Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Written by: Guy Busick & R. Christopher Murphy
Produced by: Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak and Bradley J. Fischer
Executive Producers: Chad Villella, Tara Farney, Tracey Nyberg and Daniel Bekerman
Starring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, with Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell.
The family known as Le Domas has been playing Le Bail’s Gambit since Great Grandfather Le Domas made a pact with Le Bail himself.
Marrying Alex (Mark O’Brien) and into the ‘dominion’ that is the Le Domas family (that fittingly made their fortune out of board games), the pact demands that initiate Grace (Samara Weaving) (and any new addition to the family) must play a game at midnight on the night of her wedding.
She loves Alex despite his weirdo, super-rich family.
So playing along with strange traditions to get along? Pft! Sure, why not?!
But when she draws that, ‘Hide and Seek’, card; and that playful, ‘Hide and Seek’ record starts spinning, the weirdo family hunting the new bride through the gothic rooms and corridors of the house, to capture her as a sacrifice, takes issues with the in-laws to a whole new level with each armed and at the, well, ready:
Mother to Alex and kinda sweet, Becky (Andie MacDowell): Bow & Arrow
Rich and crazy dad, Tony (Henry Czerny): Winchester Rifle
Tormented and alcoholic brother, Daniel (Adam Brody): Rifle
Ops, I did it again, sister-in-law, Emilie (Melanie Scrofano): Pistol
How does this work again? Fitch (Kristian Bruun): Crossbow
I was born evil, Charity – there’s the irony (Elyse Levesque): Spear Gun
The adage that people look like their pets but here I look like my weapon, Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni): Battle Axe.
If you’ve read this blog before you’ll know I like a good bloody horror with a dry sense of humour.
I can say there’s certainly some bloody moments here, tending to the visceral.
And the humour, although slightly over-done, had me smirking with a few snorts (not unlike Grace herself who isn’t against a snorting laugh when called for): brother in-law, Fitch Googling, ‘getting to know your crossbow’ before his attempt to murder his new sister in-law. And then there’s death-stare Aunt Helene giving the salutation to niece, Emilie (Melanie Scrofano), ‘You continue to exist’.
Perhaps not a laugh-out-loud tickle (more WTF is going on but I guess I’ll just have to roll with it), there’s a lot of fun here, played with wide-eyed and cool appreciation from Samara Weaving as the fighting-for-her-life and screaming-when-necessary, Grace.
And there’s a decent storyline that edges towards some twists but really more about the beautiful and self-deprecating, Grace. You want her to get out alive, which is the kinda the point of the movie.