Ready or Not (2019)

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Are all their discussions just boyfriends and husbands or do they have individualism? The patriarchy's effin' vast. Start changing it with the Bechdel Cast. Hello, Bechdel Cast listeners. Hello, wee woo, wee woo. We are here. This is Jamie. And Caitlin. Sorry, panicked. You got you. It's okay, it's okay. And we are here unlocking an episode of our Patreon, aka Matrion, and we should say Matrion, formerly known as Patreon, quite frankly, for your listening pleasure this week to observe the release of Ready or Not 2, a movie that neither of us have seen and neither of us can vouch for or argue against. True. But we know that Samara Weaving is in it and I do like the internal logic of you thought she was ready or not. What if two? I like they're like one woman, what about two? And honestly, it's very base logic, but I'm listening. What if two women, many movies are not asking this question. Yeah, Ready or Not 2 Women. Ready or Not, here's two women. I think that's maybe supposed to be the horror element. Ready or Not, two women in the movie. Wow. Yeah, so. Yeah, really impressive. I mean, and honestly, in the wave of feminist backlash we're in right now, some people do need the warning that there's going to be two women. Yeah, hope you're ready for two women. And don't worry, it's two blonde white women. So, yes. But yeah, we're unlocking our episode on Ready or Not 1 to observe Ready or Not 2. A movie, by the way, I will be seeing it. I'm actually pretty excited. Same. I hope it's good. I love Samara Weaving. I feel like she's very underrated. Yeah, she's good. I hope the movie's fun. Or if I'm correct, Samara Waving? She's Australian, right? She is Australian, yes, famously. That was definitely respectful when I just did. Samara Weaving? She would love that I did that. Maga Robbie? She would love it. Tony Collette? All kinds of women are from there. Jacob Aloree? Jacob Aloree. He's for the girls, I think. I don't know. Well, I just said that. I have no idea. He's worked with a woman that we know. He's met a woman. He sure has. He's met at least one woman. And that makes him a feminist. Anyway, yes, we are releasing. This is the best deal cast, by the way. I hope this is your first episode. I think we say this at the beginning of every episode at this point. Hope this isn't your first episode. Statistically, it might be. It very well may be. Listen, this is the Bechtel cast. Nope. Cast. Nope. This is the Bechtel cast. If this is your first episode, welcome, Samara Waving. And this is our podcast where we take a look at your favorite movies using an intersectional feminist lens, using the Bechtel test as a jumping off point for discussion. And we do not define the parameters of the Bechtel test in our matriarch episodes. So, Caitlin, what the hell is it? It is a media metric created by friend of the pod, Alison Bechtel, first appearing in her comic collection, Dikes to Watch Out for, in the 80s. And its origins were more focused on, hey, are there any queer women in this movie that I'm watching? And if there are queer women, are they actual characters? Mm-hmm. In any case, the test has become more kind of mainstreamified into a media metric that has many versions. The one that we use is, do two characters of a marginalized gender have names? Do they speak to each other? And is that conversation about something other than a man? And ideally, it's narratively meaningful and not just nothing dialogue. Right, which is why we modified our version of the test. And again, that's not a criticism of our dear friend, Alison Bechtel, she wrote it as a joke. But for our purposes, that's to avoid, I think, people who are defensive of their favorite movies and wanted to pass the Bechtel test. And they're like, well, there was a waitress, and Meryl Streep said, I'll have the chicken or whatever. So that is... I would watch that movie. Honestly, and then if they make out, it does pass the Bechtel test. It really, really passes the Bechtel test, yeah. I hope that happens in the Devil Wears Prada 2. What if that happens? Devil Wears Prada 2, here I come. What if the subtitle to every sequel was, here I come? If I think if the Devil Wears Prada 2 is bad, there's going to be some sort of revolt. I mean, there should be, there's so many reasons for there to be a revolt. But I do think that if the Devil Wears Prada 2 is bad, people are going to be marching outside Stanley Tucci's house. Like, I just, you know, not that he should be held accountable for it, but he will be. And, you know, I just, I really hope it's good. Anyways, yeah. So we are today unlocking an episode from our matriarch from only two years ago. We don't do this very frequently because the matriarch is a sacred space. Yes. So if you're not a subscriber, but a listener of the show, or you're just getting into the show and you want more episodes, our matriarch is a slightly looser version of our main feed episodes. We don't generally have guests on there. It's Caitlin and I either choosing or very often having our subscribers choose a specific theme. And by a specific, you have no idea how specific it can get. This was a theme from 2024 called Wedding Webuary in which our matriarch subscribers voted. They wanted to hear us talk about Ready or Not and of course, Madam Webb, which we... No, no, no, no, sorry. Madam Webb was just coming out around the same time. So we did cover it later on, but Wedding Webuary was Ready or Not and I think 27 dresses. Oh my gosh. What theme did Madam Webb fall under? That was action movies directed by women, which does not have a catchy title. Webuary. Okay, egg on my fucking face. We're thinking we put... That's how nonsensical the themes are. Madam Webb was not featured in Wedding Webuary. Explain it. Yeah. But this is an episode from there. If you enjoy it, if you enjoy the slightly looser structure, head over to the matriarch. It's $5 a month and it gets you access to not just participate in our wonderful community over there that we've cultivated over the years. It also gets you access to over 200 bonus episodes, including the Madam Webb episode. So I know, we had to pay all the Madam Webb episode. We've got to pay our bills. So true, yes. So it's the best way to support the show. So we'd love to have you over there. But in the meantime, you can enjoy this Unlocked episode on Ready or Not One. Oh, there's only one woman in this one. Yeah. The world wasn't ready. The world was not ready. It was 2019, so we only could have one woman at that time. But yes, in the meantime, enjoy this Unlocked episode. The Bec Del Cast. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Records scratch. Huh? Wait a second. Something's not quite right at this wedding. At this wedding. It's Satan. Satan's at the wedding. Whoops, Satan should attend more weddings. Honestly, I prefer Satan showing up to a wedding than, you know, God. God, if you believe in that. If you believe in either of those things, given the binary, like, yeah, let's go to Satan's wedding. You've heard of holy matrimony? Well, what about unholy matrimony? And that's when the devil is there. And that's when the devil is there in his little chair. Oh my God, I love at the end of this movie when the devil shows up in his little chair. He's like, hey. He is like, good job, girly. This is such a like, this I have, okay, we're covering Ready or Not. It's wedding web, you are. Yes, yes. I know this. I am adding this to the pantheon of a genre I like to call Good for Her Cinema. Yes. We've seen Good for Her Cinema many times over the years. I'm generally a fan of it. Sometimes it is like, what does this man think women are like? This isn't necessarily one of those movies. But sometimes you're just like, interesting, you know, gymnastics routine going on in this writer's mind. Not this one though. I don't know, Good for Her Cinema. I mean, and then there's also like, see, there's... Well, what would you put on the letterbox list of? Oh boy. Good for Her Cinema. I need your help because I think that the thing that for sure, it is in Good for Her Cinema. If at the end of the movie, it's most often written by men, I would say. And at the end of the movie, a conventionally beautiful protagonist smokes a cigarette that has survived the ordeal along with her to sort of be like, wow, what a day. I'm talking the end of Heathers, I believe, has a Good for Her cigarette. This movie has a Good for Her cigarette. The menu from last year, as I recall, has a Good for Her cigarette and cheeseburger, which is another not like other girls, skinny girl eating cheeseburger. Come on. This is just, I'm trying to think of other times that a woman smoked a cigarette at the end of the movie because she's one. Poor things. I don't think Emma Stone smokes a cigarette at the end of that movie, but like spiritually that's what's going on. Right, I mean, the cigarette might just be an extra little flourish because I would put knives out on that list. Yes, the coffee is the cigarette. The coffee is the cigarette, yeah. I was thinking that as well. This movie, I mean, and it came out the same year as Knives Out, which is interesting. Anyways, yes, I would add this to the pantheon of Good for Her cinema. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't because sometimes you're just like, huh, but ready or not, whether you like it or not, is certainly, you know, Good for Her cinema, big time. And it's also a very recent strain of, I think a recent early and dare I say good strain of rich people bad cinema, which we've been seeing a whole lot of in the last half decade. Again, some of it is good. Some of it is clearly written by rich people and you're like, what is the point of this? What is this? But again, I think this movie kind of stands out. I don't know. Caitlin. Yeah. Hi, sorry for just babbling. I just have been thinking about the Good for Her genre. No, no. I wonder if there is a letterbox list with that already. If not, let's throw it on ours. And then also you can follow us on letterboxed at Bechtelcast, Matrons. You know what else falls into Good for, you're right. The cigarette isn't a must, but there has to be like some sort of item. A little prop. Yes. Fried green tomatoes. The ending is a Good for Her. It's cannibalism, Good for Her. Oh yeah. They cook and serve the bad guy, Good for Her. Jennifer's body, I think, would fall into. I'm also forgetting how a lot of these movies end. The Vividge. Good for her. I mean, she's floating up in the sky. The Good for Her hover. This is a genre. It is a genre. Unlike every genre, there's good, there's bads. Anyway, let's talk about Ready or Not. Shall we? Yes. What's your... Oh, please, after you, after you, after you. I saw this movie in Theatres. Brave. It's so brave of me to do. