Grace has had a tough life. She grew up shunted between foster homes and has never held down a job more glamorous than waitressing.
It's not all bad, though – it was while working as a waitress that she met her fiance Alex, the heir to a huge gaming fortune, and as Ready or Not, which releases across the UAE on Thursday, begins to unfold, the pair are in the process of tying the knot in a plush ceremony.
It sounds like a dream come true, but there's a snag. For Alex's family, gaming isn't just a business, it's a way of life, and as midnight strikes, Grace – played by Samara Weaving – learns of a strange ritual that takes place on familial wedding nights: she's going to have to play a game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws. However, in this version, the game could perhaps be more appropriately titled hide-or-be-killed. If Grace makes it until morning, she'll be welcomed into the family's warm embrace. If not, she'll be welcomed into death's cold embrace. As annoying in-laws go, the Le Domas family set new standards.
Weaving, the Australian actress who first came to prominence playing Indi Walker in hit Australian soap opera Home and Away, appears to be carving a niche for herself in the horror market after her starring role in 2017's The Babysitter.
The actress admits she's a fan of the genre but in this film, she says, it's about the laughs, too. "I love comedy/horror films and it's a great story. There are scares, but it's also very funny," she tells The National. "We just couldn't keep a straight face because we kept cracking each other up.
"One time it was 3am and we were shooting a tiny scene, which should have taken a maximum of 20 minutes. Mark [O'Brien, as Alex] and I were in a car and Mark was wearing a mask, which looks terrifying on screen, but close-up – I was two centimetres from his face – I could see he was trying not to laugh. We were hysterical – we could not stop for at least half an hour."
Weaving doesn't only get to display her growing horror credibility and her comedy chops in Ready or Not. She also has a crack at her first full-on action role as she evades her murderous new family and their array of high-tech and low-tech weaponry – think The Hunger Games meets a poverty-stricken female-centric Get Out, and you're on the right lines.
She admits the action was tough, but says she found the comedy the most challenging – and the most fun. "The action involved a lot of running and fighting, and I'm wearing a ripped wedding dress – it's snowing outside at two in the morning. But that wasn't the hard part for me," she says. "The real challenge was that the cast and crew couldn't stop laughing in very serious, scary scenes – we were in hysterics the whole time."
You could reasonably ask why Grace has even entered this bizarre family in the first place, immense wealth notwithstanding, especially since they are clearly dysfunctional and creepy even before we get to their murderous family traditions. But like all good actresses, Weaving has her character’s motivations worked out.
"It's the fact that she lacked a family herself as a child, together with the abandonment and trauma she's experienced," she says. "I am meeting my future family for the first time. The wedding is beautiful but a bit weird. But I'm so excited that I'm going to be a part of this great new family that nothing else matters."
Weaving has some impressive fellow alumni from the Home and Away talent pool – Guy Pearce and Isla Fisher spring immediately to mind – though says landing a role in the TV show wasn't premeditated.
"As a child, I was very shy and such an introvert, and it was hard for me because we were moving around all the time. My parents put me into a drama class when I was about five years old to bring me out of my shell," she says. "Honestly, it was a fluke … [then] I remember loving drama at school. I said, 'I'd like an agent,' so [my parents] arranged a meeting, thinking nothing would probably happen. But I got an agent when I was 13 and then straight away I got an audition for a show called Out of the Blue and then the role in Home and Away."
Fluke or not, Weaving's star is definitely in the ascendant – we already saw her playing Frances McDormand's nemesis, the ditsy husband-stealer, Penelope, in the Oscar-nominated (and many would argue unfairly Best Film-denied) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Next up, we can expect to see her take a leading role in the eagerly anticipated sequel Bill and Ted Face the Music, playing Bill (Alex Winter)'s daughter Thea, named, of course, after his best friend Ted (Keanu Reeves). What can we expect next from Weaving's steady, but apparently unstoppable, game plan to be the biggest Australian import to Hollywood since the likes of Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman?
"I don't even dare to do that, but I do have goals," she says. "I know that there's a big difference between being famous and being successful. I want to be successful – fame is so fickle. In terms of roles, I want to do things that challenge and scare me. What I learned from Home and Away was that playing the same role for three years, you get to know the character and then you're itching to do something new, something different, and you learn from every experience. And that's what I want to do – keep learning.
Ready or Not is in cinemas across the UAE from August 22.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Company%20Profile
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Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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AIDA%20RETURNS
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
HEY%20MERCEDES%2C%20WHAT%20CAN%20YOU%20DO%20FOR%20ME%3F
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BRAZIL%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20Alisson%2C%20Ederson%2C%20Weverton%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EDefenders%3A%20Dani%20Alves%2C%20Marquinhos%2C%20Thiago%20Silva%2C%20Eder%20Militao%20%2C%20Danilo%2C%20Alex%20Sandro%2C%20Alex%20Telles%2C%20Bremer.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EMidfielders%3A%20Casemiro%2C%20Fred%2C%20Fabinho%2C%20Bruno%20Guimaraes%2C%20Lucas%20Paqueta%2C%20Everton%20Ribeiro.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EForwards%3A%20Neymar%2C%20Vinicius%20Junior%2C%20Richarlison%2C%20Raphinha%2C%20Antony%2C%20Gabriel%20Jesus%2C%20Gabriel%20Martinelli%2C%20Pedro%2C%20Rodrygo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The five pillars of Islam
