn't really get the the praise or the approval that it for something.

Speaker 2:

It's actually pretty good and it has become quite a popular trope now with all of Jordan Peele's moves like Us and Get Out. I actually haven't watched the other two, but I've watched Nope and I loved Nope. I thought it was absolutely hilarious. It was so good but like spooky, hilarious but hilarious yeah.

Speaker 1:

I really liked it. We will now get into our next segment. In this hot take segment, we discuss our first thoughts of the media and unpack the boldest opinions, from what surprised us to what split the room. We'll also highlight your hot takes from our threads, instagram and Reddit communities. So if you want to get involved with that, make sure you check out the show notes. It's all in there and we'll read out your little comment on our podcast and have a little chat about it. So if you want to be part of our community, make sure you go and do that, like these amazing people will from our Reddit.

Speaker 1:

The first one on our Reddit is ThiefBam357, who says that the characters in this movie made boneheaded decisions. Why didn't she grab one of the two pistols? Why didn't she just keep running instead of going to the stable? Why did she think that kid wasn't going to shoot her? Why would anybody in their right mind think to plead with anybody in that house? And you know what I think in horror movies not that I'm a season's horror movie person, but there's always an element of you should have done that, oh, 100%. I'm sorry, it's 2020. Exactly, and I don't think you can really predict what you would do in a situation like that, because you're never in one. It's an unlikely situation and fear takes over and our logical brain, watching this from our popcorn-soaked couch, can't really dictate the decisions of the characters in the movie. Like it's fun to talk about as well. It's fun to say what an idiot you should have done this. Like never go upstairs while you're being chased by a horror movie villain. That's my rule 101. Never go upstairs because you're trapped.

Speaker 2:

But the thing is like with the whole thing of why would you plead with anyone in that family. I mean, the only person realistically she really sort of tries to plead to the most is Daniel, and I can feel that because he's like he's cynical through the whole movie. But yeah, and I can't watch where she's coming from, but I also get where she's coming from, because the thing is, when you're trapped and you've got nowhere to go, you've got left.

Speaker 1:

That's it. Yeah, by the flat, exactly, and Legal Swimming 831 has said that they liked Samara Weaving in this and she was also just as good in the Babysitter. I haven't seen the Babysitter the.

Speaker 2:

Babysitter is also really good and something to be pointing to watch.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, All right, let's jump into our threads. All right, we have something from our threads community. Peruna2001, a avid and frequent commenter on our post, says that they loved it. I went into the theater not totally knowing what to expect. The scene where the maid gets killed but it takes several tries reminded me of Dr Evil in Austin Powers killing Will Ferrell's character. It made me laugh, I love this type of movie, just having fun, I like it.

Speaker 1:

And then the crazy aunt goes in with the axe and just yeah, finishes the job and everybody's disgusted. I liked the fact that they were kind of disgusted by what they were doing, because it showed, a, that they didn't do it very often and, two, it showed that even though they were fully morally committed to doing this, they were actually very inept, which kind of mirrors that sort of political slash class association where some people that are in a wealthy position aren't qualified to be in a wealthy position even though they get lots of money for what they're doing, if you know what I mean by that, like generational wealth especially, which is what this movie is a commentary of, but we'll get into that a lot more a little bit later as well. Eluin from our threads also says you learn almost nothing about her history or her desires, which makes it really hard to care about her more than the fact that she's being chased by murderers.

Speaker 1:

I think she's referring to Samara Weaving's character of Grace. I mean, the characters are a little bit thin in this movie, but I think we learn a little bit about her just from passing dialogue, the fact that she is a bit of a like she's an orphaned character. She comes from foster homes, and I think that is also what they use to explain the fact that she is pretty savvy and has survival skills. Like she can front up to people that are similar size to her or those that are attacking her. She's got a bit of, as we say in.

Speaker 1:

Israel. A bit of mongrel in her. A bit of mongrel, yeah, she's able to fight through some pretty disastrous situations. And one thing that I like about Samara Weaving actually is her performances when she's not really saying much dialogue but she's evoking fear or she is screaming, because a lot of the scream queens that you can think of in movies like horror movies, they kind of go over the top or they go high pitch and it's. But.

Speaker 1:

But when Samara Weaving did it in this movie, ready or Not, she was like guttural or animalistic and it really played to the fact that she was actually in a fearful situation and she was fighting for her life, especially when she had the bullet wound through her hand and had to climb out of the goat pit, which is obviously a very famous scene in this movie, probably at the start of the second. That's where shit got real for me and I was watching and I was like, okay, this is a horror movie, that's not a funny horror movie part. This is a horror movie, that's not a funny horror movie part. This is a horror horror movie part.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, I don't know if I would detract from the movie because there isn't much character development in terms of her character, of Grace's character, because I think we're given enough. We're given enough to say that she's completely different from these people. Yeah, and she's invested in, uh, you know, trying to fit in or trying to be a part of this family and go along with the absurd traditions, because she's never been a part of a family before, she's a, she's a child from foster care. So I think that alone is enough character development for a movie like this, anyway.

Speaker 2:

so I wouldn't want this movie to have like flashbacks like that, that would ruin it. But but just in her survival or just things that she does related back to something she did in the past. That's why she knows how to use that, because she doesn't know that well, the balls are just for show. But she tucks the bullet in it, cocks it, aims it, fires it. Nothing happens. So she knows how to shoot a gun.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, load a, it cocks, it, aims, it, fires it nothing happens.

Speaker 2:

So she knows how to shoot a gun. Yeah, load a gun, shoot a gun, yeah. Yeah, like when she's doing she can be like all shapely, like I've been to like the gun range or I've done something, I know how to use this thing. That sort of like relate back to her past a little bit could have helped people relate to her a bit more. But yeah, I agree with you, like realistically it doesn't need it. I don't believe, Not for this kind of movie, because this is purely. A girl gets invited to crazy rich person house. She then has to fight for her life to survive.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that when they made this and it's kind of a breath of fresh air really they made it with the intention of it being a standalone movie, which doesn't happen very often. So they gave you all the information that you needed and nothing more. Now it's becoming a franchise, with a sequel coming out. Maybe we will learn a little bit more about Samara Weeping's character of Grace.

Speaker 2:

I am a little bit apprehensive about it, because now, if they try and do a whole backstory thing with her, are they going to ruin the movie by having a huge expose that is going to detract from the actual what the movie is, which is her surviving.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I don't know how much of a presence she should have or will have in the sequel, because we don't know what happened to her at the end of this movie. Obviously, she survives and she's sitting on the steps of this movie with a bloodied and burnt out wedding dress and she's the sole survivor of the LaDoma's fortune, incredibly wealthy now. Or is she in jail? We don't know yeah and well.

Speaker 2:

It also could be a similar thing to like Fun Destination where, because they were stuck in the actual thing, they say oh, I remember what happened to the McMurray's, whatever they're called how they they like. Oh, did they die in a house fire that was some foreshadowing, Foreshadowing that, like they're not the only people who have dealings with the devil.

Speaker 1:

Isn't that funny how that one little throwaway line is what is probably now going to birth the sequel, Because that up too I I picked up the fact that they there were other families in their position that obviously made deals with um labelle, labelle yeah, who?

Speaker 1:

and they obviously got their fortune. The lord domus has got their fortune from him and there was that slight nod at the end to say, yes, you got away from me. Uh, you were able to survive. But then you know there's that whole tradition that goes through with selecting the game for the new entrance to the family as well. How much is it is going to be similar in other families that go through these kinds of ritualistic offerings for the next time, you know.