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I love a movie that takes place in a big creepy house. That's where a lot of who done it's take place. That's where a lot of spooky movies take place. I just love the production design of like, a big creepy house and all of the, you know, like board game boxes that you see and stuff like that. So I really liked the production design. I like the story and I like any movie where rich people get fucked over. So I was a fan. I didn't see this in, I have, it's weird. I saw this movie, I remember really clearly watching this movie. I wonder if you have an experience like this for a different movie. I watched this movie in the first two weeks of lockdown where it was still like, this is wild. What's going on? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And so all I had to say, I remember watching it. I remember liking it. And then I memory hold the entire thing along with, you know, I think with many, like with several months of my life, you know, so I, I watched it. I liked it. I got kind of burned out on this genre. And I feel like it kind of got a little far away from itself in some situation. I felt that way about the menu if I'm being honest, where it's like, I love an ensemble movie where we're taking out the rich people and there's distinct characters, they're broad stereotypes and we're just knocking them out. And this year is a great year for kill the rich cinema because we also have Knives Out comes out this year, this comes out and it kept going for a couple of years after that because like last year it was like the menu and triangle of sadness. I mean, there was like a lot of movies of this ilk that have come out in the last five years, but this is one of my faves. I really, because I feel like this movie is, I don't know, with anti-capitalist movies, I feel like it's like, either you have to really go for saying something or it's fun. Because whenever it lands in the middle, it feels like, I don't know, a little dissonant or like not committing to one or the other, this movie is committing to fun. And like the characters are incredibly broad, the way that they got their money is incredibly silly. And I just like, I, because I really couldn't remember how the movie ended, spoiler alert for those who haven't watched, but I was like, I feel like the curse is real. I would be so happy if the curse is actually real. And the curse is actually real and everyone explodes and it just like, it's silly. It's like, it's clear that like, it's a kill the rich movie, but it's not getting into theory. It's just like, here are these rich people and at the end they're all gonna explode into a cloud of blood. And that is like such a good movie for me. That movie's always gonna hit for me. It's very cathartic. It's so fun. I honestly, I was like, I don't know, I have to rewatch Nimes Out because I really, really loved that movie when it came up. But I'm like, but did any, did a single person explode into a cloud of blood? Not one. Not if I recall. Not at all. All right, so should I get into the recap? Yeah, let's talk about it. All right, we open on a flashback. We're in a big mansion on a dark and stormy night. And a family is playing hide and seek, it seems. We see two little boys running around. One is named Daniel and then his younger brother, who I don't think we learned his name. Not yet. They're running around and Daniel finds the man who's being sought in this game of hide and seek, or rather the man who's being hunted because this isn't just any game of hide and seek. It's a scary game. Wee, it's, yeah, fun, fun, fun, fun. Yeah, it's, well, it's baby Alex that he's shoving into the cupboard. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we'll figure that out eventually. But Daniel gives up the man's location and the family comes in, they shoot him with a crossbow and then drag him away as the man's wife, still wearing her wedding dress, watches in horror. They must have friends in the CIA or something. Like, how are these, I mean, I know that probably the internal logic of the movie is like, they're rich, rich people can get away with anything. They're like, I don't know, folks, rich, holistic murder. And then we find out that they kind of live on a residential street. Fun. Sure, I mean, it seems like the grounds of the, yeah, but the grounds of the estate seem really big and she had to run very far to get to the street. I don't know. I truly think, and hopefully the listeners will not hold this against me. My favorite, the biggest like jump scare for this movie is when Samara weaving punches a child in the face. Oh my God. I like, and not to, but like, I mean, she kind of did what she had to do. That kid was about to kill her. But I just was like, not expecting a child to get punched in the face. Anyways, let's continue. Yes. So we cut to 30 years later. It's the wedding day of... Spring is here and it's time to get out in the garden. British garden centers have all you need to make your garden bloom. Whether you're new to growing or already know your way around the garden, we've got the plants, tools and expert advice to help transform your outdoor space. And when your shopping is done, relax and refuel in our restaurants. Find your nearest center at britishgardencenters.com. For every gardener, for every garden, for everyone, make it bloom with British garden centers. Grace, played by Samara weaving, aka Hugo weaving's niece. AKA. Okay, nepotism. And I love spar weaving, but AKA, Bargarabi was not available. Let's be serious. So it's her wedding and she's getting married to her fiance. My fiance, some guy. A guy named Alex, played by Marco Bryan. We meet Alex's brother, Daniel, played by Adam Brody. And we're like, hey, isn't Daniel the name of the kid from the beginning? Hold on. Hang on. Ready or not, here he is. This is like one of the, I think, well, he's less villainous in this, but he's in the villain family. He really has a robust career of playing tremendous assholes, which is wild. Cause I fell in love with him on Gilmore Girls, where he was like, nice guitar boyfriend. I did not watch the OC, but I think he's kind of heartthrobbing in that show. And then he just like, once Jennifer's body hit, he's like, I'm actually a little stinker. And we've seen him in roles. Like, I mean, I literally, I saw American fiction last night and he, I mean, he's a bad guy in that movie. He's a bad-ish guy in this movie. He's a terrible guy and promising young woman. He's an even worse guy in Jennifer's body. He's just a bad guy. If he's in the movie, look out. He and Justin Long have made careers of a movie and especially a horror movie needs a sleazy, douchey, white guy with brown hair. They call Adam Brody or they call Justin Long. I hope they text about it. I hope they're just like, are you free? Do you want this one? Hope Adam Brody was like, it's all good. I don't need to do barbarian, but. Yeah, you take it. Oh, anyway, also someday we should watch the movie Tusk together because that's my favorite. Oh, I've seen Tusk. Okay, good. Oh, I've seen Tusk, yeah. Oh. What an all-timer. I mean, what isn't happening in Tusk? You know? Nothing. Shortlist. Because everything is happening. Everything is happening in Tusk. In any case, Alex and Daniel, their brothers, they come from this Uber-rich La Domasse family who made their fortune in games. They're gamers. They're gamers boys. I loved just like freezing, or pausing as we call it in the industry. The movie to see what the games they played and like my favorite was the board game Family Ritual. That was fun. I'd play it. This movie is silly. It's so silly. I love it. Yes, okay. So we meet the rest of Alex's family. His father played by Henry's, I don't know how to say this name. Shurny. Could be. I had watched him the night before in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning. Part one. Yeah. Thank God. Just checking. He plays Tony Le Doma. Yes, so he's Mr. Daddy. Mrs. Mommy is Andy McDowell. Fun. Love her. And then we meet Alex's sister-in-law, AKA Daniel's wife, Charity. And she's a, her hair is dark. And so you know she's gonna be up to no good in the world of this movie. I kept looking at her and being like, is that Olivia Wilde? But it's not. Yes, she is Olivia Wilde's co-dead. Right. The actor's name is Elise Lavec. I believe she is like sci-fi famous. But I wasn't super familiar with her. Got it. So we meet those members of the family as well as Alex's Aunt Helene, who looks very sinister. She's also the baldest woman in charge because she's got a short haircut. She is the baldest woman in charge. And the baldest woman in charge is the first to explode into a cloud of blood. Yes. And she can't catch a break. And she's also, we learn, the bride at the beginning of the movie. Yeah, that's, I think supposed to be like a twist or a big reveal, but I was like, which is kind of like, well yeah, duh. Yeah, like we, there's only so many characters. Right. Anyways. Yes. So we meet them. And then there's also a handful of housekeepers and a butler who we see. The butler is, I sound like a pill. But the butler is butlering. His name is Stevens. He's more than one Steven. He, like, they're not, I like, like, I don't know. It's so fun to just be like, and here's the trope. And here's the trope. And he's a butler. And his name is Stevens. There's no twist involving Stevens. He just is being a butler. He has undying loyalty to the rich family that he serves, which is a thing that we see in movies all the time that I don't fully get. But yeah, he's there and he is several Stevens. He's more, he's, you're getting more, you're getting double trouble when you hire Stevens. Although I think that sometimes the, I think the more common butler trope, right, is that like he's doing something behind