The best death game movies include genre-defining classics like Battle Royale and fan-favorite blockbusters like The Hunger Games.
In the realm of the greatest thriller and horror movies is a subgenre that has grown in popularity over the years – the “death game” films. These are brutal and often disturbing works that thrust characters into ruthless games of survival, with only the most cunning, creative, or desperate players coming out alive. There are some standouts from the niche that are critically acclaimed thanks to their uniqueness, complexity, or bold genre-defining concepts that would go on to shape and influence modern death game movies.
From controversial classics like Battle Royale to beloved blockbusters like The Hunger Games, the best death game movies depict violent battles bound by twisted sets of rules that ensure there will be bloodshed. These adrenaline-pumping films can get viewers invested in the characters’ fates and lives, which are inevitably cut short when the games begin.Ready or Not (2019)
Ready or Not is a one-of-a-kind death game movie because it only features one player – Grace (Scream VI‘s Samara Weaving) – who goes against her soon-to-be husband’s entire family. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the film depicts Grace’s unfortunate wedding night after she participates in a seemingly innocent family tradition. She draws a game card from a puzzle box, revealing that she has picked “Hide-and-Seek,” which soon leads to her being hunted by every single member of the family.
Aside from featuring one of the best final girls in horror, Ready or Not is a unique entry in the subgenre because of its use of black comedy. As family members suffer horrific injuries while trying and failing to catch Grace, there are numerous comical scenes that will have audiences laughing at the most inappropriate moments. As if all that wasn’t enough, the 2019 film is also a comedic commentary on excessive wealth, with Grace’s iconic line perfectly summing up her experience as a victim of the death game: “F**king rich people.”
Ready or Not is streaming on Fubo TV.Cube (1997)
When a group of strangers wakes up in bizarre Kafkaesque cube-like rooms, they have no idea what horrors are about to unfold.