Speaker 2:

And she might go ahead and her character might be going around and maybe using that wealth to try and find other people who are going to be in her situation and try and help them.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah. Well, that's true, she might be the expert on this sort of situation now, yeah, and helping the next survivor. But yeah, I think that I'll definitely be going to see Rodeon and here I come and we'll get into our next segment, which is called Get to Know your Crossbow.

Speaker 2:

Nah, not really it's Fandom Fact.

Speaker 1:

Face-off All right In the Fandom Fact Face-Off, hosts go head-to-head with trivia, facts about the focus media, learning new facts along the way. When the hosts collectively gain 25 points from correct answers, we'll give away a movie voucher to someone on our mailing list. If you want to join our mailing list, you can go to wwwfandomportalspodcastcom and join there. We'll send you one email a month with our monthly email on it and you'll be the first one to know about any giveaways, and all of our winners will be taken from there. We've already got six. Nope, we've already got five points. Brash, which means we need 20 more before we can give something away. Do you want me to go first?

Speaker 1:

yes, you can go first okay, this movie, ready or not, was shot chronologically, which is kind of rare, because usually in a location movie they shoot the scenes that they need to and they put them together in post in chronological order. However, this movie was shot in chronological order, which means the very first scene that you see is the first scene that was shot, and then so forth and so forth to the very very end. Now, they did this for a particular reason. Do you know what that reason was? And I'll give you a clue it's because Samara Weaving had to do something 26 times and it was required that she do it chronologically.

Speaker 2:

Because my first thought was because as she's going she gets more shit on her as she goes, so like blood and dirt and bile and shit from falling into the goat pit. So if they were to do it out of order they'd be constantly having to try and match the amount of shit that's on her as she went through the night.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so pretty much the the wedding dress and the way that she had to put on that wedding dress for 26 to 30 days of shooting. That's what she had to do over and over and over again, and she actually committed to putting on the dress after a day of shooting and after the fact that it was dirty and you know she'd obviously go home after, after her work, and then she'd come back and it'd be torn, it'd be burned, it'd be bloodied and it'd be weathered, and it would. It was to match the film's escalating violence, and samara weaving's commitment meant that wearing versions of the same dirty and sweaty dress every day under intense heat and high action sequences became something that she kind of had to get used to, and the garment actually became allegorical for the growth that she goes through in terms of mirroring her rejection to the Lodomus' family's patriarchal and ritualistic legacies. Because at the start of the movie it's white, it's perfect, it's pristine. The lighting in the actual movie is really colorful and you're hopeful for the fact that she's starting and entering this new family.

Speaker 1:

And then the moment the dress rips is when she's getting out of the dumb waiter and that's when she starts to click that this family isn't actually what it seems.

Speaker 1:

So that's the like the ceremonial dress that's supposed to represent purity and submission to the patriarchal regime of the LaDomas family.

Speaker 1:

There's a tear in it, so there's a little fracture of thought where she's like, oh, maybe this isn't really what it seems.

Speaker 1:

And then, finally, the part where she rips the dress the most, or the first part when she rips the dress the most, was after Alex tells her everything about the traditions of the LaDomas family. So he says you know, this is the only card that you could have drawn that could have made this happen. My family is in league with a dark entity. We have to try and kill you. If you survive till sunrise, we all die. And then she tears the dress around the knees so she can continue to run away and worse and worse and worse, chronologically throughout the performance until, naturally, at the very end, she is sitting in no longer a white wedding dress but a black, charred and bloodied wedding dress, which is the complete opposite of how she started. So this dress is almost like a character in the movie that shows you how the character of Grace is progressing with her feelings towards the Lodomus family, as the movie goes on as well, and they needed to shoot chronologically in order to get that effect. I'll give you the point for that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, which is a pretty spectacular thing if you think about it, oh yeah, for her to be able to put that dress on after a day, yeah.

Speaker 2:

My first one, similar to aspects of clothing, there was something that she had to wear that they had to modify because it's no longer created. You know what it is yes, I read this. They had to recreate her shoes because converse didn't make them the yellow color anymore no, yeah, so they want yellow shoes, but yeah, they um don't make that color anymore, so they had to get them custom spray painted yeah, as soon as I saw those yellow shoes, I was like I wonder if they have them, because my partner Kalia, she, loves Converse.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I was like she would love a pair of those because when, yeah, when we first met, she used to wear high tops in the Converse and exactly like the ones that Samara Weavings were wearing in the movie. And she, yeah, definitely something she would wear. I like those shoes. They're great. Am I go? Yeah, I'll go. Okay, ready or not. And the game hide and seek was based in inspired by folklore and urban legends, but, most specifically, the deadly game trope was also very heavily used and it originated from this piece of literature. Do you know what it was?

Speaker 2:

I don't believe it is a famous piece of literature. Do you know what it was? Ooh, I don't believe. Is it a famous piece of literature, would you say?

Speaker 1:

It's famous for the horror movie genre and trope, but I wouldn't say that it is completely famous.

Speaker 2:

It's not from the book that Clara reads to the kids Paradise.

Speaker 1:

Lost. No, not Paradise Lost. So this is the book called the Most Dangerous Game made in 1932. Oh fuck, it's the original trope where a hunter traps people on his island and he hunts them for sport. I should know this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's one countless adaptation Because of the movie that I've picked for us. Yeah, know this. Yeah, it's one countless adaptation Because of the movie that I've picked for us.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so this movie has a massive theme of the rich, or the privileged, hunting down the poor. And, yeah, the Most Dangerous Game was the original book that was created.

Speaker 2:

That has that in it. Okay, so mine. This might be also a bit of a difficult one, but I think it's pretty fun. So there were five board games in the family cupboard where it seems, almost purposefully, that there's a gap between the people standing there to show a clear view of all the board games in the cupboard. I won't say name them all, but can you name three of them? I?

Speaker 1:

remember one that had like the devil's face on it, that was called LaBelle's Gambit, and then there was one called Family Ritual, but I don't remember the rest. Think Court of Outs the Batman. Ah, what are the Court of Outs? Secret Society, close Secret.

Speaker 2:

Local Government. What are they called about? Secret society, close, secret local government secret council hey, so, yeah, that's that's for him.

Speaker 2:

So, family ritual, thinking, family ritual, it's like all these, all these board games are pretty much there for specific reasons. The family ritual, obviously because it's a it's their family sort of thing and that's a ritual that they do for the weddings to play the games and they all want to be ritualistically killed. Grace and then Secret Council, because they were well back in the as they said in the movie back in the day, they used to like it was their father's idea to like wear masks and gowns and everything like that as like a secret sort of council. Little Bales Gambit obviously is like because that's their board game, that's their game, that's their gambit, because they made that gambit with the.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's right, the bargain.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, bargain. And then Sunrise. If you miss the sunrise, they all die.

Speaker 1:

Ah, so those board games are all placed on purpose. Ah, so those board games are all a physical act of foreshadowing. There's a lot of foreshadowing in this movie as well, and I actually read something that said that some people think that all of that foreshadowing, and especially some of the things that the characters say throughout, actually allude to the fact that the game of hide and seek was actually rigged for Grace. So it was rigged that she would pick the card of hide and seek Because at the very start of the movie, if you remember, the kids are running around and running around and they're wearing the mask and they're saying like kill, kill, kill. And then Daniel says to put the mask away.

Speaker 1:

But if this is something that has only happened once in their lifetime and never before the kids were around, there's obviously been some chat about it through the family. This be something that's happening. And you know, I feel like the ladormuses. They pick and choose who is going to become a part of their family because they are aligned to their ideals. Like, if you look at the other two characters, um with charity, played by elisa levesque, and also bitch, played by christian brun. Both of those characters, they're assholes. Basically, they're happy to be indoctrinated into this rich lifestyle with Christian Braun's character of Bitch. He's like the clueless social climber. And then Charity, who is Daniel's wife.