the scenes. And it's kind of this class success where the butler did it. The butler killed someone. Not Stevens though. Stevens is just, you know, enthusiastically showing up at work. Yes. Yeah. So they have the wedding and then that night, Grace and Alex are summoned by the family to join them for a family tradition, where anytime someone joins the family by marriage, everyone gets together and they're basically like, let's play a game, hashtag jigsaw vibes. I was like, the whole, it's so jigsaw coded. Yes. This whole situation. Like, and with all due respect to the movie and the characters, like we have seven people in a room and they've got like 15% of the raw charisma that the puppet jigsaw has. Like, sorry to this family, but they're like, you cannot be more menacing than puppet on bike. Like, I wish. Come on. I wish at the end when you get like, there's like a burst of flame and you see like a flash of Mr. Labelle, that should have been jigsaw sitting in the chair or sitting on his tricycle. If they would, I feel like James Wan would have been amenable. He'd be like, yeah, whatever, you sure? He seems like a really nice guy. And he's, isn't James Wan Australian? I think so. And so is Samara. I guess I'm like, their directors are American. I don't know where I was going with that. But he is in fact Australian and it's important to talk about that. Anyways, jigsaw is, you know, the, I kept calling them like the low PPs cause I kept forgetting their last name, but like the PPP family isn't on jigsaw's level, but they have, they've clearly seen Saw. And they're like, how can we do that? Yeah. How could we get her to understand what she's probably seen? Saw one. Seen Saw. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, Saw. Anyways, sorry, back to this movie. Right. So the rest of the family gathers, including some people we haven't met yet, that's Alex's sister, Emily and her husband, Fitch. They also have a couple of young kids. And everyone sits down to play the game. And the vibe is ominous. And then Alex's father launches into a story about how the let's play a game tradition started, where his great grandfather, Victor Ladomas, met a man named Mr. Label, who had this like puzzle box thing. He's literally, he's like jigsaw. Yeah, exactly. I also just like, first of all, don't approach a man with a puzzle box because he could be the devil. Tom Hanks and the Da Vinci Code. That too. That too. Okay. Anyways, the Da Vinci Code was Apple. The Da Vinci Code was Apple. Also, okay, just because I already mentioned it, but the night before I rewatched Ready or Not to prep for this episode, I rewatched Dead Reckoning, Mission Impossible. Oh, yes. And I thought you were saying, you rewatched the Da Vinci Code. I was like, are you okay? Should we talk or are you sick? What if you found out that I just watch it for fun sometimes? Hey, can't hang out tonight watching Angels and Demons. What are we gonna cover Angels and Demons though? All right. And so toward the beginning of Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning, there's this part where Simon Pegg, basically he's like dismantling a bomb, but on the inside of the bomb, it's like that cryptic thing where you have to like scroll all the things. It's the Da Vinci Code. It's the Apple thing. Yeah. Was it Apple? It wasn't Apple, but it should have been. Yeah, exactly. Never, ah man, I just love that there was a time that a scary book gripped the nation, but the Da Vinci Code was the Apple. I, you know, long live the lowest common denominator, rocks. It's awesome. Awesome. Anyway, so there are no jigsaw, but they're doing their best. They're trying to evoke jigsaw. Yeah. So there's this puzzle box thing. And if Victor La Dumas can solve the box, Mr. Label will give him money to fund any venture and Victor solves the puzzle box, which is how he was able to launch his card game business, which turned into a board game business. Now the family owns sports teams. I guess you can become billionaires with a gaming company. Sure. I don't know. I mean, I think I'm thinking of it more of like toy novelty stuff you definitely can. Yeah. I mean, look at Mr. Beatty Babies. He owns the Four Seasons. Whoa. And he almost went to jail. I mean, wow. I know. And someone wrote a spec script about the Beanie Babies guy in quarantine. And it was you? And it was me. And, and Caitlin, there is a whole ass movie that they made that I still haven't watched because I resent it because Al Gore's daughter wrote and directed it. And I'm just like, I resent this nepotism at like a cellular level. Sure. Why does Al Gore's daughter get to make the Beanie Babies movie? I know. I'm sorry. Mine was called Mr. Baby and it was good. The one understands me. Anyway, that's okay. No. All right. Okay. So we get this explanation of why they play this game. And so they honor this whatever Mr. Label slash great grandfather agreement by playing a game. Yeah. He's jigsaw. He's jigsaw. As per tradition, whenever a new person joins the family, a blank card is inserted into the puzzle box and then it randomly selects and prints the name of that game onto the blank card. So it could be chess, checkers, old maid or hide and seek, which is the game that gets printed on Grace's card. And when they see that, everyone has a very like, oh, shit, reaction. And Grace is like, Teehee, what's going on? She is like, Grace is, let me know if this resonated for you. She feels like a Joss Whedon character to me. Where like it's very quippy. She's like, guys, what the hell's going on here? Like, I don't know. It just felt very, and I don't even mean, I mean, obviously we've covered the Joss Whedon issue. That's not even what I'm suggesting. I just, it just felt like she's Joss Whedon coded down to like the con verses and the like saying, fuckity fuck fuck dickball, blub blub, blub blub. It just felt very Joss Whedon coded. Yeah, I see that. But I think that that's just like part of a larger like, men who want to write women in a way where they're like, bad asses, but they don't actually really know how to write women. So we just keep getting this version of women over and over. Yes, and there's a few versions or instances where it really stuck out to me where it was like, I don't know, the movie came out in 2019, but you're like, this feels dated. Like at one point this is just yells cock, where's my gun? I'm like, who says that? Who says, what are you talking about? Anyways, it's not even a criticism. I'm just like, women aren't yelling cock. Like they're just not doing that. Speak for yourself? I just, I've never heard that as an exclamatory. It was very jarring. Yeah, you'd say like fuck or shit. Right, which plenty of characters do, but she, and it sounds like, I don't know, I had this whole fantasy where like the actress was like, can I say anything else? And they're like, no, no, no, this makes sense. Please say the word as scripted. Cock, where's my gun? Like, all right, whatever. Sure. Okay, so the point is Grace's card gets hide and seek printed on it. And we're like, wait a minute, wasn't hide and seek the game that they were playing at the beginning where that guy was violently dragged away? And it was all very scary. So Grace has till the count of 100 slash the length of a creepy hide and seek song to hide somewhere in the house and then the family will try to find her. And that's all that's explained to her. So she goes and she hides in a dumbwaiter for a little while. She's quipping in there. She's like, what did I do on my random wedding night? I guess I'm just in a dumbwaiter. Joss Whedon coded. Anyways. Here's my question though. Does it pass the Bechtel test when she talks to herself on multiple occasions throughout the movie? No. But she's kind of responding. She's asking herself questions. She is. And then she's responding. We can't say that Grace is not a very active character. I certainly wouldn't suggest it. I don't know. I mean, I think it passes it at a few other points anyways, but like, I don't know. I just kept thinking. I just kept writing down Joss Whedon woman quipping to herself alone in a room. Like it evokes an early 2010s energy. Yeah, I'm like, why did she keep talking to herself? Maybe people do that, IDK. Well, when you find out that one of the directors is the co-founder of like a ska band, you're like, more of these choices are kind of making sense to me. In a way that is harmless, like no shade to, I actually am a fan of a local ska thing. Yeah, I remember when you were like, I'm gonna buy a trombone and get into ska. Yeah, like, you know, I'm like down to skank at the ska show. But when you're like, yes, I believe that this movie was co-directed by a ska guy. Does that make sense? Yeah, I see it. I feel like there, I mean, no one is skanking, but like the energy is that. Yeah, a bit. Anyway. All right. Okay, so she's hiding. Meanwhile, each member of the family grabs an old-timey weapon because they play the game exactly how it would have been played in great grandfather's time. The only person who doesn't grab a weapon is Alex because he's upset and he doesn't want anything to happen to his wife. I think it's so interesting, or I guess one of the less effective things for this movie for me was like, how long the movie is using production elements to try to get you to like sort of stay on Alex's side, where it's so obvious that he's like, I mean, he's bad. And I feel like she is like kind of responding to him in that way, but sometimes the music will come in where he's like, babe, you don't understand how to be like this. And then there's like, do, do, do, do, do. And you're just like, you think I'm gonna fall for this? Yeah. I don't know. No, I know. Okay, so Alex is upset about this whole thing and he sneaks off to find Grace and tell her exactly what's going on. But before he can get the words out, Grace sees firsthand what this is all about because Emily, Alex's sister, who is like super coked out on drugs. Yeah, she's like drinks a pint of cocaine somehow. Yes. So she accidentally shoots one of the housekeepers thinking she's Grace. And other family members come in and they say something about a ritual, but it won't count because the person who dies has to be the bride. And then they take the housekeeper's body away. And Grace has overheard all of this. So