Plum Rain (2007)

Ready or Not follows a young woman named Grace (Samara Weaving). As her marriage inches closer and closer, Grace sees a life suitable for familial fulfillment. She marries her man: Alex, a member of the rich Le Domas family. On her wedding night, Grace becomes part of a family tradition. She has to play hide and seek (games are an integral part of the Le Domas’ family fortune). Grace sees the game as being a form of playful camaraderie. But in reality, the Le Domas family believes that in order to keep their lives/profits, they must sacrifice a bride. Grace, completely unaware of the family’s deadly intentions, chooses a hiding spot and from there, the game begins.

Horror fans will hoot and holler at this flick. Like The Burbs (1989), Fright Night (1985), and Shaun of the Dead (2004), Ready or Not  takes a terrifying situation and has a fun time with horror components. The film melds horror and comedy, creating a cinematic hybrid that flows like running water. Instead of being a film that embraces gut-wrenching sensibilities, it perfectly taps into the energetic nature of hide and seek. On a recurring basis, there are sudden left and right turns, designed to keep audience members on their toes.

As a whole, Ready or Not  is an economic adventure. It’s constantly moving, and in retrospect, there isn’t any unnecessary baggage. Due to its fast pace, the limited atmosphere feels bigger than it actually is. As viewers, we are put in tight places, but there is always a sense of domestic beauty due to the production design. With the help of Andrew M. Stearn (the production designer), Brett Jutkiewicz’ cinematography perfectly parallels the detailed materialism of upper class living. In turn, the limited atmosphere becomes a visual treat. We are stunned by every single part of the mansion, because every nook and cranny is monumentally pristine.

Obviously, every good film must posses characters that connect with us. After all, characters are cinematic engines. They bring stories to life and eventually help films reach their destination. Characters hook audience members, allowing a narrative to achieve a sense of personal intrigue. Thankfully, Ready or Not has a phenomenal cast, brimming with freshness. The screenplay, written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, constructs an array of colorful characters who bring their own forms of energy into the narrative.

In that same respect, villains are typically vital to a film’s success. They set the stakes, and push the heroic figures to the limit. In this specific case, the Le Domas family is unbelievably entertaining. In many ways, they are comedic linchpins filled with slapstick sensibilities. They stumble through the narrative, completely unaware of how to accomplish their goals. Whenever they succeed, the film brings them to their knees. Every instance of success is short-lived, but make no mistake about it: They are formidable villains. The concept of being outnumbered always remains within our minds. At times, we can predict the outcome of suspenseful events. However, these predictive elements aren’t flaws. Every character manages to become a beacon of delight, and in turn, every inch of suspense is magnetically attractive. We are eager to see these characters interact.

It seems we have reached a period of cinema where nostalgia marketing is at an all-time high. A good third of new releases are remakes, sequels, or re-imaginings of pre-existing successful films. It’s no secret that the motivation for reboots is easy money. The concept being if it was a hit once, it will be a hit again. Similarly, film studios have a habit of giving beloved films culturally sensitive ‘updates’ to concepts deemed unfavorable in retrospect. This is often accomplished by the text going out of its way to specifically call attention to the outdated messaging and the corrections being inserted.

So when I witnessed a trailer for a Shaft remake in 2019, I had to wonder, what themes would be considered in need of a 2019 makeover? I admit it could use a rework — the original movie’s plot is pretty flat, and the appeal basically hangs itself entirely around Shaft’s charisma. But to me, Shaft is most notably a time capsule of the Blaxploitation genre, which has a complicated past.

Depending on who you ask, it’s a film movement of either empowerment or demeaning exploitation. But undeniably, blaxploitation was a response to the lack of Black-centered stories in film. Prior to the 1970s, Black characters in film were either squeaky clean and morally perfect Sydney Poitier types, or worse, relegated to side characters who only served to uplift the white protagonist with little characterization of their own. Black directors such as Melvin Van Peebles took it upon themselves to provide an alternative to these sanitized, white-pleasing roles. In comes Marvin Van Peebles’ low-budget film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, a film “dedicated to the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the man.” This also set the standard for most blaxploitation tropes: superstud badass protagonists, excessive violence, explicit sex scenes, inner-city crime — sometimes drug-related, all set to an ever-present funk/soul soundtrack.

But most importantly,Sweetbackis a story of a wise-cracking, ultra-cool Black man from a poor background who fights against police authorities and wins. This sentiment, working in tandem with the rise of the Black Power movement, would become a staple of the genre, and no doubt a part of its appeal to Black audiences — even to those who refuted the more exploitative elements.