Speaker 2:

Cutthroat go-getter.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, aspirational, she's cruel, she's self-preserving, she's got this elitism about her and she even said you know, I'd rather be dead than poor or something like that, or I'll never go back there again. And she's more in it than her husband is, who is actually a part of the family and he a part of the family and he's indoctrinated into it and he hates it. Yeah, and I just thought it was so ironic that her name is Charity and she's literally she's anything, but yeah she's literally anything but, and I thought that was really clever.

Speaker 1:

But, you know, going back to how they thought it might have been rigged, there's there's also, you know, when they first get married, on the bed and then the auntie's hiding in the background and she says you'll have to hide.

Speaker 2:

Better than that, yeah, it's almost like the whole family, except for Alex, is in on it, and actually in saying that if they were because usually you can't read it, it's just random what card you get, it's picked If they somehow figured out a way to read it because they're like, oh, we don't want some person who's just a, who took our son away and Exactly yeah, and we don't want that kind of person in our family they might try to read it. And then it could have actually been the work of LaBelle LaBelle or the devil himself, who, mr LaBelle, who did in fact go? You know what? If they want to cheat, because they cheat like they basically cheated. If they did that, they cheated and their consequence is that they would all be beaten by this person.

Speaker 2:

Be beaten by this person and they'll either just die at once or like, unfortunately, to the mother and don't make it to the end. But and some of the other poor people in the house but pretty much everyone else in that house dies because they decided they wanted to cheat and not let the spiritist person in their house instead of playing the game fairly.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you could even look at the inverse of that. Whereas if the devil wanted to continue this tradition, have this tradition keep going, he needs to include people in the Ledomus family who are going to want to continue that tradition. And looking at Grace, she's like the outsider, she's a working class individual. She's thrust into this elite system of power. Her name literally symbolizes like moral dignity and resilience and she survives through this trauma. But looking at her as a person and in a personality, this person that Alex has picked for, one, it's going to draw Alex away from the Lodomas family, which removes a member from this cult, and then two, he's going to have an inserted member into that family who's going to disagree with the status quo. Like this game was kind of rigged to single her out and have her removed from the family from the very start. Whether it was from the actual devil, mr LaBelle, or whether it was from the actual LaDomas family, but either way, she never stood a chance to be accepted in that family.

Speaker 2:

I think that it was the family's choice to rig the game, and then not so much that LaBelle helped her, but maybe it was like a little more rooting for her, and then that's why then at the end, when it then everyone gets killed, or when she's like a nod gives her a nod and says congratulations yeah, well done.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah I. There's also an argument to say that perhaps the family did orchestrate it, because remember there was the dialogue throughout the whole movie where they were saying that Alex was deviating further and further away from the family. So they didn't want him having this happy marriage with Grace because it would ostracize him further from them. So, just like what happened with the auntie, with Aunt Helene, if his spouse died as a result of this tradition, then perhaps he would have no other reason to seek an outward look from what the family were doing and he would turn back into the family, because they all perceived him as being the new head of the Lodomus empire, or dominion, as they like to call it. There was the darkness in him, whereas Daniel the Lodomus Empire or Dominion as they like to call it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but there's a lot of, because there was the darkness in him, whereas Daniel, the older brother, who really should be the one to air, didn't have that. And you see that sort of when they're kids as well, how Daniel's trying to protect the younger brother, but the younger brother was sort of into it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I actually found that really fascinating when you're looking at Alex and Daniel and Daniel was really protective and sort of almost like he was a bit more resilient to the draw of the or the seduction of what the Lododomas family is doing and Alex was in the dark about it but he was also kind of into it. But then you look at who Daniel married he married Charity. He's really into it, just like Alex, and Alex married Grace, who wouldn't be into it, just like Daniel. So their closest familial relationship. They found familiarity in their partners and their personality types kind of match in that way too. I found that really interesting to look at those two characters and see the psychology behind that yeah, that's the very interesting take.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but we digress yeah, let's get on to my question. Um, all right, the ending of this movie was actually supposed to be very, very different. Obviously, this ending had the ladomas family explode in a combustion of blood as dawn rose, after a slight moment where they thought to themselves maybe this curse wasn't real because nothing happened when the sun rose. But then, in an instant, they all decided to erupt in a red fury and flash. However, the original ending in the original script was different. Do you know what was supposed to happen in the original ending?

Speaker 2:

obviously no. I'm going to take a stab. This was a bit of a one-off, so I don't think they'd have them actually kill Samara Weaving because her character Grace, because then there's a chance that it can continue if they did that, whereas how they left it is pretty much end of story. I'm going to say does she just kill them all? No, no. Does Daniel somehow survive and help her kill them all? No, no, I don't know, I have no clue.

Speaker 1:

Your first idea was correct. Originally, grace was supposed to be killed by the LaDomas family and, yeah, the originally grace was supposed to be killed by the lodomas family and the yeah, the reason they were, she was supposed to be ritually, ritualistically sacrificed. And the reason they wanted to do that was because it would further epitomize the point that they were trying to make through the movie that the elite class and their privilege is extremely dangerous. But it was also extremely oppressive to the working class to the point where she fought and fought and fought and fought and still got lost really nowhere. Still lost, just like people do when they're fighting against the rich elitist, and then their generational wealth continues on, even though there are so many people sort of fighting against them, and their traditions continue as well. So the original directors thought that that was kind of the message that they wanted to portray. But then they also thought to themselves you know, people are going to come to this movie and audiences really don't want to see, uh, this movie end with the rich people being victorious. So they they thought, you know, uh, they actually I've got, I've got a quote here. So it says uh, when they wrote it, uh, oplon, olpen sorry, but nelly, oplon and gillette said it was something that they knew that they needed to change and they thought to themselves let's try and have our cake and eat it too. He said it's not real, as in the curse isn't real and these clowns completely fucked up and you know. Then we want to kill them all.

Speaker 1:

And the team came up with this fake out ending and the challenge was actually trying to prove the curse was real without extending the film to unnecessarily long length. So they went through 20 different drafts where and most of them were way too long they said, and many of the versions were picked, pitched, include, like similar final destinations style sequences where the family members would die of eerie or accidental circumstances. Um, but they just said yeah, yeah, they said that in the end, the outlandishly spontaneous combustion would work the best because it was fast and it was absurd and it was kind of like a moment like, oh my God, this is batshit crazy and it was probably the best idea that I've ever had and it was either going to work or it wasn't. And the fact that Samara Weaving laughed during that scene After the whole thing yeah, that was improvised by Samara Weaving, because there's so many takes where she was completely shocked and scared by it and Samara was like can I just try one where I laugh? And I was like yes, do that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's the one that stuck in when like, yeah, she fought all this hard, they're all still alive. She fought for all this time.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and the directors actually said, you know, the reason they settled on this ending was because sometimes watching a pack of rotten no good 1%ers get what's coming to them is enough on its own.

Speaker 1:

And you know, I feel like that's a take that a lot of the audience members agreed with, because it is quite well received critically and the ending is quite well received as well.

Speaker 1:

But I wanted to see the rich people win. I don't know what that says about me, but I thought the whole time that Samara Williams was going to be ritualistically sacrificed and the point that they were going to like the narrative point that they were going to drive through, was that privilege and entitlement are really, really dangerous things, and that was the message that was going to come in the end of the movie. But I think the comed element and the fact that they wanted the people going to see this movie, which is going to be the working class, looking and seeing the rich elitists winning, wouldn't be something that they would sit well in their mouths with, especially during the time this was made, because I think that that was when a rich elitist was ascending the presidency ranks to become part of the governing body. So I think that they made the best call for the audience, but for me, I think I would have liked it better if it had a darker ending. But that's just really me.