she's like, oh my God, what the fuck is happening? And Alex explains that hide and seek is the one bad card and that the family has to play the game. And they think that if they don't kill Grace by sunrise, that they will all die because of some curse or something. I've gotta say, I like Jigsaw's reasoning for doing it better. Jigsaw's not responding to an ancient curse. He's like, I heard that you were late feeding your dog dinner. Now you're gonna eat 5,000 pounds of dog food in the next two minutes or I'll draw and quarter you. I just love how petty he is. Anyway, I think I just wanna watch Saw again. I'm like, Jigsaw, this is literally none of your business. It's so wild that you're inserting yourself. He really does not have, I would say, a strong motivation a lot of the time. This family is, you know, you can't empathize with their motivation, but they are motivated. Jigsaw's just sort of like, I just felt like it. Which is like, I mean, he is pretty strongly motivated by feeling like it. Like you can't say that he's phoning it in at any point. He's like, you know, renting warehouses and so forth. He's putting in the work. I love him. God, what an angel, I love him. He did what he had to do. Okay, sorry. So Grace learns all of this stuff and she's furious that Alex knew this was a possibility and he didn't warn her and he's like, yeah, oops. But let's get you out of here. So he tells her to go to the kitchen while he goes to the security room to unlock all the doors so she can escape through this like surface kitchen exit. And so she sets off toward the kitchen. She rips off part of her wedding dress and we're like, wow, girl power. And she's like making her way to where she needs to go. She has some close encounters with the family along the way, including with Alex's brother, Daniel, who doesn't seem interested in killing her and he gives her a chance to get away. Yeah, he's Adam Brody-ing. Yeah. Like he is like, and Adam Brody as himself where he's just like got a glass of scotch and he's like vaguely nihilistic and like someone needs to towel him off. Yeah. But he's hot. Yeah. What is that? I don't know. Why can men be a hot when it seems like they need to be toweled off? I mean, I don't know. I'm not sure. It's just me. Maybe it's just me. I do. I like Adam Brody. I hope he's not a bad person. Me too. IRL, cause I enjoy him on screen. Meanwhile, Emily accidentally kills another housekeeper and the family is freaking out because they haven't found Grace yet. And they're like, how is she outsmarting us in our own house? Meanwhile, Grace manages to get her hands on a gun, an ammo, and then she finally reaches the kitchen. But Steven's the butler is there. So she has a scuffle with him. The ammo turns out to be display only so she can't shoot him, but she smashes a bottle of boiling water into his face and then runs away. In the security room, Alex manages to get the doors unlocked, but then his father comes in and knocks Alex out and then handcuffs him to a bed post. Whoops. This is also where we get the reveal that Aunt Helene is the young woman from the beginning whose husband got killed in that game of hide and seek. And we're like, yeah, I was born yesterday. Yeah, we're like. They do it. Oh, is the boy in the cabinet the husband? But her husband being killed as a part of the family tradition seems to have radicalized her in the direction of, yes, this family tradition is very important and it's actually good actually. So she's like really into it. Yeah. Sure, it makes sense. Anyway, so Grace finds her way outside, but someone is out there with a flashlight looking for her. So she hides in this stable where all of the goats live and I'm like, okay, Black Phillip. Yes. Are you there? Good for her cinema, also a through line of goats. Satanic goats. I mean, Satan is in the Vavitch, Satan is in Ready or Not, there's goats. Why is no one talking about this? I know. Oh, oh, sorry. End of midsummer, another good for her shot. Yeah. The smile. Yes. They'll keep coming, they'll keep coming. Her cigarette is her big flower crown slash. She's surrounded by the cigarette. Okay, so she's with the goats and then the person finds her and it turns out to be one of the little kids, his name's Georgie and he shoots Grace in the hand with the gun that he found that his coked out mother dropped. So he's a bad boy. Yeah. And Grace falls into this pit of dead bodies from previous sacrifices. So she manages to crawl her way out of the pit and she's running and she reaches this iron fence that she squeezes through. But Stevens the Butler catches up with her in a car. They scuffle again, but Grace like manages to get in the car and she drives off. And the car has one of those buttons where you can like push it and it dials 911. So she hits the button and talks to the operator and he's like, oh, actually this car was reported stolen so I have to shut it down. So the car stops, she gets stuck again, she can't go anywhere. And then the Butler appears and shoots her with a tranquilizer gun. She wakes up while he's driving back to the house and she kicks Stevens in the head and he wrecks the car. She tries to escape again, but then Daniel is right there. He knocks her out and then Grace is brought to the house and the family prepares her for a ritual where they will offer Grace up as a human sacrifice. And they're drinking from a goblet which turns out Daniel has poisoned because he has a change of heart and he wants to try to help Grace. Yay, Adam Brody, fun. I mean, I wish he had turned a little sooner, but yeah. That would have been helpful, but yeah, the family is like puking up blood and it gives her a chance to run away. But then Daniel's wife, Charity, is like, stop right there and she shoots and kills her husband. Which is, I mean, he was bad to her. But for sure. I was mixed on that whereas like, well, I guess we as the audience are like, Daniel's the best person in the family that we know. But also it sounded like he was very absent and very dismissive and like didn't like her very much. True. And like, I've also, it's like, did they just like play Jenga on their wedding night? Like she just drew a good card and they're like, we're playing Go Fish. Good night. Yeah, it seems to be the case. Cause there's a scene early on when the other like people who've married into the family were like, I played Old Maid. Yeah. I liked, I liked, who's like the Fitch. Fitch, I mean, he is very much the comic relief character, but I liked a lot of those jokes when he was replying. I remember this from the trailer when he was like, nah, family shit. When people were like, what are you up to tonight? Oh yeah. It's good. He's YouTubing how to use a crossbow, et cetera. Pro Fitch. I liked the Fitch jokes for the most part. Yeah. So Daniel has helped Grace escape and, but like everyone's coming after them. Meanwhile, Alex has used the chain of his handcuffs to saw through the bed post. I don't understand the physics of that, but it works. I was just like, the power of Satan compelled him. Whatever. I didn't know. Point is he's free now. We cut back to Grace, the rest of the family's trying to stop her. She's fighting them off. And then she kills Alex's mom. And right then Alex comes in and he doesn't like that his wife killed his mom. So he has a change of heart in the other direction. His mommy. He has a change of heart in the other direction. And Alex wants Grace to be sacrificed. And so the family grabs hold of her again. They pin her down. They're about to do the ritual. They're all like, Hail Satan. Because turns out Mr. Label is the devil. But Grace gets free just as the sun rises. And so they're like, Oh my God, we're gonna die. But it seems like nothing is going to happen at first. And then they all explode into blood because, they didn't fulfill their end of the bargain and kill her before sunrise. That is so satisfying. It was truly excellent to just watch Aunt Helena be like, All right, I'll do it. And they're like, It's great. And I like that. I mean, just the little, I mean, they're not little. They're really broad jokes. But where the filmmakers decided, we're not gonna make you watch three kids explode. But then they leave the room and then you just hear like, pop, pop, pop. And you're like, whoop. It is very funny. This movie is silly, Billy. It is. Yeah, it's true. Okay, so all the family explodes. Grace steps out into the daylight. She's finally safe. The house is burning down behind her as emergency responders show up. And then the movie ends with one of them being like, what happened to you? And she's like, in laws. The end. And then we're like, okay, good for her cinema. Okay, where shall we start? Let's start with, I mean, well, I guess just a quick rundown of who made this movie. I guess, yeah, you're already kind of blew the scoffing. Sorry. This movie is written and directed by men, which while I really like this movie feels was deeply unsurprising. So we have a directing pair, Matt Bettennelly-Olepen, that's Mr. Scaw. And then Tyler Gillette, as far as I can tell, he was able to avoid Scaw. But they are most, I think they first popped off for the movie VHS, which I saw in college. Or they directed a segment of the movie VHS. And they are now most famous for the new Scream movies. They directed Scream 5 and Scream 6 and didn't support Melissa Barrera. And that's interesting, isn't it? But those are the directors. So we have a pair of horror guys, essentially. And I think that honestly, I wouldn't be, I'm guessing that they got Scream off of this movie, which makes a lot of sense to me. And it was written by a writer named R. Christopher Murphy, who I wasn't able to find anything out about. Guy Busek also just kind of works with these guys and worked on a comedy horror series right before this movie came out called Stand Against Evil that I watched. It was a fun show and also very, I love Janet Barney, anyways. So that's the team we're working with here, very horror comedy, literate team, but a very male team. And we are centering a woman and that's gonna go a whole lot of ways, historically. And here, let's talk about Grace. Yes, so something that I've talked about at length on the show is the way that women tend to be written in horror thriller movies, especially ones written by men, tend to manifest