READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come succeeds thanks to the committed performances of Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy who all revel in the madness and wicked fun nature of the story, that combined with expanded lore surrounding the mystical Mr. Le Bail, helps to deliver a satisfying second game of hide and seek even if it never for a moment is as clever, brutal or twisted as the first film.

While they had directed one feature film together and two segments in horror anthology films, Ready or Not was the breakout feature for directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, as well as helping to make its leading star Samara Weaving an instantly iconic final girl. Gillet and Bettinelli-Olpin followed up Ready or Not with two Scream films, one of which featured Weaving as the iconic opening kill scene victim, and explored the world of Universal’s classic monsters with Abigail, continuing to flex their talents for horror storytelling. But seven years after its initial release, they are finally returning to Grace MacCaullay and the world of Ready or Not in the cleverly named Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (or as the film’s opening title card calls it, merely Ready or Not: Here I Come). Following the logic behind so many sequels, expanding the lore of the world and expanding its scope, there is lots of fun to be had with Weaving back in her bloody dress knocking off the rich assholes hunting her down, with the excellent additions of Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy who all fit seamlessly into this world, even if as a whole Ready or Not 2: Here I Come feels safer and less shocking than its breakout predecessor.

Weaving once again is a force of nature as Grace, instantly slipping back into the bloodied dress of her fan favourite final girl. Packing a bloodthirsty fight to survive with a cunningness and no nonsense attitude, Weaving infuses the entire film with a fierceness that fuels the entire production as you watch Grace not only fight to keep her sister Faith alive, but dead set on ensuring that she never finds herself in this situation again by eliminating anyone who gets in her way. With the addition of her sister Faith, Weaving is able to tap into Grace’s backstory, which we got next to nothing of in the first film, deepening the character with more emotional moments beyond the physical pain and suffering that lets Weaving develop a final girl that is not only completely badass but one who is also vulnerable and compelling. Being no stranger to the horror genre herself, Newton fits in perfectly alongside Weaving as Grace’s little sister Faith. Armed with a brilliant comedic timing that delivers many of the film’s biggest laughs, Newton perfectly complements the energy of Weaving while bringing a sense of chaos to the film. As a pairing, Weaving and Newton find an infectious chemistry, one second bickering as they explore the pain of their character’s past, while in the next finding an unstoppable power coupling as they fight for their survival. It’s the type of kinetic pairing that will have fans eagerly awaiting a third entry in the series just to see Weaving and Newton together again and back in action on the big screen.

Entering the ring as the wealthy and entitled individuals hunting Grace and Faith for sport and personal gain is a great supporting cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy are easily the standouts of the supporting cast as siblings Ursula and Titus Danforth, Gellar with a wickedness that creates for a fun and playful villain who means serious business, though it is Hatosy with a chilling psychopathic behaviour that creates the film’s unhinged and deadly enemy that is certain to leave viewers petrified once his true power is unleashed. Elijah Wood brings a kooky energy that fits perfectly into the comedic aspects of the film as the unnamed lawyer representing the Le Bail cult, ensuring that the rules are being followed to the letter for the latest game of hide and seek with a cheeky gleefulness, while Néstor Carbonell captures a revolting entitlement to Ignacio that makes for a fun player hunting down Grace and Faith. Maia Jae is a blast as Francesca El Caido, bringing an unbridled rage and thirst for vengeance against Grace with her over the top energy that not only delivers some big laughs, but helps to create the most memorable scene of the entire film. And while his presence is more limited, Daniel Beirne is an absolute hoot as Kip Danforth, who is hands down the most entitled character in the film, playing very heavily into the writing’s critical social critique of the rich and powerful.

Like so many sequels, writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy not only swing bigger with this sequel, but they expand the world it takes place in. The first film introduced the mysterious Mr. Le Bail who granted the Le Domas family their empire, and in this sequel that picks up exactly where the first film concluded, they further develop the powers and reach of Mr. Le Bail by introducing a shadowy cult consisting of the world’s wealthiest and most influential families, who have all made similar deals with Mr. Le Bail. It is through this idea that the next game of hide and seek arises, as each family is faced with either killing Grace and claiming the leadership of the cult that the Le Domas family previously held, or facing the wrath of Mr. Le Bail if Grace survives past sunrise. At the same time, the sisterly bond between Grace and Faith becomes an integral part of the film as they reconcile their broken past as Grace fights to keep Faith alive, who has become a pawn to use against Grace in this next game of hide and seek. This sister subplot adds a significant amount of heart to this story that alone justifies the sequel’s existence as it helps to give Grace the closure and happy ending she deserves after everything her wedding to Alex Le Domas has put her through.

Though, after all this plot setup, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come reverts back to the basics of the first film: a deadly game of hide and seek. The rules may be more complex this time around, and the stakes higher with Faith caught in the crossfire, but the objective remains the same: kill Grace or die yourself. And while no fans of the first film will complain about the game that unfolds, especially the final act which is a marked departure from the final act of the first film and gives Weaving her big moment, what they will be slightly disappointed in is how this game feels tamer than that of the first film. With significantly less participants at any given moment hunting down Grace and Faith, kill sequences that never feel as brutal or dangerous as those of the first film, and an overall lack of tension, the heart pounding and twistedly hilarious experience that audiences were treated to in Ready or Not does not unfold again. The body count racks up pretty quickly in the first two acts, delivering lots of bloody moments that always entertain including the standout bear mace scene which is unequivocally one of the best scenes of the year to date, but Ready of Not 2: Here I Come does not feel like a horror movie. Instead, this sequel feels more like an action movie, drawing comparisons to the shift in tone from Alien to Aliens and The Terminator to T2: Judgement Day, with a purely comical undertone and without the same sense of urgency, shocking nature or cleverness that defined the first Ready or Not. Though, the film ends on a strong note with a final act that breaks the established formula of the first film, giving Grace a powerful final moment to secure her and Faith’s safety, which pushes this story in the right direction and will no doubt give fans the satisfying conclusion to the story that they were looking for while embracing the underlying horror elements of the story’s lore.

Racking up yet another impressive body count with copious amounts of blood and laughter, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come will ultimately please fans of the first film looking for a bloody horror comedy, even if it never reaches the creative heights of the first film. Armed with new rules and players for this deadly game of hide and seek, writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy deliver some truly wild moments that will generate gleeful reactions for horror diehards looking for more outrageous deaths, but what holds Ready or Not 2: Here I Come for being on par with its predecessor is the lack of tension, unbridled fear and cleverly executed kills that made Ready or Not a runaway horror hit. With the dazzling and energetic performances of Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy leading the film, there is great fun to be had with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come as the next deadly game of hide and seek unfolds even if the overall experience succumbs to the curse of a sequel that cannot match the standard set by the first film.