Speaker 2:

I would have loved if they had an ending when the cops are all running around the house and the one comes up to the mirror and is like are you okay, brother? You hear in the background and I love the lease as one still alive. Oh, that would have been cool and it was by. And it was by boy, adam Brody that would have been sick.

Speaker 1:

I would love for him to come back in the sequel, but yeah, I think. Oh man, the reason I like Adam Brody is because he's like he's sarcastic. So well, he does, he so does he's so he's cynical.

Speaker 2:

So well, even him in OC. He's single in OC. He's sarcasm in that. It was great. I would love that because he tried to. Maybe it was the fact that he already died, like sort of he maybe died at one point, the curse didn't get him, sort of like how it is in Final Destination 3 or what it is, when she dies and the person brings her back to life and she escapes the death curse, sort of thing. Or just because maybe there was, like you know what, adam bray's a good guy yeah, I think they used his character because he kind of represent they all.

Speaker 1:

Every single character in this movie represents an element of the elitist class or the the richest sort of class, and they, they satirize them and make a whole character about one element that uh represents that that sort of class system. Like daniel was the morally conflicted enabler, like he was aware that his family was evil but there was nothing he could do about it. So he just got drunk all the time and he resisted until the end and he ends up submitting to that ridiculousness of his family's elite status because he turns grace into the Lodomas family and gets her ritualistically sacrificed. But he also has a change of heart. So he's got this complex relationship that's marred with tragedy and conscience.

Speaker 1:

And that's what he's sort of representing is that morally conflicted part where there's the people in the family of these traditionalists that really know what they're doing is wrong but they can't break free of it because their lifestyle that they have is, you know, it's very enticing. So that's that's what his character sort of represented in that and I like that about him. And for me I do like adam brody, but I still feel like he was irredeemable oh yeah, no, I'm just like it's only a fan.

Speaker 2:

Well, you don't even be like a fanfic, sort of like. A yeah thing for me is that I'm ready to be alive again. That would have been.

Speaker 1:

That would have been a good little chill for the for the horror genre, though. If a cop in the end was just like there's someone still alive and even leaving it as like we don't know which one it is, that would have been cool and then yeah, and then he hears that, and so the cigarette drops out of her mouth or something.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, one thing I liked about the cigarette stuff as well was at the start of the movie. You know how she's smoking in her room before she's married. And then you know she's confronted by the mother, becky Ledomus, and she says, do you smoke? And she's like, oh, no, no, no and um to fit in. And then as soon as they're all gone again she lights up that cigarette and she's like, okay, beat myself again. It's like the oppression of like a, like trying to fit in with an in-law family. Anyway, your last question.

Speaker 2:

I digress, I do. Okay, the exterior shots of the mansion that was filmed in is a park with Estates in Oshawa, ontario, canada. It was the same estate grant as another famous movie.

Speaker 1:

Mansion. I know this one, yes. Well, I know that it was used for the X-Men movie, I know that it was used for Chicago and I know that it was also used for the Beauty and the Beast live action movie. That's none of the ones.

Speaker 2:

What one do you have? The same one used for Billy Madison.

Speaker 1:

Ah, I'd like to thank you, veronica for beating the shit out of me Great movie. Well, I wasn't wrong, but I just didn't know.

Speaker 2:

You weren't wrong.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I've got that one. They actually had a lot of trouble shooting on there because it was heritage listed. So the cinematographer, brett Dukowitz, had to adapt lighting schemes on the fly to preserve the eerie ambience but also to present that sort of natural light at the very start when the wedding was happening. But I thought that that gothic mansion was so good and that was so intricate maze bonus question, though only one part, only one part of this whole entire movie.

Speaker 2:

That was the set created. Did you know what set? It was the goat pit. The only set that they made was the goat pit. Everything else was shot in the mansion.

Speaker 1:

I would absolutely hate if that was actually a real thing, yeah.

Speaker 2:

No, I mean, it's not like a pit that was like there. It was like they had to build a pit. Yeah, that's not just like a storm cellar or a fucking retrofitted wine cellar or something like that. No, it's just a fucking set that they built.

Speaker 1:

I thought was interesting. Yeah, I think that the intricacies of that mansion just played into the Lodomas family's estate too, because it was obviously owned by a family that had so many secrets and all of the hallways you got lost in it. You never saw a repeat hallway, you were always turned around, and there was those back alleys as well that Alex and Brace sort of went through to escape them. Yeah, I think that that was a perfect location for that movie. Did I get that point, or not?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, because you gained more moves than I originally had. Fair enough.

Speaker 1:

All right. So that means for this segment out of six, I think we got four.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 1:

That brings our total to nine points, which means that we have quick maths 16 left to go before we can send somebody off to the movies. This segment is called Fucking Rich People. No, it's called Set Secrets. This is where we look behind the scenes of the focused movie to give you all the information on what went right, what went wrong and what was interesting about the way that the movie was made Brash in this segment. Here I want to talk about the satire of this movie, the class warfare and the privilege, especially the eat the rich trope. So have you heard of the eat the rich trope before?

Speaker 1:

I, no, I don't think I have. So it originates from a French philosopher, jean-jacques Rousseau, and it was basically his way of critiquing excess exploitation and the moral bankruptcy of the wealthy elite, and it has a few different parts to it. Basically, they're movies that show the richer class exploiting others for their own gain, hiding behind traditions or elitism, and eventually they're overthrown or exposed in some sort of way and they're punished, and they're also out of touch. They're fragile and they can be monstrous beneath the visage of propriety, which is this movie through and through, other movies that show this trope is Parasite, made in 2019, the Menu from 2020, and the Knives Out franchise as well Also good movie.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, very famous, eat the rich themed tropes. So when they're sort of cloaked in their tradition, the ritualistic murders throughout this and the lethal deal with the demonic entity is a perfect metaphor for how the real world wealth is often accumulated through exploitation and morally dubious means. So they often say through the movie this is something we have to do or we'll die. And that's literally the family's logic and it's satirized throughout. And it's also really funny at the end when there's that small moment where they're like we actually did this for nothing, because nothing is happening to us and it's dawn and that's just that, like they, they believe it so much that that's the way things are, that they're literally these elitist people going to kill innocence because of it. And I also liked it how, within this movie, the hypocrisy of this wealthy class sort of bred into the madness of these characters as well. So they were incompetently rich throughout as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, like you look at them and like, yeah, the dad boy has some business sense, but then you look at the rest of them and you sort of like this and I think that's the reason why this is why I think Daniel and that were like half were made to pick those spouses because they sort of had the more business sense and the more go get them than the actual children themselves.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I feel like he probably picked charity, Like Daniel probably picked charity because his family would have approved. And Daniel obviously he says through the movie that he's the fuck up of the family he would have been trying to do anything he can to try and impress his family or trying to gain their acceptance and getting a wife that fit their family mould.

Speaker 2:

He probably would have thought you know, this is getting a point in that space, take attention off of him so like he can just do whatever the hell he wants, because he's got someone that they approve of and they, like that, can do all the family shit and he can just sort of step aside and just try and drink all the memories and everything from my base family away yeah, in the um, the eat the rich trope as well.