in a few different ways. Most of them- Hit me, hit me, hit me. Rub me the wrong way. One that we talked about a lot, for example, on the iconic human centipede episode. As well as others. Who could forget our very first hilarious prank. Yeah, so that one is one where women are written in such a way where they seem generally unaware of the danger around them, they're overly trusting, they're not cautious, even though they've been given many, many reasons that they should be cautious of what's going on. And it just tends to ignore the fact that the world is a dangerous place for femme presenting people. And many of us are living constantly on edge, especially if we're going into a stranger's house, who is gonna sew you into a human centipede. So a lot of those female characters written by men ignore the level of like caution. Hyper, yeah, hyper-awareness. That's one thing. And or they're written to be just like unreasonable, they'll just make unreasonable choices that sort of go against any survival instincts or just anything like that. Just like making choices that don't make sense. Or like observe, I can't think of like a strong example of this, but sometimes it feels like there's, because I don't even think that it like, comes from a misogynist place, but it does come from like, okay, so you have observed women navigating the world and you've just like misunderstood why they're doing what they're doing and you're like prescribing it in this way that it's just not how it goes. Right, so my point here being that I feel like for the most part, Grace is not written that way in this movie. I agree. You know, she has no reason to be that suspicious, aside from just like being among rich people, which would probably put a lot of people on edge, but at first she's given no specific reason that she thinks she will be in danger. And I like that they plant like that this is kind of a whirlwind romance. She doesn't really know the fan, but like it felt like everything was kind of planted. The only thing that truly, I mean, maybe this is just like some old money shit that I didn't have, I was like, why are they, like they're supposed to be having sex on their wedding night. Yeah, and they try to, but then- I know, but I wouldn't want my like mom quite so nearby, you know? Right. Anyways, whatever, maybe rich people watch their kids consulate their marriage. I don't know. Who can say? I wouldn't know a thing. I wouldn't know, but the point is that as soon as danger rears its ugly head, Grace is hyper aware of it. She responds reasonably, and for the rest of the movie, she is making choices that track with what's going on. There are a few examples where I'm like, okay, why didn't you pick up the gun that got dropped right beside you? Why didn't you? Run over Stevens the Butler. You didn't kill him, he's trying to kill you. The whole family is trying to kill you. Make sure he's dead before you run away. Right. Things like that that I was like, okay, I wish. Totally, but- But then also I was like, well, this is her first go, I kept being like, well, it is her first go round being hunted. True, fair. As far as we know, because we, I mean, I think that it is interesting, and usually I'm more sensitive to this, we know basically nothing about her. Other than she was raised without a lot of money, she was raised by a foster family that she loved, but I feel like it is like the undertone of that suggests in a way that I don't think is fair, and the foster, like the issue of foster families is so rarely discussed at all in movies, but it feels like, oh, maybe she is excited to be brought into this family, and then quickly is like, oh, they fucking suck. Nevermind. Yeah, exactly. Like I like that we get those details about her, and it's not like we know too much more about the rest of the family other than like, Jigsaw is gonna kill them. Like, you know, and the incident that we see at the beginning, but we don't know really extreme amounts about any character, which in an ensemble like horror comedy, I'm fine with. The thing that I was most like, eager to see play out that I was like, ooh, how are they, how are they gonna stick the landing on this? But I think that I've only seen Scream 5, Five Cream as it was stylized, but I feel like, I mean, that's like literally this exact same team, and I felt like that was done pretty well too, where I understand why Grace wants to give Alex a chance to help her at first because he is literally her only ally, but I feel like the moment that she bails on him, and the moment she has information that is like, I have no allies, except maybe Daniel, it's good. I feel like a lesser movie would be like, but I love him, I have to trust him. And she has at that moment, but I think that that made sense and was earned, but once she realizes she can't trust him, like, she's out. Right, especially there's a scene in like the servant's corridor or whatever, when she's like, what the fuck is going on? He's explaining the situation to her, and she's like, you didn't warn me, like you knew that this was a possibility, and you didn't tell me any of this, and he's like, well, you were the one who wanted to get married, and then she immediately pushes back, and she's like, oh, so this is my fault? And so I like that, you know, she's pushing back, and that was like, to me, a clue, or like kind of like a bit of foreshadowing that he isn't the ally that he seems to be, or that he has the capacity to, you know, turn to the dark side kind of thing. Yeah, I just appreciate the way that she's written in general, but the other thing you'll see for men writing female characters in horror movies is that women characters will be written to avoid violence, or even though someone's trying to kill you, oh, I'm gonna take the upper hand and not kill the bad guy who's killing me. The most recent example I could think of is going to see Phantom of the Opera, Bragg in Theater's Bragg, again, Bragg. And how, you know, the peak of that is like, you know, like she kisses the Phantom instead of murdering him, which would be reasonable. Right. Where it's like, yeah, like there's expect, you're supposed to show a moment, like a woman's secret weapon is empathy, which can be true, but so can murder. Like, you know, let's keep our options open. It depends on the situation. So, and this is not even true across the board for her character because she does attempt to kill people. She does kill Alex's mom. She does punch a child who had just shot her, but I feel like the movie isn't very consistent with how it handles that with her character because the moment where like she gets in the car, she has the opportunity to run the butler over. She's not gonna like rehabilitate him in this moment. All she had to do was put her foot on the gas pedal, but instead she puts the car in reverse and then drives away without running him over. So that, I guess I, as someone without a driver's license, I feel like I cannot comment on that. Now someone who's had a driver's license for over 20 years now, Bragg. Wow. Yeah, okay. Okay, okay. If I was in that situation, because when I saw that moment in theaters- You would be so, you would rise to this occasion like no other. Thank you so much. When I saw this in theaters, I was so frustrated by that specific moment of her not running him over because- I gotta be honest, I would be dead. It didn't occur to me. Oh my gosh. He's right there in front of the car. He was just trying to kill her. She was trying to kill him too by like strangling him. And you know- On FaceTime, which is like, well, once I get to the FaceTime thing, I enjoyed that. Right, and that all worked for me, but I was just like run him over and this is maybe just me fixating on a moment. But I also think that it's some little hint of men writing women in such a way where women are too polite and too pleasant and too delicate to do anything that might be considered like morally gray or even an act of self-defense. But again, the movie doesn't do that with her entirely because she punches a child and of course, like taken out of context. That's obviously a horrible thing to do. But I guess I just don't know why the movie isn't more consistent with Grace's character in that regard, but also, I don't know, maybe I'm just being too hard on the writing and on that particular moment of the movie. I don't know. I don't know, but I think in general, and again, it's tricky to like, it's hard to not compare this to how poorly this is ordinarily done. So maybe like, you know, there's always like, certainly things could always be done better. I think again, taste-wise, like even though I liked a lot of the one-off jokes in this, you know, it's just like a trope that I find kind of a little grading where it's like, it just feels, yeah, very Joss Whedon coded in a way that I just don't care for where it's like overly quippy, it's whatever, I want a divorce, like whatever, I don't know. Not for me. That's not a gender thing because certainly Adam Brody is quipping all over the place. Everyone is. The twilight coding of nice dress, converse shoes. I could keep rattling off the ways in which this movie feels like it was almost certainly written in the early 2010s, even though it was released in the late 2010s. But that's not what this show is about. But I do feel absolutely certain that that's the case. In any case, I do like Grace. And I also think that like Samara Weaving gives a great performance, like almost better than the movie deserves. She was in the trenches and you could feel it. You could feel it. Her uncle, Elrond from Rivendale was like, Samara, here's how you act and she's like, thanks, uncle. I got it. That's exactly how nepotism works. Melanie Griffith just like took Dakota Johnson aside. She's like, today is the day I teach you how to act. Well, okay, hang on a second. Now that you mentioned Dakota Johnson. I think we're gonna go see Madam Webb. Her web connects them all. I think we're gonna, I think, I hope it's good and we can cover it on the show. I mean, not good, but like good, bad. Well, what I was going to say was, okay, it's wedding, February, Madam, February. Is that anything? Yes. We're gonna release a third episode this month and we're gonna go see Madam Webb. I'm gonna go see Madam Webb tomorrow alone or with people, doesn't