Director: Matt Battinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Preparing to marry into a wealthy family, a bride learns of a tradition on the wedding night where they’re going to play a game with the family, and upon learning they’re to play hide-and-seek realizes there’s a far deadlier secret motivation for the choice of games and tries to survive the family night.
Review:
For the most part, this one was an absolute blast. Among the many positives here is the buy-in of such a ludicrous premise into being a believable part of the family’s history. That the film is concerned early on with the secretive nature of the family tradition of waiting until midnight the day of the wedding to let the newcomer choose a special game of chance that they have to play in order to be accepted gives the film a deep backstory. The history lesson that tells of the history that explains how it all started as well as the continuous notions to stay on tradition hunting everyone with classic weapons and techniques speaks to the family’s status and secret nature rather well.
That leads into the titular game itself, which is an absolute high-energy blast that mixes together the ludicrous premise with fun action. That they’re chasing her around the house as she’s unaware of the true nature of what they’re hunting her for gives the first few scenes a sense of crazy over-the-top work where they go around shooting at each other, wielding crossbows and trying to chop her to pieces provides some crazy visuals. The confrontations become quite fun as there are encounters in the secret catacombs of the house, in various game rooms and meeting parlors or outside on the estate grounds that showcase not only luck on her part to survive but also plenty of drive and determination to do so.
In addition, there’s a wicked sense of humor to come from these encounters and situations that gives the film a sense of fun. The general premise of hunting an oblivious woman in order to prepare her for a Satanic sacrifice allows this one to offer up some fun where they mistake each other for the target and get killed accidentally to where the reactions after-the-fact generate some funny moments. There are also the hysterical smart-aleck comebacks and quips that are featured here which provide this one with several fine chuckles as well, leaving this one to have enough to like here with the mixture of goofy comedy to alleviate the serious nature of the hunting.
That leaves the finale as the main troublesome spot of the film which seems to be simply an individual basis. Due to the family’s desire to capture her alive rather than outright killer her, the finale devolves into a series of scenes knocking her out only to drag her into the altar room for the ritual where she escapes and forcing the chase again. It feels repetitive and completely highlights the ending resolution which is a massive cheat and utter letdown. Taking a realistic but unsatisfactory course of action where she’s completely passive and not responsible is a cop-out of the highest order, despite the wild action featured which might make some forgive this one. However, it’s really the only area where this one approaches a flaw.
Overview: *****/5
As a wild, over-the-top genre effort, this one works nicely in spades with a lot to offer so long as you’re fine with the downbeat turn in the ending. This one is certainly worthwhile for any genre fan or those looking for fun in their genre films, while those who prefer darker and grim material might enjoy it but won’t be as high on it.
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