Greetings, spooky kids of Winchester.

Games we played as children always have a nostalgic warm spot for us. Games we played may not be the games our children or grandchildren currently find pleasure in.

My favorite were games that required players to partake in physical interaction while developing your imagination with my friends or other kids who wanted to play.

There was no Minecraft or Fortnite. Though we had Ataris, Intellivision or Nintendo, we only played video games sparingly as we lived outside to play until the streetlight went on.

We didn’t use hand sanitizer when we got dirty, we weren’t coddled when we scraped our knees, we made bike ramps though none of us understood physics or had engineering degrees at the time, and we were inventive in making our own fun.

My favorite game to play required to us to be outside and was called Manhunt. Manhunt was a more serious version of hide-and-seek but encompassed a larger area of play, a team concept of freeing captured players the seeker found and was more about finding the perfect hiding spot waiting for an opportunity to free your team.

While hiding, there was suspense, excitement and a sense of survival which enthralled the senses.

Today’s feature showcases a tale of a simple game of hide and seek played by adults that has a more serious, horrifying tone. So, ready or not, here comes Disney Studios (What?) release of “Ready or Not.”

“Ready or Not” is a horror thriller, dark comedy which sees a bride Grace, Samara “The Babysitter” Weaving, marrying Alex, Mark “Bad Times at the El Royale” O’Brien, and entering as the new member of the rich and eccentric Le Domas family.

After the picturesque wedding concludes, things get weird when the family plays a game of hide-and-seek that goes on until dawn. The game involves Grace fighting for her life and trying to survive her sadistic in-laws in a twisted ritual game of cat and mouse.

Some of the eccentric family members are played by Adam “Jennifer’s Body” Brody, Henry “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” Czerny and Andie “Groundhog Day” MacDowell.

It just goes to show you once again, the more wealth and prestige people have, power and dark desires tempt their behaviors into committing acts of evil which go against the norms of society and human condition.

“Ready or Not” should please horror fans and is a fun and dark comedy which could be best summed up as “The Most Dangerous Game” meets “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in a posh and elegant environment full of wealth, pretensions and sadism.

“Ready or Not” was written by Gary “Stan Against Evil” Busick and Ryan “Minutes Past Midnight” Murphy and codirected by Matt “V/H/S” Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler “The Midnight Show” Gillett.

Filmed in Canada, the setting and scenery are visually grand and are perfect for the high stakes games of surviving a night with the in-laws.

Canada, Eastern Europe, Georgia and New Mexico are the hot spots for production to film due to the great tax incentives. Kentucky has made great strides, but we need to be more aggressive with our incentives to persuade productions to film in our great state, especially with the rich history and sites of Central Kentucky.

“Ready or Not” could have been filmed here and would have brought attention to us and helped our local economy. Just look at how many productions are filmed in rural Georgia that could have been filmed here if only we were more competitive to attract the studios.

This fright maybe what you seek and need after a long week.

Have a fun, film-tastic day!

Rick Baldwin is a writer, filmmaker and film/music historian. He is president of the Winchester-Clark County Film Society. Find more from Rick on Facebook. He is on Twitter @rickbaldwin79  and can be reached by email at rickbaldwiniii@hotmail.com.