Ready or Not

What’s it about?

A bride's wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game. Things soon turn bloody and sinister, revealing the sick rituals of the family.

The facts 

• Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
• English language 
• Runtime: 95 minutes
• Starring Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien

Why did it get this rating? 

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Cruelty

A cruel family tradition requires every family member to participate in a game of fate whenever someone new marries into the family. This game of fate is masked in secrecy, with the new bride unaware of the seriousness of the game until her wedding night.

We see all ages taking part in the game, which on this occasion involves a murderous game of hide and seek.

A character falls into a pit of dead animals and must make her way out without being found.  

Family members continue to stalk the bride throughout the house, and even the house servants are required to assist in chasing her. 

Violence

We see characters shot in the head, neck, and hand resulting in a lot of blood and graphic injury. Weapons used include a crossbow, shot gun, pistol and a scythe. A character smashes another over the head with a scalding hot kettle resulting in burns to his face. 

Some characters are accidently killed during a game of hide and seek. Their deaths are shocking but in a darkly humorous way the family members quickly move on in pursuit of their prey. 

We see characters dying slowly, with bloody gurgling and weeping wounds. A character uses the scythe to ‘finish off’ a dying victim. We don’t see the detail of the death.

A character has her hand badly injured from a gun wound and then in closeup detail we see her hand impaled on a steel nail. 

We see characters die by sudden explosion resulting in blood and body matter coating other characters.

A character repeatedly beats a wounded victim with a heavy object. We then briefly see the bloody head injury of the dead victim. 

Offensive language

Occasional strong language such as “f*ck” and “f*ck you” are used for emphasis and during stressful situations.

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Are scary films good for anything? (blog)