I Dub Samara Weaving As The Best Scream Queen

Ready or not, the truth is about to be unveiled, bloodlusting and hungry for a pure, innocent, virgin bride. Except Grace (Samara Weaving) is neither. 

Halloween is cresting over the horizon, and the Scream Queen Spotlight writing challenge is open for submission. Which got me thinking. 

I mean, there are so many notable scream queens over the decades, it was hard to choose. But, then, I remembered watching Ready or Not a few years ago, and Samara Weaving blew my mind with her performance. Not only did she scream (like a crazy amount), but she fought like a badass and survived. 

Also, upon rewatching, I managed to scrounge up some thoughts about violence and female identity. Which I really want to explore.

The Anti-Cinderella: Grace

Poor Cinderella works tirelessly at home, bullied by her family, working day and night under the scrutinizing watch of her evil step-mom. Cinderella rebels and goes to the ball. She meets her prince. They get married and live happily ever after. 

Ready or Not takes that plotline and turns it over its head, both defying stereotypical gender roles and expectations while also massacring entitled rich people. Grace takes the lead. 

She takes off her heels.

Clothes De Résistance: Shredding Dresses & Unveiling the Body

I always wondered why they had Grace smoking in her wedding dress within the first five minutes of the movie. When I first watched it, I thought it was lowkey cliche, establishing her as this "I'm not like other girls" character, which I found super annoying. But then the movie deepens it. Upon my second watch, I realized that there was so much more intentionality behind her aesthetic. 

That very first scene with Grace is pivotal to understanding what the rest of the movie is doing. Her sitting in the pure white wedding dress, delicate in design, staring at her reflection while pulling out a cig is that transition between who Grace really is and her decision to step into a traditional stereotype of who she is supposed to be. Without them spelling it out, the scene tells us that the wedding dress is basically a costume of sorts, her "wifehood" merely a performance for the sake of love. 

In this case, the cigarette is an indicator of a self outside of the rigid constraints and form of Grace's wedding dress. As she freely complains about her fiance, Alex's, screwed up family, we become privy to her desires and opinions, ones that she knows she will be unable to verbalize when she actually gets married to Alex. 

The wedding dress, therefore, is a tool that signifies gender conformity, one which Grace chooses to lace herself into. 

As the game begins, Grace inadvertently begins stripping out of these constraints, first as a means to survive, and then later as a way to assert her agency. 

We first see this when she takes off her heels and switches into her converse. This is the first unshedding of Grace's identity as Alex's wife. Later, when she's in the hall and Alex has left to unlock the lock system in the house, Grace choosing to rip the hem of her dress becomes a turning point: she recognizes that she is alone in this. Her life is in her own hands. 

From that point on, Grace's hair loosens out of its tight style; the wedding dress is stained by dirt and blood as she out-hides her in-laws. What's important, though, is that the crazier she looks, the more she is able to step outside of the image of the stereotypical woman, or bride. In this way, the movie actually tears apart the image of the pure bride in white.

Marriage & Gender Roles: Fuck 'em All

Returning briefly to the Cinderella image, it is important to remember that Grace is not only from a much lower class than Alex, but that she is a foster kid who has always wanted a family of her own. This difference between them immediately establishes a power dynamic that places Alex at the top. It also plays into the fact that Alex is immediately presented as the Prince Charming who saved her. 

I'm bringing this up because I think it's important to question what kind of agency Grace had prior to marrying Alex. I know I mentioned choice, but I keep going back to the scene where he asks her whether she really wants to do this. He grabs her by the shoulders and says, "I'm giving you an out." 

This is a really important scene because when Grace tells him that she wants to be with him, it seems that she has all the power. However, what we learn later in the movie is that Alex withheld important information (the games), which prevented her from making an informative choice. Worst of all, later, when Grace asks him why he let her play the games when he knew what could possibly happen, he actually weaponizes her agency against her when he says, "You wanted to get married." 

What this shows is that prior to marriage, Grace did not really have any real choice. Not really because she didn't have enough knowledge to make a fully informed decision. However, when she rips the dress on her own terms, when she slings the unfunctional gun over her shoulder, when she becomes stained with dirt and blood, when her hair comes loose, that's when she finally establishes real agency. There are no more secrets; her decision is based on what she wants and needs. And, right now, she wants out. Like ASAP.

Graceless & Profane: Detaching Femininity Through Swearing

Alongside her clothes, another element to Grace's unravelling can be seen through her use of profanity. At first, Grace is comparatively soft-spoken and polite. For example, during her wedding, she looks visibly uncomfortable as she interacts with Alex's family. Yet, Grace keeps up a brave front, bracing herself against random insults or insinuations. 

Even as the environment gets weirder, Grace keeps her polite, people-pleasing persona on the surface. Her goal, just like she confides in Alex's mom is "to have a real permanent family." Alex is contingent on her having this dream— it's arguably the only importance Alex has. Sucking it up and dealing with shitty comments from in-laws is just a part of the game. 

Her first mistake, as we all see coming, is believing in a man. Trusting Alex is also another reason why I argue that Grace never had any real choice to begin with. Her marriage was built on an implicit ultimatum: wear the dress and be a part of a family, or leave and get nothing. Out of the two of them, Grace had the most to lose. Which is why Alex's all so sacrificing offer means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

It's only when reality kicks her in the ass— specifically when Alex states that Grace essentially chose to be hunted by her family— that Grace finally lets loose. 

Crouched behind the bed, Alex whisper-yells: "You have to play the fucking game!" And I can't help but question exactly what game he's referring to. Grace sees that, too. His comment isn't just about Ready or Not, but also of their relationship, which is a series of games and expectations that Grace must adhere to in order to belong.

 That's when we hear her first "What the fuck?"

Comedic effect? For sure, but it's also more important than that. Having her swear essentially strips away any purity she was embodying earlier as Alex's bride. Grace is fucking ready to fight. 

The best scene, in my opinion, and the most blatant moment where Grace rejects any semblance of femininity, is when she cusses out the driver for not helping her when she finally makes it out of the house. The moment is perfectly comedic and encapsulates the rage and frustration that she'd veiled earlier out into the air. The primal nature of her scream is almost cathartic. There is no politeness, no coherence, no words, to show how she feels. All she really has is a string of swear words and a scream so resonant and painful that it shakes your bones. It's primal and wild, but it's also a moment of agency; she's returning to her true self, expressing herself without fear or care of anyone watching. 

If only she were finally done.

The Final Laugh

Dressed down in tatters, blood-splattered and unhinged, Alex finally returns to the screen to see his wife bashing in his mother's head. 

You guys. This is the moment. The complete stripping down of her "soul" or "purity" which made Alex want to be a better man is brought to the surface. This is Grace's truest, rawest form. There is no word, only violence, pure, uncontrolled and hell-bent on justice. 

So, naturally, Alex betrays her. #menactuallysuck 

This is essentially why Grace remains the best scream queen. Her survival isn't merely survival, it is a rejection of the norms and beliefs imposed on her. It is resistance against norms and traditions. She singlehandedly takes down the patriarchal conventions that keep this family together. She lets every member of the family explode. She fucking laughs in Alex's face. She burns the house down. 

She takes a drag of smoke.