This post includes a brief plot summary and an explanation about the ending of the film “Ready or Not” (2019). Beware of spoilers.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the horror-comedy stars Samara Weaving as Grace, Adam Brody as Daniel le Domas and Mark O’Brien as Alex le Domas.
“Ready or Not” tells the story of a young woman (Grace) who marries into a wealthy and eccentric family. On her wedding night, she has to participate in a twisted tradition: a game of hide and seek with deadly consequences.
What Is Going On in “Ready or Not”? (Plot Explained)
Grace and Alex Le Domas get married at the Le Domas mansion, where Alex’s family lives. They are part of a board game empire that made a pact with a mysterious figure named Mr. Le Bail centuries ago.
According to the legend, every time someone joins the family, they have to play a random game with him at midnight. If they refuse or cheat, they will die. Alex’s family introduces their tradition to Grace: the newlywed must draw a card from the box and play the game.
At first, Grace thinks it’s just a harmless hide-and-seek game, but she soon realizes that the family is hunting her down with weapons. Le Domas are trying to kill her and offer her as a sacrifice to Mr. Le Bail. They believe that if they fail to do so before dawn, they will all die or lose their good fortune.
After finding out the dark nature of the game, Grace tries to escape and fights back, while Alex helps her secretly. She manages to kill some of the family members, but also gets injured and captured.
Alex’s mother, Becky, tries to persuade him to join the family and save himself, but he refuses. He frees Grace and they head to the ritual room, where the rest of the family is waiting. At the last minute, Alex changes his mind and betrays Grace.
During the ritual, Alex stabs his wife. However, Grace manages to free herself and escape death. Meanwhile, the family realizes that it is past dawn, but nothing happens. This leads them to think that Mr. Le Bail and the curse are not real, and they laugh.
The Ending of “Ready or Not” Explained
The ending of “Ready or Not” shows the family suddenly exploding one by one. While Alex begs for forgiveness, Grace asks for a divorce. After she throws her wedding ring at him, he explodes too. Meanwhile, Mr. Le Bail’s ghost appears in a chair and nods at Grace. The sole survivor walks out of the mansion, covered in blood. As Grace smokes a cigarette, the police arrive.
Apparently, the curse is real, and the family made a deal with a supernatural entity in exchange for wealth and power. The final scene of “Ready or Not” is sort of open for interpretation. Here is a personal reading of the events.
The ending of “Ready or Not” means that Grace was never a real “Le Domas” because she didn’t share their values. Furthermore, Grace realized that Alex was not loyal to her since he chose his family over her. By throwing her wedding ring at Alex, she rejected his family and their lifestyle. In retrospect, that may have saved her from meeting the same fate as the others.
One of the most interesting scenes in “Ready or Not” happens towards the end of the film. The plot twist of “Ready or Not” shows Alex, the groom who seemed to love and be willing to protect the protagonist, actually betraying her and trying to kill her. It seems that Alex succumbed to his dark nature and his family’s macabre traditions.
The shocking revelation also shows that Alex is more ruthless than his older brother, Daniel. At least the latter showed some remorse and more empathy than his younger sibling. It seems that Alex cared more about himself and the curse than his wife’s well-being.
The Symbolism in “Ready or Not”
“Ready or Not” is a film that explores the themes of class, family, and greed through various symbols. For instance, the game and the weapons are tools that Le Domas uses to keep their wealth and power.
Meanwhile, Grace’s wedding dress represents the gradual loss of innocence. Also, the victims and the wedding ring represent the loss of humanity by those who are greedy for power and wealth.
The Game
Whenever someone new joins Le Domas’ family, they have to play a game. The family uses their tradition to determine the “player’s fate”.
The game itself is a metaphor for the family’s twisted sense of morality and the power dynamics between the rich and the poor.
One of the deadliest rituals is the hide-and-seek game, which shows the cruelty and violence that the wealthy elite inflict on the less privileged.
The Weapons
The Le Domas family uses all sorts of weapons to hunt down Grace. The killing tools range from crossbows and axes to pistols.
On one hand, they are a symbol of Le Domas’ outdated and absurd traditions. On the other hand, they also represent the brutality and violence of the family’s rituals.
The Wedding Dress
As the story progresses, Grace’s wedding dress becomes stained with blood, dirt, and holes, which symbolizes Grace’s loss of innocence.
Nonetheless, the alterations that Grace made to her own dress in order to facilitate her movements mark her transformation into a fighter.
In addition, the young woman’s white dress is a contrast to the Le Domas family’s devious and corrupt nature.
The Victims
All the people that the Le Domas family kills are not just random people who die in a twisted game of hide-and-seek.
The victims are proof of the corrupt and greedy elite, who will do anything to preserve their wealth and power.
Some of their despicable actions include: sacrificing innocent lives, betraying their own family members, and even selling their souls to the devil in exchange for a luxurious lifestyle.
The Wedding Ring
After seeing his family members explode right in front of him, Alex begs for Grace’s forgiveness. However, she was too disappointed in him for betraying her the way he did.
As a result, Grace asked for a divorce and threw the wedding ring at Alex. Shortly after, he too explodes. And there is a lot of symbolism behind that scene.
When Grace threw away her wedding ring, she renounced the family and their values, which might be what saved her in the end.
Final Thoughts
On the surface, the film “Ready or Not” is about a bride who has to survive a dangerous game of hide and seek with her new in-laws. However, throughout the film, it becomes clear that there are many layers of significance to the story.
The Le Domas family represents those who are willing to do anything to preserve their status and wealth, even if it means sacrificing innocent people. Their mindset and attitude are the epitome of the moral decay and hypocrisy of the rich and powerful.
In “Read or Not”, the 1% have no qualms about exploiting and oppressing the poor and vulnerable. For instance, the protagonist, Grace, was just looking for a new family. Instead, all she encountered was a bunch of satanists trying to sacrifice her to a supernatural entity (known as Mr. Le Bail).
Nevertheless, not everything is depressing in “Ready or Not”. The protagonist gives the audience a message of hope and empowerment for those who resist and challenge the status quo. By the way, the film “Ready or Not” gives Grace the ending that she deserves: seeing all her perpetrators blown to pieces.
