A horror tale with a gimmicky premise, 2019’s Ready Or Not introduces us to Grace (Samara Weaving), a young woman on the verge of marriage. Early in the tale, she weds Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), an heir to a board game empire.

After the ceremony, Grace learns of a quirky family tradition. On the wedding night, the new member of the Le Domas clan needs to play a game that they randomly select.

Grace picks “Hide & Seek”. Though she thinks this seems silly, Grace indulges the family and plays the game.

Grace soon learns a sinister twist, as the Le Domas brood views matrimonial Hide & Seek in a deadly way. Because of a literal pact with the devil made by an ancestral Le Domas, when a new family member picks Hide & Seek, that person needs to die before dawn of the next day or peril will befall the greater clan.

Unsurprisingly, Grace doesn’t much like this news, and she fights to survive. We follow Grace as she struggles to stay alive until dawn of the next day.

Some movies feel like 95 percent of the effort behind them got committed to the basic premise and not much more. While I won’t say that Ready totally tries to coast on its basic idea, the story’s concept remains its most appealing facet.

And it’s a pretty fun notion, one that comes with a slew of lively possibilities. Unfortunately, Ready only occasionally seems interested in these potential twists, as it mainly assumes the viewer will like it due to its basic concept.

Don’t get me wrong: Ready offers a pretty enjoyable suspense film, mainly because we wonder how Grace will escape her predicament. In a movie like this, we assume the heroine will win, though Ready can seem insubordinate enough that we entertain the chance she won’t survive.

Whatever the outcome, we find ourselves drawn to that finale. Whether we get the expected finish in which Grace beats the odds or the “slap in the face” conclusion where she doesn’t, we want to see how matters progress.

These moments manage some decent entertainment, but they lack full commitment to the insanity at the film’s core. Ready can move a bit slowly at times, and it often lacks the dark and giddy tone its trailers promise.

Oh, those trailers! They cause other issues as well, mainly because they reveal too many of the movie’s wilder moments. As such, if you never viewed the ads, you’ll get more enjoyment from Ready. You won’t know some of its surprises in advance, so if you’re in this category, you can expect a more enjoyable experience than those of us who did watch the previews.

Even without that foreknowledge, I still think Ready could feel more anarchic and chaotic than it does. Yeah, the movie goes down some crazed paths at times, but I feel it’d satisfy better if it did so more frequently, as its lulls come too often and last too long.

I don’t want to come down too hard on Ready, for it does remain a fairly engaging 95 minutes. I just feel it disappoints in a minor way, as it doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

Ready Or Not appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie boasted a pleasing image.

Overall sharpness worked well. Some wider shots veered a smidgen toward the soft side, but they remained in the minority during this largely accurate presentation.

I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also failed to become an issue.

In terms of palette, Ready went a lot of orange/amber and teal, as those tones dominated the presentation. Predictable as the colors tended to be, the Blu-ray rendered them in an appropriate manner.

Blacks looked dark and deep, while shadows seemed smooth and concise. I felt happy with this high-quality presentation.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it added involvement to the proceedings. The five channels used music in an involving manner, and various effects also broadened the soundscape in a winning way.

While not a film packed with action, Ready came to life enough to work the speakers well. Various horror elements related to the thrills moved around the room in a convincing pattern to contribute life to the tale.

Audio quality worked well. Speech seemed concise and distinctive, while effects appeared accurate and natural. Louder moments boasted fine punch.

Music was warm and full, with a good level of punch from percussive elements. All of this left us with a satisfactory “B” soundtrack.

A mix of extras appear, and we begin with an audio commentary from Radio Silence and actor Samara Weaving. “Radio Silence” is a “filmmaking collective” that encompasses directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and executive producer Chad Villella.

All four sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, effects, editing, photography and connected domains. The chat can lean toward happy talk too often, but it still manages to deliver a good array of notes about the production.

With Let the Games Begin, we find a 42-minute, 28-second documentary that involves Gillett, Bettinelli-Olpin, Villella, Weaving, producers Tripp Vinson and James Vanderbilt, writers R. Christopher Murphy and Guy Busick, assistant art director Laura Hokstad, costume designer Avery Plewes, and actors Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Adam Brody, Elyse Levesque, Kristian Bruun, Melanie Scrofano, and Nicki Guadagni.

“Begin” examines the project’s development, story/characters, how Radio Silence got the gig, cast and performances, production design and cinematography, costumes, weapons, and various effects.

With 42 minutes at its disposal, “Begin” manages to produce a fairly decent overview of the production. However, it leans toward happy talk more often than I’d like, so it lacks the depth it should achieve at its length. It’s still good enough to be worth a look, but I hoped it’d be better.

A Gag Reel spans four minutes, five seconds and presents the usual goofs and giggles. Don’t expect anything too exciting.

Under Gallery, we split into two domains: “On-Set Photography” (12 images) and “Le Domas Family Games” (15). “On-Set” seems forgettable, but “Le Domas” allows a fun look at the games invented for the movie.

The disc opens with an ad for Child’s Play (2019). Sneak Peek adds a promo for American Horror Story: 1984, and we also get the film’s “red band” trailer.

Blessed with a clever concept, Ready or Not occasionally lives up to its potential. That said, it lacks consistency and doesn’t quite ignite as often as it should. The Blu-ray brings very good picture, appropriate audio and useful bonus materials. Ready could be better but it’s still a reasonably fun ride.