All of the highlights from “Ready or Not” reviews from critics

“Ready or Not” hit theaters on Wednesday and critics already have a lot of overwhelmingly positive things to say about it.

The film stars Samara Weaving as a young bride who is forced into a murderous game of hide-and-seek in order to join her husband’s bizarre family.

Rave reviews have already poured in for the horror-comedy, which currently holds an impressive 89% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. In particular, reviewers have noted the film’s propulsive pace, entertaining script, and dark humor as the movie’s strong points.

Here’s what the critics are saying about “Ready or Not.”

Most of the reviewers noted the strength of Samara Weaving’s performance

Fox Searchlight Pictures

“In all, ‘Ready or Not’ is easily one of the best films of the year. Samara’s performance is career defining and if you weren’t familiar with her before you will be now.”

– Shannon McGrew, Nightmarish Conjurings

“[Samara Weaving] is going to jump to the top of every casting director’s wish list after this, and if ‘Ready or Not’ doesn’t make her a star outright, it’s going to land her the role that will.”

– Dirk Libbey, CinemaBlend

“It’s fast and fun, Weaving’s pretty spectacular, and the finale is as cheerfully hokey as one can hope for.”

– Glen Weldon, NPR

“‘Ready or Not’ is held together and elevated by something far less hip and much more traditional than genre play, the aggressive physicality and amusing reactions of lead actress Samara Weaving.”

– Robert Denerstein, Denerstein Unleashed

“With a ‘Ryan Murphy LITE’ approach, this is a solid ‘Haunted Mansion’ movie largely thanks to Samara Weaving’s excellent performance.”

– Grace Randolph, Beyond the Trailer

“‘Ready or Not’ is a devilishly good time. Samara Weaving wades through viscera and gore, emerging a new Queen of Horror.”

– Jonathan Barkan, Dread Central

“Samara Weaving’s breakout performance is just one reason to give this jet black horror comedy a try.”

– Christian Toto, Hollywood in Toto

Plenty of critics appreciated the political and socio-economic commentary in ‘Ready or Not’

“‘Ready or Not’ skewers classicism and the one-percent with deranged humor and a contagious concept. It’s the horror-comedy of 2019.”

– Meagan Navarro, Consequence of Sound

“I left the theater cheering, ‘Eat the rich.’ If you don’t fall into that category, it’s a total romp.”

– Joelle Monique, Polygon.

“Come for the crossbows, etc., and to watch Weaving’s star be born in real time; stay for the socio-economic lessons and sweet, sweet revenge.”

– Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

“‘Ready or Not’ is a skewering — literally — of the greediness of the 1% at the hands of a person that came from nothing — all the while dressed in a dirty and tattered wedding dress and tattered high tops. If that’s not American, then I don’t know what is.”

– Karl Delossantos, Smash Cut Reviews

“A wickedly entertaining mix of human-hunt thrills, bloody splatstick and socially conscious satire.”

– Michael Gingold, Rue Morgue Magazine

More than a few critics said the film was destined for ‘cult status’

Fox Searchlight Pictures

“It’s hard to recommend ‘Ready or Not’ whole-heartedly as some might love the film’s darkly comedic nature more than others … I can totally see how this might be deemed a cult classic over time.”

– Edward Douglas, The Beat

“It’s when the movie revels in this gruesome giddiness, as opposed to commenting directly on privilege, that ‘Ready or Not’ makes a far better investment in becoming a budding cult classic.”

– David Crow, Den of Geek

“If you’re into this sort of thing, the combination of suspense, gore and wicked comedy is riotously entertaining – a recipe destined to make ‘Ready or Not’ a cult classic for years to come.”

– Greg Maki, Star-Democrat

“It’s a delightfully decadent dark carnival that seems primed for cult movie status.”

– Andrew Parker, The Gate

An overwhelming amount of reviewers said they found ‘Ready or Not’ to be genuinely funny.

“A devilishly entertaining film that will have you laughing and gasping with equal measure, ‘Ready or Not’ is wickedly fun and full of surprises.”

– Courtney Small, Cinema Axis

“Viscerally entertaining, with plenty of macabre humor and surprisingly thoughtful moments, ‘Ready Or Not’ is an unpretentious bit of bloody fun.”

– Johnny Gayzmonic, Fanboys of the Universe

“The writing’s clever, the humor’s sharp, and the acting is outstanding all around.”

– Rebecca Murray, Showbiz Junkies

“[The] pain is real, and ‘Ready Or Not’s’ refusal to laugh at that gives the movie an unpredictable edge. Its willingness to laugh at everything else, though? That makes everything so much more interesting.”

– Norman Wilner, NOW Toronto

“‘Ready Or Not’ is the kind of film where you laugh so much that it hurts!”

– Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Films

Many mentioned the film’s unapologetic love for gore as a strong point

Fox Searchlight Pictures

“Bloody, funny, scary, and hysterical, ‘Ready or Not’ goes for the guts, figuratively and literally, unleashing gooey geysers that will leave you screaming with laughter.”

– Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

“‘Ready or Not’ is gloriously, deliciously f—– up.”

– Robert Kojder, Flickering Myth

“‘Ready or Not’ swings from devilishly funny to stomach churning violence in a breathlessly paced runtime.”

– Julian Roman, MovieWeb

“A terrific horror-comedy with buckets of blood. A future cult classic.”

– Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Emporium

Several critics gave ‘Ready or Not’ admirable comparisons to other famous films

“‘Ready or Not’ will likely gain a cult following. It’s like Monty Python meets ‘The Most Dangerous Game.'”

– Paul Chambers, Movie Chambers

“At its best, calls to mind some devilish delights of the 1970s, from the antique-toy-stuffed manor of ‘Sleuth’ to the jet set’s homicidal party games in ‘The Last of Sheila’ to the ever-resilient final girl of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'”

– Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

“It’s the kind of thing we might have gotten if Monty Python had made a gothic-tinged horror movie.”

– James Berardinelli, ReelViews

“[It’s like] ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ with notes of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and the sassy, snarky ‘tude of ‘Heathers.'”

– Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times

Even reviewers who offered criticism for the film still found it generally ‘fun’ and ‘charismatic’

Fox Searchlight Pictures

“The film is charismatic and thrilling enough to bypass its shortcomings.”

– Scout Tafoya, Roger Ebert

“It’s predictable and sometimes a little bit unsteady … but it was fun.”

– Amy Nicholson, Film Week

“It’s gory, it’s gruesome, but there is no denying — it’s entertaining!”

– Jeanne Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan

However, several critics gave it negative reviews, saying that the film lacked direction and originality

“The problem with ‘Ready or Not’ is that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett don’t know what kind of movie they want to make, or what to do with their heroine.”

– G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

“The style of acting would, at a sporting event, merely be called shouting.”

– Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

“This cheeky, brutal horror-thriller ends up closely resembling the rich family at its center: a tad empty and soulless.”

– Tim Grierson, Screen International

“In a year filled with underwhelming horror films, it’s ultimately more of the same, a game where the biggest loser is the audience.”

– Benjamin Lee, Guardian

“‘Ready or Not’ revels in expectations, but rarely exceeds them, treading well through each genre signifier, as suspenseful and funny and violent as any one of us could hope.”

– Dom Sinacola, Paste Magazine