Speaker 1:

It it shows how the powerful and the rich elites are protected by their system. And if you notice through the movie who are the first people to die, yeah, the help through this. And who are the people that are doing most of the dirty work. The main butler yeah, he goes out to try and find Grace when she's running through the forest and drag her back in the car. And what are all the Lodomas family doing? Standing around the table, standing around the table, looking at the phone. And what are all the Lodomas family doing Standing around the table, standing around the table, looking at the phone? Yeah, drinking. So they're literally doing nothing. And it's that hypocrisy and that system that is literally protecting them. And that's really important for the eat the rich trope. You know, the maids are accidentally killed by crossbows, like they're pulling these traditions out and saying this is something we must do. We've made these deals with the devil, but they can't operate the weapons every time they kill um one of the bears like does this count?

Speaker 1:

no, the help don't count. And even that line is like the help don't count, that's their, that's their opinion on the people, that sort of help them throughout the house and of the lower class as well. But yeah, I also love the line whenever one of them's killed. It's just like ah, she was my favourite yeah, uh, poor help.

Speaker 2:

And then the other, poor other mate who's in the down my road. She's like, um, she's like, I'm not even my mate. Here's the. Tony just likes the way I dance the way I dance, like god damn it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I god damn it yeah, I think that the the ending for me, even though it was a shock. When I saw it I was like wow, that was abrupt. But I think the best part about the fact that they all exploded especially in this eat the rich trope as well, was in the end it showed that for the first time in all of their lives, that these rich, entitled people were completely powerless. Their wealth couldn't save them, their help couldn't save them, their system couldn't save them anymore. They were literally so powerless and it was so sudden and so abrupt that they couldn't hide from it. And Alex goes and tries to apologize to Grace and they try to run away. And, yeah, some of them try to run away and then they explode as they're running out the door and Alex begs for forgiveness but literally nothing can escape them from their fate and it's almost like Grace covered in blood and ash. She doesn't just survive this. In the end she watches their entire house burn down. Her wedding dress is in shambles. It's a symbol of her rejecting that institution of marriage and the transactional merger into the elite society that she's sort of with Alex in for. And then you know that last line. You know, in-laws, why she's smoking a cigarette. It's just that last sort of dot on the trope of the eat the rich.

Speaker 1:

I've gained a liking for movies like these and especially the like. That's the main one, like the eat the rich trope, but the other one that's prominent throughout this is the deadly game, one which we sort of talked about a little bit, and it's very common through horror movies, very common in like the Saw franchise and the menu, and it basically depicts where there's this narrative, where a character or a group of characters is forced to participate in a game or a challenge, often under duress, or where the stakes are life and death basically, and they have to do this or they will die. And it's frequently used in horror thrillers, dystopian future sort of movies and things like that. It's even used in the Hunger Games, like the teenagers are set in that arena and they actually have to compete for survival. And that's the same thing that we were talking about for with the deadliest game made in 1932, that piece of literature that everything sort of spawned from and Ready or Not definitely does that as well where Grace, unknowingly so.

Speaker 1:

There's that deceit there. She didn't do it under duress, she did it under deceit, so she was tricked into marrying Alex and he's probably the biggest asshole character for me, because he was so selfish in marrying her, like he didn't even tell her what she was marrying into. For one, he's like that performative morality. He's only good when he's being watched, or he has to, because as soon as he found out that she would not stay with him after this sort of started, he didn't want to save her or protect her anymore because her use to him was over and that, like he, he's my most hated character in this and like, yeah, like flip-flopping like a flipper fish and and yeah, at first he's like you put me in this situation to begin with.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:

We mean you'll help me get out of here.

Speaker 1:

You all want to brought me. Yeah, he promised too. He was just like I promise I'll help you get out of this. And then there's a lot of things online that say he turned because she murdered his mother. And I don't know if I think that's true, because I feel like he. I think that.

Speaker 2:

Not so much that, but like it was like the final nail in the coffin of her being me and you done.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I think so too. I think that was the thing. And then he's like well, fuck, I've got nothing left now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah that he did, to realize she did that and he realized that there was no way that he would have a relationship with her, not because of what she did, but because of what has happened to Grace. Yeah, she wouldn't be able to psychologically get over it and look at him and be with him in any kind of fashion after this. So he thought, well, you know what, I'll go back to my family, which is another trope of those rich sort of traditions. They pull people back in as well, which is what happened to Alex. But yeah, the deadliest game sort of trope, it always involves involuntary participation, which is what happened with Grace.

Speaker 1:

There's structured rules and rituals, which is explained by Tony at the start during the dinner scene. I liked his monologue too. I thought that that story was good, had me hooked in there. There's a power imbalance as well. So in this particular incidence in Ready or Not, the power imbalance was the fact that there was like six or seven family members versus the one who was hiding and they're at a severe disadvantage because they had weapons and she did not have any weapons until she started finding the guns, even though they were useless at using the guns, and there's like moral, psychological stakes at play. So there's allies that betray and they compromise who they are in order to play in this game. And you know a very common movie throughout these with this theme the deadly game trope is the Saw movies and where they play violent moral puzzles as well throughout this.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, I do. I do like the um when you're saying how like they had like the advantage, even though they were reused with weapons, and like I love the fact that like um charity, when she has that big ass um crossbow and she aims at ender grace and flies it and just goes left field and hits a bird and then, oh, she has the machine gun to it at one point, doesn't she?

Speaker 2:

or the rifle, yeah, and she just yeah whiffs it every time yeah, with Fitch Fitch, like he's on the toilet trying to read, like how to use a crossbow getting to know your crossbow and then the poor, poor Miel is just useless with every weapon she touches and she ends up like except for that one, dancer maid, she kills the rest of the mage herself Accidentally yeah, accidentally.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, she's actually. We talked about what these characters embody. She's kind of the. We've been talking about how they're incompetent, but she's actually the one that embodies that the most because she's also impulsive. She's addicted to that validation. She always wants everybody to like. When she killed the mage, she's like I got her, I got her, she everybody to know. She's reckless and you know she believes in this ritual as well and her scenes kind of mock how status doesn't equate to skill, especially when it's handed down through like, generationally, and not through merit. So her character represents that wholly and solely, and also the vices that come with.

Speaker 2:

They all have a vice. She's obviously on the cocaine. The daddy's girl character is like I'm just a fuck up and then goes to the dad and dad like hugs and says no, you're not, sweetie, You're, you're the best. And she's the coddled child that can do no wrong, even though she does a lot of things wrong.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, daniel's vice is alcohol, hers is, um, like cocaine. And then Alex is like the lure and seduction of power, which is exactly the same as Charity, which is weird.

Speaker 2:

that Daniel married her, yeah, but yeah, I'll tell you, Charity's like that ruthless, cutthroat business savvy. And Christian Broden is that sort of a kiss ass, sort of doing anything, sort of a henchman part of the family who will do anything for the family.

Speaker 1:

He's a social climber. He's in that regard and, yeah, he's illustrating his disconnect and comic ineptitude by trying to watch a YouTube video moments before he's going to use this to kill somebody, like it's just completely.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, he does want to be. He doesn't want to fuck up. He wants to prove that he can be part of this family.

Speaker 1:

Blah, blah, blah yeah, that he deserves the wealth yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And then Aunt Helen is just like the, she's the traditionalist man she's like she's like the big. The big, how they say the rich is like a cult. She is like the forefront of that cult of rich. She's zealously committed, yeah 100%.

Speaker 1:

She's zealously committed to this tradition. She's lost something before. She lost her husband last time they played hide and seek, and she reflects how this trauma can be twisted into justifying and perpetrating this violence. So it happened to me. Therefore, it has to happen to you. If the tradition had to happen to me and I had to lose the love of my life, it has to happen to Alex too. That's not fair. If it doesn't, that's her character.

