There are few horror movies in recent years that ended on a more exhilarating note than Ready or Not , a relatively cheap film combining violent tension and humour and just generally punching way above its weight. That image of Samara Weaving, drenched in blood after the Satanic family she almost married into exploded in validation of their cultish beliefs, sitting on the steps of their mansion coldly smoking a cigarette has to be one of the great moments of modern horror. The punch-line she delivers to arriving officers is a perfect punctuation as well. But because Ready or Not was such an unexpected hit, eventually we arrive at the obligatory sequel, odiously titled Ready or Not 2: Here I Come . Seven years later, it brings back the original directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett -who in the interim revived the Scream franchise for two movies and made a good vampire film equivalent of Ready or Not called Abigail . Additionally Fox Searchlight more than dou...
Andy Weir is very respected for his detailed hard science-fiction storytelling -as in the concepts and technology and general science of his stories holds up to scrutiny and authenticity with regards to his premises. And it is actually a very compelling method of relating the high concepts he explores. The Martian is enthralling because of this -what would it realistically take to survive on Mars? Add in a bit of tension and humour, and a device with which to essentially educate the audience and it becomes something like a fun theoretical experiment in a science class. There is less of that in Project Hail Mary , which does at times veer more into the implausible than The Martian -perhaps due to it dealing with the subject of aliens. But it is still intriguing via Drew Goddard’s adaptation, and what it loses in some of the ingenuity to its technical character it makes up for in a significant strength of psychological character. This is a movie about a lonely, insecure man -s...