really matter. Incredible. I was gonna go see Madam Webb. I might be, so I'll join you. I do have a whole spiel. I wanna go to Madam Webb, so okay, sorry. I have a whole spiel on wedding, February and just like wedding representation in this movie, I'll get to that in a second. But because I was talking about her not killing the butler when she had a chance, I do wanna talk about how all of the first people to die in this movie are the like, quote unquote, help. The working class people. I have that note as well. And they're also given, like they're all essentially the same character. Yes, no characterization. I mean, the butler stands out because he's actually given lines and he's integrated into the plot quite a bit more. But there are three like maids slash housekeepers who are all just basically the same person. We don't know anything about them. They're the first three people to die. They all get accidentally killed by someone. So Emily, the sister accidentally shoots the first housekeeper. We learn her name is Clara. And they're like, she was our favorite. Right, which is the class. I mean, I feel like they're trying to do a class thing there, but I just, it didn't hit for me. And it also takes a very long time for a man to die in this movie. Yes, right, yeah. The optics of a movie being about like taking down the rich, but the first three people to die are working class women. I felt this way. I mean, and I only saw the menu just the ones. So maybe I'm misremembering, but I remember feeling like the not like other girls'ness of the main character also sort of applied to her class, where like she is not like the other poor girls. Or not like the other poor people for reasons, because she's the star of the movie. But yeah, it was interesting that in a movie that has a clear vested interest in saying something about class that the working class characters are picked off pretty abruptly, especially three women that while we learn, I think their names, they're interchangeable. And then you get Stevens who, I guess you have more of him. He's the working class person that lives the longest. But yeah, I thought it was like kind of a miss and a missed opportunity to leave Grace entirely by herself, because that could have been an opportunity to like, if we keep some of those characters in the mix, that's a chance for them to connect. That's a chance for her to like form an ally ship, even if it doesn't work out. But I think it was, I don't remember the name of the last, was it Dora, I believe? And then there's a one in the middle who I think is the only person of color in the movie who's not like a background actor at the wedding. Yeah. She, I don't even think has any lines, nor do I think we learn her name. She's credited as Tina, but I didn't remember hearing that. Me either. So yeah, we get those three housekeepers killed right away. And this is something I've talked a lot about recently too, that I, and maybe there is truth to this, and I just don't know because I've never met anyone rich enough to have servants. So brave of me for that to be the case, but the characters who are like the servants to the rich people in movies are almost always written to be these like unwaveringly loyal employees to the rich families that they serve, even if the rich families are doing horrible things, the way they're doing horrible things in this movie. And I just, I'm sure there's some sort of like aspect of the help being dehumanized in a way that it sort of conditions them to think that they have to be so loyal to the family. I'm sure there's some thing there that I just don't have a full understanding of because I again, don't know anyone, but like. You're actually like, I do. No, but I just like, it's more just like, is there truth to this slash why are servant characters always written to be this way? Cause we were talking about this in like, I feel like we talked about this in the Beauty and the Beast episode and we talked about this in the haunted mansion and what a girl wants and stuff. I think that there is most likely not truth. I mean, and even if there is, you know, a long-term loyalty to one's employer, it's certainly not one dimensional in this way. That's a complicated thing. And I don't know, there's still movies that are doing that where they're like, our servants are like our family and you're like, well, but that's not true. There's an exchange going on. But yeah, I don't know. I guess I would chalk that up to how every character in this movie is fairly one dimensional. But again, it's like, if Grace is the only person, Grace and Alex and Daniel are kind of the only characters that get like shades of gray shown in their personality. Yeah, for what this movie is and what it seems to be, you know, however goofily trying to get at to knock off our working class characters so quickly is ridiculous. It's like weird. It just feels antithetical to what the movie's trying to say. I think what would have worked better is if, and if you have like one like hyper loyal servant character and that's Stevens like fine, but it would make more sense to me if the three working class servant women are like, fuck this family. I don't wanna be complicit in the awful things they're doing and they try to help Grace. Or at least, yeah, some gradient among the three women because like there are three people are gonna feel different about this situation. I think, yeah, like I'm not bothered if, you know, because there's sometimes too far the other direction where it's like all women are loyal to women, which is just demonstrably untrue. Sure, one is like, no, I'm saving my ass tonight. Like best of luck to you, Grace. But yeah, like another person that's like, let's work together, which probably would have been really helpful for Grace. And clearly the servant, because it did not work out for them. I don't know, yeah, like if there was some, I also just feel like that would have made the movie a little, it would have resolved some of the like second act. Like she's getting out of a lot of, like there's a lot of set pieces that she has to get her way through, which is great, but it would have been cool to have someone with her for a little bit of, even if they don't make it to the end, because she's the final girl and this movie is not trying to get around the final girl trope. And that's fine, but yeah, it just, why even have, like it just felt like the working class, or the three women specifically were put there for it to be shocking when they suddenly started dying. Like that is sort of the only function they serve. And in a movie about class, that is like not a logical, like that's not a thoughtful choice. Right, instead, another pitch for a different way to handle it would be if you need bodies, bodies, bodies to start dying in this movie, which stands to reason, it's a horror thriller where violence is happening and you wanna see people die along the way, just bring in more of the rich, bring in some cousins, bring in some other random family members who can be in on this and then make them more minor characters who are the first ones to die. That would have worked better for me too. Yeah. Anyway, so I guess it boils down to, I appreciate that this movie's obvious agenda is like, yeah, rich people are scary and soulless and they'll go to whatever lengths, whatever horrible lengths to hold on to their wealth. And again, it's very cathartic to see them die at the end. And I'm glad that no one was spared because they're all complicit to some degree. Yes, that was something that I was like, really, God, I hope that it's not the sort of thing where I was like, there was one really good guy and you're like, no, there wasn't, come on. Yeah. Be serious. The other spiel I have ties back to the theme of wedding, February. Let's web it. Let's madam web this together. So most movies that feature weddings frame a wedding, frame the idea of people getting married as this amazing celebratory thing that's so happy and nothing will ever go wrong. And this movie is more of a kind of cautionary tale of having a wedding or of getting married and a cautionary tale of how doing that significantly changes a person's circumstances or can significantly change a person's circumstances. You know, you get, you inherit these in-laws possibly and a dynamic can change in your relationship. Or just like you could be marrying, I don't know. I mean, I guess this comes up in movies, but not in wedding movies where we were like, you married the wrong person and that's okay. You can get out of it. Like that's, you know, or I mean, in Alex's case, it's like getting married does not fundamentally change what a piece of shit you are. Like, you know, it's like not, cause like, yeah, I think that like, you know, weddings and just marriage in general are often presented as this cure to a state of being, whatever that is. And I feel like what that quote unquote means has changed over time, but still it's like, well, this will fix things. And it never, like, it never, you know, if you want to get married, get married, but like you're, I feel like the successful, a successful marriage indicates two people who know that they're going to be the same people after this day. And Alex is clearly, I think Alex is getting married because he thinks that like she can fix him or whatever. And then once he realizes that he can't, he turns on her. Right. So, yeah. Speaking personally, as someone who has very little interest in getting married, Bragg, I appreciate a movie that does present getting married as a cautionary tale. And I'm not saying that everyone who gets married is going to have awful in-laws who are going to try to kill you, but sometimes. But it does. No, but a lot of movies just present the concept of marriage in this very sanitized fairy tale way without recognizing the effort it takes to maintain a marriage or the compromises that come with getting married or anything like that. And I think there is a gendered aspect to that because girls and women in particular are often sold the fairy tale of wedding and marriage. And they're kind of encouraged to have unrealistic expectations about it, like fairy tales and rom-coms and all those things are targeted toward a specific demographic because in so many societies throughout most of history, marriage