Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is riotous, blood-soaked fun that confidently expands the lore set in its incredibly effective forerunner.
The directing duo known as Radio Silence certainly know how to handle this property, with stars Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton forming an entertaining double act.
Mr Le Bail is well-served here.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
A long-gestating follow-up
Ready or Not appeared in theatres seven years ago, pre-strikes and pre-COVID.
Made for a modest $6 million, the film went on to gross over $57 million worldwide at the box office, a decent return.
What’s more, it announced the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, comprising directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, onto the cinematic world stage.
The box office and critical success of Ready or Not catapulted Radio Silence on a strong horror run, helming Scream, Scream VI and Abigail, which were released across 2022, ‘23 and ‘24, respectively.
Those films triggered the long wait between the two Ready or Not films, and originally prevented Radio Silence from helming the follow-up, despite a sequel being prepared from the outset of the original’s success.
Luckily, Newton was a key cog in Abigail, and inspired Radio Silence to centre Ready or Not 2 on a sisterly dynamic, which is ultimately the making of the film.
What is ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ about?
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, unlike the production, picks right up from where Ready or Not left off.
In the first film (spoilers), Weaving’s Grace learns moments after marrying into the mega-rich Le Domas family that she must take part in a ritualistic game of hide-and-seek.
The problem is that the Le Domas family are part of a Stanic cult and must catch and kill Grace before dawn, or fall fatally victim to their devilish, supernatural benefactor, Mr Le Bail.
Grace, with an incredible scream queen performance from Weaving, bests the Le Domas family and leaves behind a blood-soaked, burning Le Domas family home in triumph.
Ready or Not 2 starts with her outside the Le Domas home, still smoking her victory cigarette, shortly before she collapses.
She awakes in a hospital, facing murder charges and her estranged sister Faith (Newton).
Alas, the Le Domas family were part of a network of mega-rich bloodlines all in service to Mr Le Bail, and Grace is thrust into an expanded game of hide-and-seek, with four families battling to get the prized kill, and with it a prize of global influence.
Faith is dragged into the violent contest as collateral, and the two sisters must set aside their differences and work together.
Repeating what works, and adding something fresh
Ready or Not worked so well thanks to a badass performance from Weaving, a fresh, fun concept, pure thrills, gore and comedic quirks.
Moreover, a talented ensemble cast all relished the juicy material.
The same is occurring with Ready or Not 2, helped no doubt by Radio Silence returning, along with writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Weaving is on top form again as well, and her blood-soaked wedding dress is surely now an icon of cinema costume.
The violent hide-and-seek format is impossible not to enjoy as well.
Still, sequels can suffer from being too samey, but adding Newton’s Faith helps no end.
Newton and Weaving have believable chemistry as sisters, adding wit and drama in equal measure and creating a heightened sense of stakes.
Adding four competing mega-rich families from across the globe also adds a new twist to the formula, and the film just about stops things from getting too silly with the expansion of the Mr Le Bail lore.
The key conspirators are the deadly brother-sister duo, Titus and Ursula Danforth, portrayed by Shawn Hatosy and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
They’re a sinister pairing, gleefully enjoying the fun that can be had within the Ready or Not sandbox.
Hatosy, in particular, is intensely twisted and cruel – a villain worth rooting against.
If anything is going against this sequel compared to its predecessor, it’s that expanding the lore requires an extra layer of exposition, whereas the original remained relatively simple in its premise.
Once the game was afoot in Ready or Not, the plot proceeded unencumbered.
Here, various rules and changes need explaining, which can drag things down from the otherwise relentless pace in which Ready or Not 2 canters along.
Still, the exposition, heavy as it is, is delivered well by the delightful, weird performance wrought by Elijah Wood.
Wood’s character, The Lawyer, represents the legion of satanic families, and thus lays out the rules of Mr Le Bail’s sadistic game.
All in all, though, fans of Ready or Not are served well with this sequel, which keeps up the fun and gore in equal measure.
Newton is a compelling sidekick to Weaving, who is insanely likeable as the everyday heroine you love to root for.
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