This is one killer plot that takes Get Out and US even further. It’s filled with characters who have their own version of crazy which turns out to be deadly funny. A family game turns a beautiful bride’s honeymoon into a grotesquely funny, bloody-moon. Blood is thicker than water and plenty of it flows here.
Directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (V/H/S Devil’s Due) and Tyler Gillett (Devil’s Due) are part of a filmmaking collective called Radio Silence known for combining adventure, comedy, sci-fi and horror. It’s all here. Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy, provide just enough rye dialogue for this collection of quirky, edgy, characters. It’s rife with F bombs and attitude. It’s delightfully obscene.
This is one frightening ride and we hope Australian actress Samara Weaving, as beautiful, blonde, bride Grace, received hazard pay playing a lethal game of Hide and Seek. Weaving looks so delicate, but watch out. She’s fun to watch because she really goes for it in this role.
Following her running, jumping, climbing, falling, squeezing through fences and crawling with hand held camera added to the tension and horror. Warning! There’s one disgusting scene that may make you barf. The weapons of choice to carry out the dasty deed of finding Grace are a fascinating collection of old and new. Be prepared for grisly murders. As they hit the mark, you almost feel guilty for laughing.
It starts with a flashback to an earlier wedding providing disturbing background. Two young boys are running around a mansion trying to stay out of sight. What they see is gruesome but not nearly as what’s to come.
Fast forward 30 years to Grace marrying Alex Le Domas (Mike O’Brien). He hasn’t given her a clue to the family’s tradition. He’s trying to let her know this is serious family business and gives her an out, but she thinks playing a game on her wedding night is just fun and will help her fit into this super rich family. The Le Domas fortune comes from the board game industry. But there’s a hitch, and it’s a biggie. One look at the collection of family members tells you something’s not quite right. She’s soon fighting for her life, navigating the magnificent mansion and its secret passageways to get away from this group of weirdos.
Tony Le Domas (Henry Czerny) is the present patriarch, married to Becky (Andie McDowell). This is an unusual role for McDowell who gets to be an eccentric mother to Alex and his brother Daniel (Adam Brody). She talks slowly, deliberately and pretty creepy, but not the creepiest. That honor goes to Tony’s sister, Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni – The Handmaid’s Tale). Her intense, evil eye stares, and screams for blood, could stop a clock. She really stands out, wearing hot pink with her gray hair spiked high.
Alex’s brother, Daniel, (Adam Brody – Shazam) is a somewhat sympathetic but pathetic character. You don’t know where he’s coming from. One of the funniest of the lot is Melanie Scrofano as Emilie, is the coke head sister who takes breaks from the game, whenever she can, to get loaded. She’s a real scene stealer.
There are family members who don’t really want to go along with the program, but they do. Fitch (Kristian Bruun) is a funny oaf.
Stevens, (John Ralston-Stockholm) is the quintessential, “The Butler did it.” He’s a frustrated orchestra conductor. He’s obviously played this game before and relishes the opportunity to help.
This is not dark, it’s black humor. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett don’t waste a minute of this film without a gasp or a laugh. These are in-laws to literally die from. This is one bloody good time.
Fox Searchlight 95 minutes R
