Adam Brody has been a high point of two recent fun genre flicks. In Shazam! he was the grown-up superhero version of sidekick Freddie. And in Ready or Not he was the brother-in-law that gave Samara Weaving’s bride a chance at survival in a crazy mansion of killers. In his next movie, last year’s late pandemic year theatrical release The Kid Detective, the former Gilmore Girls and The O.C. actor plays Abe Applebaum, once a kid detective in the style of Encyclopedia Brown, he’s now a 32-year-old has-been, not cutting it as an adult detective. Unfortunately, what could have been something clever, fresh, and new, ends up pitifully bad–a film that can’t decide what it wants to be, a humorless experimental film that might have made a good effort as a film school project. It’s streaming now on Starz and other platforms.
Adam Brody has been a high point of two recent fun genre flicks. In Shazam! he was the grown-up superhero version of sidekick Freddie. And in Ready or Not he was the brother-in-law that gave Samara Weaving’s bride a chance at survival in a crazy mansion of killers. In his next movie, the former Gilmore Girls and The O.C. actor plays Abe Applebaum, once a kid detective in the style of Encyclopedia Brown, he’s now a 32-year-old has been, not cutting it as an adult detective. But despite the title, The Kid Detective, arriving in theaters this weekend, is not a kids’ movie. Some theaters on the East Coast are offering $50 full-theater rentals and AMC has a $99 deal, or you can always wait for the home release likely coming soon.
Is there a great movie to take your spouse for your anniversary? Ready or Notmay be the one. An atmospheric Gothic story that doubles as dark comedy and horror-lite cautionary tale, it’s a fun flick that will get you in the mood for the holiday–Halloween, that is. It’s about a wedding, about marriage, and marrying into a new family. And in-laws. It’s also about the dark side of families, the skeletons in the closet. Australian actress Samara Weaving plays Grace, and we meet her on her wedding day, marrying Alex (Mark O’Brien), a young man who has tried to extricate himself from his eccentric family. But now he’s back. He warns his new bride that his family has a “first night” tradition, requiring her to participate in a game. First she must draw a card and all she must do is play the game. To her surprise, statistics of chance kick in and she draws the single dreaded card, for “Hide and Seek.” The house rule for this game is the new member of the family is the target, and it’s a game played to the death. Is the family crazy, or is there some real dark force behind their madness?
As you might guess from the trailers, it’s like Quentin Tarantino bought the rights to direct a Clue remake and merged it with another Kill Bill sequel and Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. Credit the setting with much of Ready or Not′s atmosphere, filming at mansions Casa Loma and Parkwoods Estate in Ontario. Behind the action of characters running through the house is expert production design by Andrew M. Stearn(Chicago, The Handmaid’s Tale, Killjoys) and costumes (including a noteworthy wedding dress that devolved over the course of the film) by Avery Plewes (The Umbrella Academy, Star Trek Discovery). Fans of the classic creep-fest Wicker Man take note: This is another film about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Samara Weaving shows she’s ready to take on the big roles going today to the likes of Margot Robbie and Emma Stone. A big high point of the film is the mix of quietly haunting and jumpy, rousing music, thanks to composer Brian Tyler (Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Aliens v. Predator: Requiem, The Final Destination, The Expendables, Thor: The Dark World).
Most of the fun comes from a supporting cast of familiar faces. Genre TV watchers should recognize Orphan Black’s Donnie (Kristian Bruun) and Wynonna Earp herself, Melanie Scrofano, playing a hysterical sister and brother-in-law. Other familiar faces include Andie MacDowell(Groundhog Day) as the bride’s mother-in-law (MacDowell seems to conjure Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill here), her husband is Clear and Present Danger’sHenry Czerny, with Elyse Levesque(Stargate Universe, Orphan Black),Hanneke Talbot (iZombie, Star Trek Discovery), and John Ralston(Haven, Reign) rounding out the key players. The most interesting is the bride’s new brother-in-law, played by Shazam!’s Adam Brody.
It’s like Quentin Tarantino bought the rights to direct a Clue remake and merged it with another Kill Bill sequel and Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. Whichever way it ends up, the creators of the late summer release Ready or Not know how to make a great movie trailer. Disney’s new production arm Fox Searchlight, known for independent, horror, and comedy films, looks to have produced a clever idea: a horror film with quirky dark Tim Burton-esque black comedy in a traditional mystery setting. Make that two trailers, both a good greenband trailer and a good redband trailer. Check out both trailers below.
Australian actress Samara Weaving(Ash vs Evil Dead, Picnic at Hanging Rock) plays bride Grace, whose new husband, played by Mark O’Brien(Arrival, Warehouse 13), belongs to a family with an eccentric tradition. The bride must draw a card and survive the game on the card to pass the test and join the family. She chooses “Hide and Seek” and the family grabs their weapon of choice and proceed to try to kill her. In the backdrop is this great mansion, backed with production design by Andrew M. Stearn(Chicago, The Handmaid’s Tale, Killjoys), and costumes by Avery Plewes(The Umbrella Academy, Star Trek Discovery). There’s not much not to like here, except the splattery blood and gore and language that won’t be for every audience. For everyone else this looks like plenty of goofy fun.
Some high points not to overlook are the Canada actors TV watchers should be familiar with, especially Orphan Black’s standout funnyman Donnie (Kristian Bruun) and Wynonna Earp herself, Melanie Scrofano. Other familiar faces include Andie MacDowell(Groundhog Day),Henry Czerny(Clear and Present Danger),Adam Brody(Shazam!),Elyse Levesque(Stargate Universe, Orphan Black),Hanneke Talbot(iZombie, Star Trek Discovery), and John Ralston(Haven, Reign).Ready or Not is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, with a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Here are both the PG-13 and the R versions of the trailers for Ready or Not:
If you’re a fan of early Jean-Claude Van Damme action movies then you will love this new ad from Volvo Trucks. It’s probably the best idea anyone has had to thrust back into the spotlight an actor/martial artist who once was on the heels of becoming the next Stallone or Schwarzenegger. Expendables 2 wasn’t enough to do it, but showing off on TVs across America the physical skill and the result of a lifetime of martial arts prowess that Van Damme used in early work like Bloodsport could be enough to get him back into big movie roles. Van Damme just needs to find his version of Mickey Rourke’s big comeback film The Wrestler.
If you haven’t watched Van Damme movies, you’re missing out. First, add Bloodsport and Timecop into your Netflix queue. Some may say it is blasphemous to compare Van Damme to Bruce Lee, but if you liked Enter the Dragon you will at a minimum appreciate Van Damme’s style, passion and effort in Bloodsport. Like Schwarzenegger, Van Damme had the European immigrant with an accent action star shtick going for him. He had proven fighting skill outside of movies, too. And he had a real appeal–usually playing the underdog or defending the underdog, he usually had the good guy role in his best work.
More splits. Could you save yourself if your kitchen floor was suddenly charged with electricity? Van Damme could, and did, in Timecop.