is slash was a way to turn women into property. So you had to trick women into thinking that marriage was awesome actually. Well, exactly. That it's special. And it's your day. And you are not being exchanged for goats. This is your... Yeah, and that you get... And as time goes on in that is... Although it's still... I don't know, when my parents were married, it was only very recently that my mom could get her own credit card. It is still... There's elements of that exchange that are present in marriage. And in different parts of the world, it works differently, more so or less so. But even in the places where that is not the case anymore, there's this commercial aspect to it now. And where it's like, you have to... God, I mean, how much did those 27 dresses cost her anyways? Now it's like an event. And it's... I feel like where some of the... Thankfully, some of the women as property has been lost legally over time, although that's being regressed as well. It's been replaced with this commercialism, and like you're saying, like selling the fantasy starting from when you're very young. Yeah. And that fantasy is not sold to boys and men in the binary children's entertainment universe. I feel like you are sort of conditioned to be more like, I am provider. I am... Like there is still this ownership that comes with how men are conditioned to see heteromerage, right? And women, it's like, it's my big day. And like, whatever happens after today, I don't know. Right. But that's... But also, we talked about... We love to attend a wedding. Yeah, that's... We love to attend a wedding. Invite us to your weddings, slash we'll officiate them. It's also... Yeah, I think it is like... Yeah, I only say I agree with you. I think that this movie... And I also like that we don't even really go... We don't go to the wedding. We go to the photo shoot and then the after party. Like the movie very intentionally does not care about the wedding. Right. And that's fun. You never see a movie about weddings where it's not leading up to the wedding. Yeah. It's great. Yes. So again, I just appreciate... Even though this movie is a very heightened horror movie version of this kind of cautionary tale, I appreciate it nonetheless because of how most movies, again, present it as a very fairy tale, sanitized. Oh, it's... The wedding is the best day of your life. And who cares about what happens after that? As long as you just have a really nice wedding. And I like that the movie doesn't take that approach. I agree. I agree. Thanks. And yeah, it's a fun... I've never seen a wedding movie like this. I don't necessarily need another, but I think it's unique in that way. In other ways, it's doing a fun, the same thing. I want to talk about the other women in this family. Sure. We don't know very much about them. I mean, the Andy McDowell character... Again, I feel like maybe this is like a writing thing where her being awful was supposed to be a twist where you're like, but like... Duh. I knew. Like, the doi. I don't know. We get a little bit from her where she... I mean, she and Daniel are kind of like doing the same thing where they're like, we like you. We like you. We're rooting for you. But at the end of the day, the board game dynasty must stand. And I don't know. I guess if there's really not... I don't have that much to say about her. I wish I had a little more to say about her. I also think she would have been a cool character to like turn against people too late. I don't know why. Like, did the person who ends up sort of switching and like beginning or redemption arc before being killed have to be a brother? There are so many women in this house. But, you know, I think there's an opportunity for like, especially because, you know, his mother has seen this happen over the years and is the quote, unquote, an outsider. She's buried into the family. So it would have been cool to see another woman who is an outsider feel a type of way about it and maybe, you know, at least offer some sort of solidarity, even if it has, I don't know, I just feel like, especially because it's like they had Andy McDowell. I just wish that they had done more with that character. I don't know. That was all I really had to say about it. I just wish that there was more to talk about. Yeah. There's kind of not much to talk about any of the other women because with Daniel's wife, charity, you learn that she has the way she describes it. Well, she barely describes it. She just says like, you know what my life was like before this? Because he's Daniel's criticizing her for like not flinching the second she learns of this family's like, you know, nefarious history and their sacrifices and all that kind of stuff. And she's like, well, as long as I'm rich, I don't give a shit. And so that's her character. And, you know, there are people like that who come from humble beginnings that suddenly have access to wealth and then they become an evil person. Seems to be the case for charity. But that's kind of all we know about her. I also don't know like why they had, like I had questions about why these two were married at all. Like they don't like each other. I mean, that's like 90% of married couples. But like, I do feel like in a movie, you should get some sort of taste of like why things aren't working or just, yeah, because with charity, the only explanation you get is this sentence of like, I am not going to go back to being poor, which is certainly like you're saying an attitude that exists. But why did they get married? You know, because at least we can tell from the, you know, very kind of dry opening scene of this movie that like Grace and Alex like each other. They seem to, yeah. That's why they appear to have gotten married. Yeah. That's why a lot of people do it. Not all, but many. Yeah. With Daniel and charity, I'm like, was this arranged? Like why? I mean, my guess is that they did love each other for some time and then they got married and then they grew to resent each other and hate each other. So we're just supposed to go on like what we know about what happens with married couples as they like each other for a while. And then they don't anymore. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I just felt like it was especially because our sympathies are with Daniel that it kind of turns us against charity in a contextless way. We're again, and again, like the same missed opportunities as Andy McDowell's character. True. And then the thing that makes the least sense to me, but maybe there's something to contextualize this, I don't know, but the way Aunt Helene, what is that? You see her in the beginning. She's the bride whose partner is being human sacrificed. And you see how traumatizing that is for her and how upset she is by it. She seems to love her husband and is very sad that he gets killed. The next time we see her, she's been radicalized in the other direction. And she's like, no, this tradition is so important and it's for the greater good. But we don't understand how she has that turn or what prompts her to arc in that direction as a character. And that I feel like we are like owed by the narrative. If they're going to go out of the way, her behavior makes more sense to me if we don't even see that beginning scene. You're just like, oh, this is the like, and again, playing into like kooky older woman stereotypes, right? Everyone in this movie is a stereotype to some extent. But it makes more sense to me if we don't know that she's been through this tremendous trauma because then I'm like, you need to tell us how she got from A to B. You just have to. Yes, I agree. Also with Aunt Helene, I feel like the trope is present of an older woman, especially one who is unmarried and who doesn't have children. That type of woman equals scary, creepy, crone. Because even though she and Andy McDowell's character are presumably roughly the same age and the actors are similar in age, Aunt Helene, I feel like is styled to look older. You know, she's got like the short white hair. And then just like considering she's often presented as this like startling jump scare or just a creepy presence in general, that feels pretty intentional to me. Yeah, I think that there is like a certain kind of visual coding to that as well. That is, and like also the way that that character is written as we just talked about, like kind of falls apart under light scrutiny. And it seems like in favor of having her be the like, I'm going to use the word kooky because it just is like this void of like the kooky aunt that is like chosen in favor of giving us a character that was set up and the visual choices support that sort of like we're just going to do the kooky aunt aesthetic instead of thinking critically because it's like this movie is challenging some things and then other things are just like there as you would normally see them, which I feel like is like men maybe just throwing that out there. But yeah, yeah, that definitely felt dissonant. And also like both of those characters are underwritten. Like it's just sure what is their relationship like because these women have known each other for 35 years, presumably what I don't know. The only insight you really get is like Alex and Daniel, which is another thing that like Emily is left out of the sibling dynamic. She's like turned into a, you know, like very stereotypy. Like she's always high and she's jittery and she's killing people where, you know, Alex and Daniel get, you know, it's still the tone of the movie, but they get some sort of arc as siblings. They get some sort of arc morally. Emily is like there for comic relief. Like why is that? Every scene she's in, she just like snorts some more coke or eats some pills, which is also like weird. I mean, I know way that I don't even know how to feel about this, but like very like rich lady stereotypy, like using uppers all the time and, you know, be pleasant and be appealing and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I don't even know how to compute that in this context. But the point is, yeah, why isn't she brought into the fold of the sibling dynamic? She's just sort of like she's the cocktail mommy who's dealing with trying to raise a family, I guess, even though you barely see her interacting with her kids. I don't know. I didn't even realize she