A newlywed (Samara Weaving) gets a taste of the Meghan Markle lifestyle when she discovers that marrying into a family of elitist murderous leeches also has its downsides.

Six years from its release, Ready or Not has proven itself one of the most influential genre-bending exercises of the past decade. Along with Get Out, the 2019 horror flick ushered in a wave of satirical black comedies that throw their unsuspecting outsiders into cults and games that skewer a segment of society, such as The Menu, Blink Twice, The Blackening, Bodies Bodies Bodies and It’s What’s Inside.

Yet Ready or Not stands head and bloodied shoulders above its imitators, not content to merely drill home a single idea for zeitgeist clout, but committed to thinking through the details that make a movie stand up to repeat viewing. At once a satire about the blood on the hands of the super-rich, a fight for female independence, and a deadpan joke about in-laws, the movie cleverly weaves its social commentary into a non-stop rollercoaster of a thriller.

The perfect balance of action, suspense and comedy puts the film firmly in the top 1% of Hollywood’s recent horror output, with sardonic dialogue that propels the plot and colours its characters. Weaving is instantly iconic as the bride, not the usual wide-eyed heroine but a strong-willed and capable character whom lesser films would relegate to a bitchy supporting role. She does more with the word “fuck” than any of the grandstanding in The Menu or Blink Twice ever conveys.

And the side characters are equally memorable, including the chain-smoking matriarch (Andie MacDowell), coked-up sister-in-law (Melanie Scrofano), and alcoholic brother-in-law (Adam Brody), who lends the story a surprising amount of emotion. It all builds to an explosive climax that follows through on its weird ideas, beautifully packaged in fantastic costumes, glowing production design and gothic atmosphere to burn.

Gleefully subversive, laugh-out-loud funny and nail-bitingly tense, Ready or Not is a frocking good time.