Film Review: ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ is a Fun Continuation of the Horror Comedy Story

Ready or Not was a delightful surprise for me, mixing comedy and horror in a consistently entertaining manner. Nothing about it called for a sequel, but then again, Radio Silence has proven themselves time and time again, even with Scream sequels, so they deserved the benefit of the doubt. While Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is completely unnecessary and nothing about the film breaks any new ground, the pleasures here are quite similar to last time out. While the element of surprise is no longer in their favor, the ability to consistently entertain, as well as play the premise out to its full potential, is once again in evidence. Did I demand a sequel to Ready or Not? No. Did I enjoy the hell out of this, nevertheless? You bet I did.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come doesn’t have the same wow factor as its predecessor, admittedly, but all involved know what works about the property. Raising the stakes and opening up the world can be a mixed bag for a sequel, but this flick manages not to dilute what works. Last time around, I was grinning from ear to ear throughout. Here, my smile wasn’t quite as big, but it sure was there, basically from start to finish.

Picking up literally as the first film ended, Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) has survived the game of Hide and Seek with the La Domas family. Going into shock, she’s rushed to the hospital, where she wakes up handcuffed, as the police are quite curious about her role in the death of the entire clan. Also arriving on the scene is her estranged sister Faith MacCaullay (Kathryn Newton), who she forgot to remove as her emergency contact. Her peace will be short lived, however, as her improbable success in the game has put something far bigger into motion.

Grace’s win over the La Domas family has opened up a spot within the group that essentially runs the world. Four rival families are going to be competing for the High Seat of the Council, with Grace once again the target. As explained by a mysterious lawyer (Elijah Wood), there are new rules, as well as an opportunity for Grace to win the High Seat. This time, she’ll be forced to survive four families, with Faith at her side. Bickering between the two ensue, though they once again prove adapt at survival. The Danforth family (led by David Cronenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Shawn Hatosy) is hosting the game and seems to have the advantage, but the other families are no slouches. As the clock ticks, the sisters work through old issues, discover new rules to the game, and must figure out a way to stay alive.

Samara Weaving is joined this time by Kathryn Newton, with their banter providing a new highlight. Last time, the La Domas clan provided the best quality, so now it’s on Grace and Faith to carry more of the load. Newton and Weaving make the action work without any issue, though it’s the sisterly interactions that provide the highlight. Elijah Wood gets a few nicely deadpan moments as the lawyer, while Sarah Michelle Gellar is the ice queen to Shawn Hatosy’s unleashed psychopath. In addition to a welcome cameo from horror master David Cronenberg, the supporting cast of players includes Dan Beirne, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cheng, Kevin Durand, Antony Hall, Maia Jae, Masa Lizdek, Juan Pablo Romero, Varun Saranga, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, and more.

Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return to co-write and direct, with Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy also getting writing credits. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are far more interested this time around with the rules of the game and the bylaws of this secret society, which is part of expanding the story. More often than not, it leads to an amusing moment, though the ultimately we wind up in the same places. The dialogue isn’t quite is witty, though some of the fights do raise the brutality level. Still, it’s a fun flick with the possibility of bad guys spontaneously combusting. They’ve hit on a winning formula and don’t stray too far from it.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come should please anyone who enjoyed Ready or Not, as well as just gory horror comedies. There’s plenty to giggle at, squirm at, and ultimately have a good time with. The originality isn’t there anymore, and that’s a mild shame. That being said, if this is now a franchise, we have a good one on our hands.

SCORE: ★★★