Speaker 2:

And in McDowell's Becky she's like sort of a two-faced character.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly. On one hand, she's trying to be all nice and polite and then on the other hand, she looks at how the rich people will be nice to your face, but then, behind closed doors, they're all about themselves. It's that civility that's masking as cruelty.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it tries to be nice to her, but then goes back and tells everyone oh, we've got to stop fucking her, we've got to kill her, we've got to find her and kill her. Stop messing around, stop fucking her. She's like the one who's like, oh guys, we've got to do this, for, like, we gotta keep our family safe, we're gonna do this for our family. She's like the the keeping it in the family, sort of orientated like making sure that nothing bad happens to their rich family and they stay rich, they stay powerful.

Speaker 1:

I thought her death at the hands of Grace was pretty symbolic, especially with the box. Yeah, especially with that box, because that's that's the the crux of their wealth. And she used it to kill Becky and, yeah, it kind of signifies the downfall of that elitism, especially when it's built on blood and it ends in blood in the way that Grace sort of ends Becky. But she's the only family member that Grace actually kills. The others are accidental or through a varying set of circumstances. Like you could argue that that maid was kind of her fault because she turned the dumbwaiter on.

Speaker 2:

but Well, she didn't turn on, the maid did.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I was there just trying to get away.

Speaker 2:

She's like they're not going for you, they're going for me, let me in. She's like it's over here, and then the maid tries to hit the button to like leave, to leave her there. And then, because she's got the door open, she's like tells us to get out, so close the door, and then gets caught and dies and I think that tony the, the, the father figure, he's just blind devotion to wealth.

Speaker 1:

He's, he's steeped in tradition, he's that male authority figure. His father did it, his, his great-grandfather did it, yeah, and he clings to that ritual like legacy, with this religious like he's also the flippant.

Speaker 2:

So like how he, how he wants to change some of the, some of the rules, the things like he wants to keep the weapons, but he got rid, end up getting rid of the mask that his father brought into it. And um, how they're like oh, we can use the camera. Like we can't use the cameras. And then he's like we can use the cameras. And then he's like, oh, we can use the cameras. And the sister's like, no, we can't. Tradition. And he's like If he had cameras, if our great-grandfather had cameras, he would have used them in the spirit of the game.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think he's definitely steeped in that tradition, but he will also and that's another- thing, that is, that they will manipulate tradition to get what they want.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and that's in this movie and also in real life. So I think that each of these characters are really cleverly sort of constructed as an element of satire of that sort of class system. And putting Grace in there and naming her Grace especially is really powerful because she's just a working class broad that's bringing down their entire dominion. As, yeah, I thought it was really creatively done and that's that was kind of like the hook for me in this horror movie, because you know, horror movie for a horror movie sake I can't really watch.

Speaker 1:

But this had enough of that sort of underscored subtext that I was like this is actually pretty interesting to to get through. So I really liked the fact that you know there was, there was there was those two tropes at work the deadly game trope and also the eat the rich trope. But yeah, it was just really good to analyze these characters and when we've talked before, when there's an ensemble cast, it's kind of hard for any of them to shine. But I think because they all represented one aspect, uh, that the directors and filmmakers were were trying to portray, it kind of worked. So I think it did well.

Speaker 2:

I was actually just looking because how you were saying about names. Yeah yeah, so all there, all like the family names are all pretty like Alex, tony, emil, emil, emily Is it Emily yeah?

Speaker 1:

Emily.

Speaker 2:

Becky, oh yeah. So Alex Becky, Emily, helen, becky, um, oh yeah so Alex Becky, Emily, helen, like they're all sort of normal names. But then you got like the people married again Charity, brace, and then. So I looked up Fitch, trying to see if, like Fitch had any sort of like other meanings and actually has a, a couple, and it's like um, so there's one thing the old French word for Fitch for an iron-pointed instrument, usually like crossbow bolts, spears, old-fashioned weapons, which is the only thing they're allowed to use in this game is all the old-fashioned weapons. But also it is also Fitch for the fur or pelt, and like a lot of rich people wear like all the furs and stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

Or it used to be also a predatory mammal similar to a ferret, oh yeah so yeah, a ferret's like a rodent too, so he's like weaseling his way up the special order there too so, um, I was like I thought about, oh, look at it, because like, yeah, charity, and she's almost like the opposite of charity, charity, and then grace comes in, she's's her own saving grace, really, and I'm like I wonder if Fitch means anything. And they're like, yeah, things, that sort of. I wouldn't say that probably doesn't really correlate to the movie, but it's just interesting that like, yeah, some names for some pointy iron, old-fashioned weapons, which is what they would have used, which they sort of used like old-fashioned weapons, which is what they would have used, which they sort of used like old-fashioned crossbows and whatnot, and old-school guns and everything, but also the name of what rich people would wear those fur coats and the fur deck warmers were there and even predatory ferrets.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let's get into our most valuable takeaway. Alright, this is the Heart and Soul of the Podcast, where we break down the one thing that hit the hardest, stuck the longest or taught us something new from what we just watched. It is our moment to spotlight the takeaway that made us think, feel or see things differently. This is what we learned from Ready or Not from 2019. There's a lot of things I learned from this movie Brash. A lot of things that I learned in terms of horror movie tropes and the various different subtexts, but the biggest thing that I learned as a life lesson for this was to hell with fitting in Rejecting that toxic acceptance that Grace was trying to get.

Speaker 1:

It's darkly funny and it's an allegory, but it's like what happens when you try too hard to belong in a place that was never really meant for you.

Speaker 1:

That's kind of what I got out of it, because Samara Weaving Grace she tries so hard to be a part of this family, to be accepted by a new husband, the wealthy, eccentric family and she knows at the start she says they're only moderately fucked up, but I think really she knows that they've kind of got their issues as well and she's kind, but she's awkwardly charming and she's genuinely eager to connect with them and even to face obvious discomfort.

Speaker 1:

You know, going through this game like if it was just a normal game, it'd be something that was kind of whimsical, but she wanted to go through that kind of thing because she'd never experienced a family before.

Speaker 1:

But there's that relatable emotional truth where there's that quiet anxiety that she feels about trying to fit into a new social structure. I think we've all been there, like everybody's been in that situation before, where you're trying to fit into a social structure or a school setting or a new friend group and sometimes you find yourself doing things that you wouldn't normally do, or sometimes you find yourself not always, but sometimes you'll find yourself betraying some of the things that make you who you are. And that's why I found the smoking a little bit sort of funny, because she would smoke in front of Alex and be her true self there as a representation of her true self, but then around the mom and the family she wouldn't. And then right at the end, when they're all dead, she smoked again. And it's like these the family, she wouldn't. And then right at the end, when they're all dead, she smoked again.

Speaker 2:

And it's like these rules are unspoken and you're trying to fit in with them, but it kind of falls into that people-pleasing category as a survival strategy. Yeah, like um and with that whole, as you're saying, like the high school mentality of like there's the cool kids trying to film with the cool kids, um, like Fitch, he's like, he's like the, the kid that was uncool, that has managed to find his way into the cool kids club and will do anything to stay in the cool kids club yep, and he is doing that people pleasing thing like he's obviously not a killer, like he points the crossbow in the wrong direction.

Speaker 1:

he has a nervous tummy, as he said, and he goes and he tries to learn how to to use it to fit in, like he's doing something that he obviously doesn't want to do. Converse to that is Charity, who's like all about it, and I love that scene with. That was probably my favorite scene, when Daniel talks to Charity and he says do you remember what you said when I told you about all of this? Like you didn't even blink, and that was when he kind of realized that maybe she is not the person that he thought she was.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, charity she was. Yeah, Charity, yeah, because Charity is sort of like Samara's character, grace. If Grace had of been more power.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So Grace and Charity are sort of two sides of the same coin. So if anything had been slightly different difference the mirror might have wanted into the family more and she could have ended up a lot like charity, but she stayed true to herself and was rejected.