had kids until I was like surprised. That was the kid that Samara weeping punched in the face was like her kid. Yeah. And that is only there to teach Daniel that this is actually fucked up. You know, like, I don't know. I, yeah, especially like I love a sibling movie. I love siblings at odds. Sure. Succession is my favorite television program. But this, yeah, she feels very intentionally left out to the point where sometimes I forgot she was their sister. Same. So that's not great. Yeah. Yeah. Would have liked to see her more meaningfully included. Shout out to Melanie Scroffano, though. She is currently on Star Trek Strange New Worlds, which is a really awesome show starring hot nepotism Ethan Peck as hot Spock number two. Because Zachary Quinto is obviously also, well, Spock, you know, all of the Spock's are hot. Sure. But he's Gregory Peck's grandson. Question mark. Oh, okay. Yeah. Anyways, nepotism is everywhere. Uh, go see Madam Webb. Uh, in any case. Yeah. Yeah. I felt like that this every, well, I mean, and, and I want to be fair and say that it's like, it's not as if there aren't male characters that are underwritten or one dimensional to some extent. Everyone is, but it's just like who is given a little more tends to be the male characters outside of grace, getting the edge time and time. Again, I thought Fitch was funny. He family shit. He's also like deliberately written to be very annoying so that you're when he dies, you're like, finally. Yeah. Um, yeah. Certainly there was more room for a little bit more character development. All around, but yeah, you know, but it's also like, I don't know. I honestly, like if you're not watching for that, like this is a fun movie to be like brain switched off. The entire family fucking explodes at the end. Like, uh, it's awesome. It's so awesome. Yes. Um, that's all I had to really say about it at this time. I'm sure I'm missing something, but well, I mean, just to state the obvious, like this movie takes place in the rich white people world and we're also contained in an environment. So it's like not a movie that is even really open to any sort of diversity. Uh, I feel like by design, but certainly worth mentioning. Um, and yeah, I like, you know, in spite of the flaws that we have just, you know, take it apart at length. I enjoy this movie. I think it's fun. Same. And it reminds me why I like Samara weaving. Cause I feel like I can't think of another movie she's like the lead of. She's in a lot of stuff, but yeah, I feel like she's rarely the star. Anyways, I like her. I like this movie. It passes the Bechtel test sparingly, but it does. Not very much. There are a couple of conversations between Grace and Becky, who's Alex's mom, AKA Andy McDowell. Yeah. Those conversations are almost always about Alex, I think. So I don't know if those count, but they were like two lines. It was, it was. A minimum. Yeah. Yeah. I'm inclined to be like, the, the whole thing is pretty much about Alex, but Grace and Emily talk about Grace's wedding dress and how Emily has been stalking Grace on Instagram. And so that passes. Stocking at Tesco. We know the beans mains hides. And you love to ask, have you had yours? All of you love it. Hey, to and because I'm worth it. When you need low prices on brands you love like 150 grams of Heinz beans, 12 pack of Weetabix, 250 grams of Marmite or 700 millilitres of L'Oreal LV of Color Protect shampoo. Look out the everyday low prices logo in store and online Tesco. Every little helps. Every day, low prices includes thousands of products across the majority of larger stores and online prices held until the 10th of May selected branded products only. Ready for a thrill or two or three at Bista Village. Incredible savings, brands and services are just the beginning. Shop with up to 40% off every day. Find new flavors and enjoy the calm and charm of the village. The thrill of discovery awaits. Bista Village. What will you find? Another woman on Instagram. Yeah, that does pass the like test. I do it every day. Well, you don't have to stalk me, Jamie. I'm right here. Sorry, I'm doing it anyways. Call 911. I won't be stopped. Okay. And I contend that Grace talking to herself does pass the Bechtel test. But anyway, I guess it, well, I mean, and I can find passing the Bechtel test to be annoying. So yeah, I think it does like it does. And I think spiritually it does, but there were more opportunities like we're talking about like, so let's, I mean, well, let's get into the true metric, the one true metric. Yeah. Nipple scale wise, I would give this movie, I will go like three, I think. Yeah. Maybe even three and a half somewhere in that range. I do appreciate the commentary on rich people are scary. And isn't it fun to see them explode? I appreciate the way that Grace is written, especially compared to so many other women in horror movies that are written by men and men just having a fundamental misunderstanding of how women move through the world, what motivates their choices, et cetera. This movie didn't really do that. So I appreciate it. It is a very white movie based on just the premise that is put forth. But that doesn't mean there weren't other opportunities to be more inclusive. Again, there was a woman of color as one of the housekeepers and she didn't have any lines, she, it just like pans to her as she's being brutally killed. And then that's all we get from her. Yeah. I mean, I think that, and that, that, that applies to race, class, like everything. There, there were opportunities, but yeah, they just needed to be centered on these rich white brothers. Yes. More interesting opportunities were afoot, but truly. So I'll give it 3.25 nipples. And hopefully this kind of paves the way for a little, like for more kind of like nuanced examinations of like taking down the rich. This is a very fun one. This is a very heightened, silly version of that story. But I also feel like it missed some opportunities. Either way, 3.25 nipples. And I'll give one to Samara weaving. I'll give one to Hugo weaving. Awesome. And then I'll give one nipple to the actor who plays Tina, the housekeeper, who's the woman of color who doesn't get any lines or I think a name that we hear on screen, the actor's name is Celine Sy. So I'm giving one nipple to her and I'll give my one quarter nipple to Mr. Label, the devil. I love Mr. Label slash jigsaw. He should have been jigsaw. I'm going to do it. So I'll keep your short and sweet. I'm giving it three nipples. They're all going to jigsaw. Okay. I think, yeah, this is a fun movie that, uh, I think maybe like a little of my own, like, you know, in 2019, big dress, converse shoes, really come on, be serious. Uh, serious, you know, it just really, it feels like was this movie produced by a man named Trip and someone from the Vanderbilt family, which is another thing we talk about all the time where you're like, Oh, interesting that a literal Vanderbilt is like, Oh, the rich people are bad movie. Am I right guys? Like we're all hanging out here. Shut up. You know, like fuck. Shut up. Anyways. Yeah. Uh, I just think it's fun that the producers of this name were named Trip, James Vanderbilt, William and Brad. Like, come on. You know, it was written, it was, the movie was written by a guy named Guy. And I'm really turning on everyone at the end and was directed by a ska musician. And, and do I like the movie? Yes. Uh, but do I think that it like outside of its female protagonists, I think that this is like a thing that a lot of male writers and filmmakers tend to do is like, I'm going to get one woman character right. And then the rest, like, you know, and on and on and on. But if you're looking for a fun slasher movie, holy shit, like the end of this movie makes any issue I had leading up well worth it. The whole family fucking explodes into a cloud of blood. My favorite kind of death. It's great. It's so silly, silly billies, uh, Samara weaving fun, three nipples to jeg saw long live ska music. Wow. And there you have it listeners. That is our unlocked episode from the matrion on ready or not. And, um, as we said at the top of this episode, most of our matrion episodes exist only on patreon.com slash beckville cast. So head over there to access those episodes. It's only five bucks a month. Always has been always will be. And that gets you to bonus episodes every single month, plus access to the back catalog of over 200 bonus episodes, most of which again, are behind that paywall because we have things to buy such as food. I was like, it's such as rent. So yes. Thank you so much for listening and double thanks. If you are a matrion subscriber who was revisiting this episode, we will be back next week with more piping hot, fresh content. And let us know if you liked ready or not to. I don't know if you can handle two women in a movie this week. Totally understood. Good luck with that. If you have to see project Hail Mary and you can only handle Ryan Gosling at a rock at this time. That is where we're at culturally and let's not just let's we don't need to talk about it. Yes, we will see you next week. Bye. Bye. The Bechtel cast is a production of I Heart Media, hosted and produced by me, Jamie Loftus and me, Caitlin Durante. The podcast is also produced by Sophie Lichterman and edited by Caitlin Durante. Ever heard of them? That's me and our logo and merch and all of our artwork, in fact, are designed by Jamie Loftus. Ever heard of her? Oh my God. And our theme song, by the way, was composed by Mike Kaplan with vocals by Catherine Voskrasinski. Iconic and a special thanks to the one and only Aristotle Acevedo. For more information about the podcast, please visit linktree slash Bechtel cast. Welcome to the neighborhood, a new community where everyone keeps an eye out for each other. Obviously, my instant coffee is not good enough for you. I just want to make friends. In this neighborhood, it's lawnmowers at dawn, a six real households out for a quarter of a million pounds in the street sized family feud. Two hundred and fifty grand. We are willing to do whatever it takes. Scalp scale to destined for greatness. Join me, Graham Norton, as I bring the drama to your doorstep in a new show like no other. The neighborhood starts Friday, 24th of April on ITV one and ITVX. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.