One of the most talked-about independent features to come out of 2019 was Ready or Not. This black comedy turned horror film was championed by almost everyone who has seen it, applauding its wit, brutality, and fun. The movie follows Grace (Samara Weaving) after marrying into a wealthy family. The family has a tradition of new members drawing a card from a deck for a game to play on their wedding night. “Hide and seek” means the family hunts them down and sacrifices them in a ritual because of a deal made long ago.
While the movie has been discussed as one of the worst wedding nights ever, it’s also a horror movie that taps into the very human love for games while also making commentary on classism. The family Grace marries into, after all, would rather murder people regularly than give up their wealth or their lives. Similar movies after that same sense of horrifying gameplay and social commentary.
Much like Ready Or Not, Would You Rather is a game-based horror movie with dire consequences for everyone involved. It’s inspired by the party game the movie shares its title with, in which players are given two options and have to say what they would rather do. Starring Brittany Snow as Iris, Iris is invited to a mansion by an incredibly wealthy man to have the opportunity to play a game that could earn her a large sum of money.
She needs this money to help with her brother’s medical bills as he’s undergoing treatment for a potentially fatal illness. So, she goes, only to learn the game will only have one winner and the other guests will have met their deadly fate before the night’s end. It has its comedic relief moments as well as some gruesome deaths.
Another hit from 2019, Knives Out had serious star power going into it that drew audiences in. With dramatic heavyweights like Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Toni Collete, fans knew they would be in for a treat. The performances by Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, and Ana de Armas as Marta were nothing short of perfection. But it was the classic whodunnit of the film that had the audience guessing all throughout.
The movie takes inspiration from some classic Agatha Christie twists and turns, presenting a seemingly impossible-to-solve mystery that ends up having a very surprising conclusion. When a wealthy family patriarch dies, everyone in his family is a suspect, but it also seems as though everyone has an alibi. Just like Ready Or Not, it seamlessly mixes dark humor with murder and will have the audience on the edge of their seats until the very end.
Blumhouse’s Truth Or Dare came out in 2018 and was the teen horror movie fans of the genre had been missing for some time. It also has the key element of the chaos ensuing after a simple game is played — much like Ready Or Not — by the vacationing college students. “Truth Or Dare” is a game most kids, especially teenagers, have played at some point in their lives in which they take on a dare or elect to tell the truth about a single question.
The game takes on a life of its own when the main characters return from their trip, and they have to continue to play the game or else they will face a deadly consequence. It’s brutal and at times even cringe-worthy with the dares they must complete, but it is a fun horror movie fans won’t want to miss.
Another independent horror sensation that perfectly mixes the macabre with witty dark comedy? That is exactly why You’re Next has become a cult classic horror film since its initial release in 2011. Set during the events of a family reunion, the movie combines elements of a slasher with that of an estranged family drama. Erin (Sharni Vinson) accompanies her boyfriend (A. J. Bowen) to his family reunion, only to find herself in grave danger.
There is a badass female heroine who takes on murderous intruders during a home invasion at her boyfriend’s parents’ home. In an interesting take on the horror trope of the Final Girl, Erin has a reason to succeed against the masked killers: she grew up in a survivalist compound, giving her plenty of tricks of her own. There is also clever dark humor all throughout all while getting violent slasher-flick-worthy death scenes. For horror movie fans everywhere, this is not one they want to sleep on.
This American remake of the 1997 Austrian film by the same name was a psychological thriller that left its mark on audiences everywhere when it came out in 2007. The movie is essentially a shot-for-shot remake, just placing the storyline in America. Starring Michael Pitt as one half of a young and articulate serial killer duo, the movie focuses on them terrorizing a young family in their vacation home.
They play sadistic “games” with this family, much to their own amusement. The games not only terrorize the family, but also keep the family from knowing what is coming next. It is meant to be a take, too, on the way violence is portrayed in the media. And as disturbing as it was, it was also highly entertaining and a great film for horror movie fans to partake in.
If horror fans want to keep the board game momentum going, perhaps Clue is the best option. No other movie has brought a board game to life better than this cult classic. Led by an all-star cast including Tim Curry, Madelin Kahn, and Christopher Lloyd, this is the perfect blend of humor and murder that fans might be looking for. The movie, like the board game, follows the idea that guests are all invited to a mansion, only to have to solve the murder (or murders) that happens after they arrive.
It can be difficult to adapt a board game for the screen, but Clue succeeded by leaning into the camp of the story and offering twist after twist. It is hilarious, offers multiple endings for fans to pick from, and is just a blast to watch. It shouldn’t work, but somehow Clue succeeds on nearly every level.
Ready or Not channeled some excellent final girl tropes that ran rampant during the era of ’80s horror. If any era is in fashion today, it’s the ’80s. From Netflix’s Stranger Things to Stephen King’s It, the love for the ’80s and horror is at an all-time high. One of the best films to continue the tradition of this era in horror has to be House of the Devil.
One of the scariest films to come out in recent memory, House of the Devil brings that bit of satanic panic to the forefront that was sidelined as a gag in Ready or Not. It is incredibly self-aware of the tropes that it’s playing with but respects them in treating the film as a serious piece of horror. Jocelin Donahue is a perfect lead, both heroic and sympathetic. Don’t watch this one alone.
Get Out is likely the most well-known of movies like Ready Or Not. The 2017 movie blew people away with a fresh take on the horror genre. It was one of the ten most profitable movies of its year of release thanks to critical acclaim and word of mouth having horror fans flock to theaters. It earned four Oscar nominations, one of which Jordan Peele won, for Best Original Screenplay.
The film takes a similar approach as Ready or Not, showing a newcomer trying to blend in with their significant other’s family. But like Ready or Not, this family has a big cult-like secret. Both films take a comedic approach to their horror, playing with the awkward moments that come with family gatherings. But Get Out is playing with a far different set of themes than Ready or Not, offering a fresh take on a similar premise.
Villains stars a small four-person cast consisting of Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Jeffrey Donovan, and Kyra Sedgwick. This tiny black comedy is full of awkward laughs and bonkers thrills. Skarsgård and Monroe play a Bonnie and Clyde-like duo on the run from their last big robbery. They plan on starting a new life after their last robbery, but their car runs out of gas. After breaking into a home to steal the owner’s car, they find an even stranger couple, played by Donovan and Sedgwick, inside.
What follows is a strange mix of home invasion, abduction, drug use, and torture that is still somehow a total blast to watch. The movie really turns everything that the audience expects to see on its head. It has a sharp tone similar to Ready or Not but tackles a completely different set of tropes in the horror genre.