Speaker 1:

The rejected them and sort of stayed true to herself yeah, and I think that's that's important too, because a lot of the time people going through that people pleasing sort of mentality, like like grace was and like people do in real life sometimes they think you know, if I'm good enough, then they'll see that I belong when. Sometimes you're trying to fit into a situation where A they don't want you to belong in the first place, which is heartbreaking sometimes when it's talking about a real-life situation and obviously this situation too but also it's kind of like realizing that you don't truly want to belong there. You just want a connection like that. That place isn't the place for you to belong. You just really want a connection with somebody. And finding that connection with reliable and trustworthy sources is the key, not just putting yourself out there to people, to who don't really see you for who you are, which is what happened with Grace.

Speaker 1:

And she starts to fight back against that and it's produced through her wedding dress as she starts to become torn and bloodied and stuff and she starts to rip off her shoes and she starts to use weapons and fight. That's her fighting to survive and she's sort of stopping being liked at that point. She doesn't want to be liked, she just wants to survive. At that point she starts to fight back and you know, I think her asserting her right to exist on her own terms is where she moves through her transition. But in a real life sort of situation, when you're looking at those people-pleasing sort of behaviors, it's about asserting who you are and knowing your rights as a person who deserves acceptance for who you are.

Speaker 2:

That's yeah, there's one thing we haven't really talked about or touched on that I thought was really interesting was the children.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, yeah, bro, they were indoctrinated hey.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and how. When, after Ser to clock that kid which I think was one of my favorite parts of the movie, I mean I'll be angry too if it's a kid shot me in the hand, yeah, afterwards. But the mom picks up and says what happened. She's like oh, I shot her. And she's like I'm so proud of you. I'm like, dude, the kid's like nine the hell, what kind of mother are you? And they're fully like and they must have been told prior about the history and what happens and stuff like that.

Speaker 1:

The line that hit me the hardest in that very scene there was when somebody said, like the kid was explaining what was happening, and they said, oh, why would you? I think it was Daniel, he said why would? You shoot her. Why would you do that? And then he said because that's what all of you wanted to do. So it just shows that you know kids are a product of their environment in that way, like you see them like you do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly, and in this sort of like most valuable takeaway that we're talking about, when we're talking about, you know, trying to fit in and to hell with fitting in. Kids really don't have a choice in that kind of matter and that's what makes it hard, especially when they're mirroring or trying to fit in with adult behaviors or environments that are really toxic or unhealthy. So they're really just victims in that sort of regard. Perpetuates, in this instance, the Lodomus family tradition is because they get them when they're so young and they fit them in when they're so young and it's literally all they hear and all they witness and all of their environment is surrounded by that. So it's just so tricky for them.

Speaker 1:

But the thing, the good thing about Grace is that she totally rejected that, like the toxic system and the demand for her submission was she was. She was not about that at all. She doesn't save them. She doesn't forgive her husband. She, she walks out about that at all. She doesn't save them. She doesn't forgive her husband. She walks out, literally walks out of a burning mansion, blood covered, cigarette in hand. It's like she's reborn. She's walking out of this and, you know, the firefighter asks her like what happened? And she just goes in-laws, that's just. That's her like acceptance no-transcript of being a real people pleaser and really wanting to fit into a particular family because all her life she's just bounced from family to family and she wanted a unit. But in the end she learns about the cost of her self-worth and how it's not worth her giving everything up to fit into a space, and I think that's more character development than some characters go through in a lot of movies. So I thought that was good and definitely one of our best roles, I reckon.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100%. Are you ready to rate it? I am Okay, let's go to the Fenneport of Zonnaport. It's time to rate it and rank it. Each host has five stars to give this movie out of five categories. We have story and script, characters and performances, direction and tone, visuals and soundtrack and the overall enjoyment. If it hit the mark, hosts award a star. If it didn't, hosts keep that star. If it was almost great but missed the mark, it's awarded half the star.

Speaker 1:

By the end of the segment, each host will have their own score for the movie out of five. We then take that average and add it to our official Letterboxd on board. If you want to follow that, then you can do so at Letterboxd and we're always at Fandom Portals. Okay, all right. So story and script I gave this half a star. I gave this half a star and the reason I did that was because I feel like the satire is clever and fun, but the whole premise kind of runs thin, like it's an hour and a half movie and it runs on a single premise and the mythology for me, as we talked about at the start, was a little bit undercooked. So I think just story wise when we're talking about the premise of the story and the script, I feel like. But the start was a little bit undercooked. So I think just story-wise when we're talking about the premise of the story and the script.

Speaker 2:

I feel like half a star is what I would award it. What about?

Speaker 1:

you I 100% agree.

Speaker 2:

Half a star for me as well, and the premise for the same thing. It felt like it went through everything too quickly.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And I think that has to do with the runtime, you know, an hour and a half and probably the fact that they thought it was only a one-time, one-time deal.

Speaker 1:

Yep, yeah, I agree. All right characters and performances. I gave this a full star not only because zamara weaving is completely magnetic in this and she, uh, evokes that fear response so gutturally in the way that she screams and the way she acts under pressure, under the way she sort of handles herself, but I also thought that the supporting cast committed fully, like especially Adam Brody we said that he plays sarcastic so well the lady that played Charity, elise Levesque.

Speaker 2:

She's also from the Orville. She's in the Orville. Oh yeah, she is too. She plays Wenda in the Orville.

Speaker 1:

Yeah yeah, she plays sadistic and cruel so well in that movie as well. They have very little screen time as an ensemble cast but they do enough to really portray the things that they need to portray. So the performances for me, I gave them a full star. And for the character arc that Grace goes through that we talked about in the MVT section, where she goes from that hopeless sort of people, people pleaser, wanting to fit into a family, any family but then finding herself worth at the very end through struggle, I think that is like for 90 minutes. I think that's great. So full star for me.

Speaker 2:

Yep, I am exactly the same full star because of Adam Brody, no, or Adam Brody as an entire star. I loved each and every one of their characters, as we've talked extensively on how each of them are different in certain ways and all bring their own sense like own comedy sort of goals to their characters, with, of course, adam Brody's Daniel character being really sarcastic and cynical. But even like Melanie, melanie's Emily who's sort of that, that day's girl who accidentally kills all the maids, it's her Fitch's just she's, he's almost, it's almost endearing and charming, suck up it's almost cute, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

it's almost cute that he's trying so hard yeah, I think that for for a movie that didn't cost a lot like they probably wouldn't have paid a lot to do this, they just I reckon they all put in such a great effort.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think so too. All right direction and tone For me. I gave this another full star because it strikes the perfect balance between horror and comedy, and that's kind of hard to do Originally it's hard to blend themes as it is, but they also underlaid a layer of satire in there too, which was great, and I just loved the like, the shots that they used and the various different sort of camera angles that they used to portray like the fearful look on samara weaving's face a lot of the time through the through the movie and then and then also the shaky sort of camera operators when they were using the chase sequences as well, was really put you in the moment. So I gave it a full star as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I also give it a full star because, in the same vein of like because this came just after Get Out and at the same time as like Us, and so it was like between 2017 and sort of 2022-ish, these sort of movies about sort of these satire sort of movies and the comic movies sort of had another bit of a rise from, like your original satire movies, like your scary movie and your dance movie and your superhero movie, like all those where they just sort of make fun of.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, those are real genres, tongue-in-cheek yeah and they take, make fun of other genres, these sort of satire versions of these horror movies where it's, um, still blood and gore, but, like, because for me, like I don't really consider them horror in the sense of, uh, I'm gonna sit there and going to jump out at me and scare the crap out of me, but it's just more of like your, it takes a bit of it, sort of makes fun of it a little bit more, yeah, than you, because you get those sort of horror movies that are comedy, a bit of comedy in them as well, but it's a lot darker, whereas this one's, I think it's a lot more lighter in a way, and it's the same with like Nope and Get Out and Us. They're probably a little bit more darker than what this is, but it's still a fun and enjoyable ride nonetheless Alright.

Speaker 1:

So full star for you, duh. Very good, alright visuals and sound. Now, I think this movie used a really good mixture of CGI and practical effects. For all the blood work, I thought that that was done really really well. For me it wasn't really over the top that's coming from a guy that doesn't really do horror but I still thought it was pretty okay. The thing for me was that the visuals really enhanced the tension but also the absurdity of this movie, which was a tricky sort of balance. But the biggest thing for me was the soundtrack, the use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The soundtrack immerseded me in the tense moments, but that song, run, run run yeah, run away and hide.

Speaker 1:

Let's just say that, like every now and then, my son will ask me to play hide and seek, but now, whenever he does that, I sing that song and I actually drove my partner Kalia up the wall because it was an earworm for me. I put it on the thread, I was like I couldn't get it out of my head. I literally couldn't get it out of my head. I was singing it in the shower to the point where she actually had to sit me down quietly and be like Aaron enough, Because I was just so catchy and it kind of reminded me of the same kind of aspect as, like the Bioshock games, where they have those really old time and even Fallout, those really old timey songs in a really obscure kind of setting where it doesn't belong and it just fits so well.

Speaker 1:

And yeah, I just thought that was perfect. You know, the 100 second song used to count down and yeah, I hope they use something similar in the next movie or even the same song, because yeah, I loved they use something similar in the next movie or even the same song because, yeah, I, I loved it.

Speaker 2:

I gave it a star. It reminds me of Jeepers Creepers, yeah, yeah, like that's the song that plays on the radio before Jeepers Creepers comes in.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the great horror movie, um, but yeah I. I star yeah, I was getting mine's hype. I do enjoy it all. And then again that song at the end on the record of the old song, when they all start exploding great, absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 2:

But um, I had to give it a half star, I think, for me, because it's for me like coming off of just watching bloodlines by destination, like the grotesque murder, like killings and that are just next level next level, whereas this one, like with the dumbwaiter, a similar sort of thing happens in Final Station not with the dumbwaiter, but a similar sort of thing happens and I looked at that one and I was like, eh, not as gruesome as I thought it could be, but I mean like it's a bit more fun, like when they get shot in the mouth because they're crossbow bolt. And every time that they advertise this talk you hear a guy go like Austin Powers it was. Yeah, it was just absolutely hilarious. Until she like finally has enough and gets the axe and just chops her.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for me it's. And like when she gets the blood, it, and like when she gets Spice of the Blood, like it's like, ah, look at that corn syrup, it was good. But like I've watched enough horror movies, yeah, and it's sort of like it was good, but like you can, you've seen better.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it just didn't fight me a thing. But yes, no, I'll do that song though Spotify. Now it's like at the top of my new like list of my Spotify. So every time I jump in the car and I'm wanting to drive to work, it's the first song that plays. Oh, that's funny.

Speaker 1:

Especially good to go to work, alright. So that's half a star for you. Half a star, lovely, alright. And lastly, it is Impact and Legacy, or, as we like to call it, your overall enjoyment. Now, I enjoyed the heck out of it. See, this is the one that I struggled with the most, because I really, really enjoyed it. It was memorable, it was bold, it was buzzworthy for the time. I don't know if it's timeless, whether it's like a cult classic. I would probably re-watch it. I already watched it twice, so it definitely has re-watchability. I just think for me, as I said before in the pod, the ending. I would have loved for it to just really drive home that social commentary point, as opposed to letting the working class kind of win and I know that sounds like a little bit. I like to see that sort of thing in movies because it's a social commentary and it's provocative. So I don't know if I can give this a full star or half a star. I'm struggling with it, brash. Tell me yours first and then I'll decide.

Speaker 2:

So I give it a half star for overall enjoyment because I do find it overly enjoyable. I've watched it. I watched it when it came out years ago and re-watching it now, I sort of found myself because I was playing video games at the same time. I was like I've got to watch this movie again. So I remember it playing video housing at the same time. That's what I'm like. I'll just watch this movie again. So I remember it and I found myself like skipping over a few parts but I'm like, oh yeah, I know what happened here, just get through a bit quicker. And um, but then I did.

Speaker 2:

I still did end up finding myself watching majority of it because it is enjoyable to watch. But and like the cast I think the cast for me is what made it the best. The yeah, all the like running around sort of thing wasn't as great but like all the interactions, especially like Adam Brody's interactions with all the rest of the family members, was always really good to watch To me, like it's a good watch if a friend hasn't seen it. And they're like, oh, is there a funny sort of scary, like horror movie or like gory movie that I could watch, I'd be like, yeah, you should watch this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's something I suggest or watch with a friend who hasn't seen it. But I wouldn't go out of my way If someone's like oh, pick a movie you want to watch. It's probably not one that I'd pick.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, fair enough. So half a star for you. I think I'll give it half a star as well because, yeah, it does have that rewatch ability for me. But yeah, I think I would have liked to see the social commentary driven home. The ending was a little bit too abrupt for me and, yeah, I just think there was a lot of good points about it. But again, I also think that the uh, like the undercooked mythology and the plot, the thin plot, it would probably get very tiresome if it was on your regular rewatch sort of schedule. So other stuff for me too, which means that I have scored it a total of four stars and you have given it a total of 3.5 stars, which means it has an average of 3.75. At 3.75, we have Spider-Man, no Way Home, fantastic Four and Ready or Not. Actually, I'd almost put it above them. I kind of would too. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I'd sit it above them which means it's in our top 10. Yeah, all right. So Ready or Not sits in our top 10. At ninth on the Phantom Portals on a board it sits below Big Fish and above Spider-Man no Way Home at 3.75. So that is Ready or Not from 2019. Let's do our sign-off. All right, everybody. I sign off. All right, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us for this episode on Ready or Not from 2019.

Speaker 1:

We are the Fandom Portals Podcast. If you want to join our mailing list, you can do so at wwwfandomportalspodcastcom. Through that mailing list, you are included into all of our giveaways. We have a monthly newsletter that tells you all of our recommendations and also what is coming in the month beyond. We won't spam your email, guys. It's just to keep you updated on the fandom portals news. If you want to get involved in the episodes, you can do so by joining our socials. That's at threads instagram and reddit. We're always at fandom portals.

Speaker 1:

Next week it will be the last week of the month, so therefore we are kicking back off. On our portal is pick episode, and from our list we have randomly picked from the wheel of movie suggestions given to us by our community, and the one that came up was Ben Affleck's Jersey Girl by Kevin Smith, also starring Liv Tyler. So I'm really excited about this because about two weeks ago maybe less two weeks ago I, for one reason or another, started binging Ben Affleck movies and I watched like five of them and I don't know why I did it. But this is awesome because this is another one that I didn't watch at that time but I get to watch now. So I would like to thank Markov81, our community member that suggested that movie we're doing Jersey Girl. Next week for our Portal is Pick episode. All right, this is Aaron signing off this episode of the Phantom Portals podcast, brash.

Speaker 2:

Aaron, do you think this is a fucking game?

Speaker 1:

Yes, it's hide and seek, it is. See you guys.

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Aaron Davies

Host
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Adam Brasher

Co-host

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