Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – Film Review

Cast:  Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Synopsis: After surviving a brutal game of hide-and-seek, Grace (Weaving) learns that her nightmare is not over and is pulled back into a new game…

Review: The morning after one’s wedding night would, in most cases, be a joyous celebration as you prepare to mark a new chapter with the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. Except for Grace Le Domas MacCaullay, it didn’t quite work out that way, as she was forced by her devil-worshipping in-laws to play a brutal game of hide-and-seek as part of a twisted ritual. Though she didn’t emerge unscathed, she ultimately prevailed and got the last laugh after her deceased family members met a rather explosive demise at the end of the first Ready or Not, a film that turbocharged the careers of Weaving and the directing duo collectively known as Radio Silence. Such was the film’s brilliant culmination, though it may have raised the question of whether a sequel was really needed. Fear not, and no sacrifice to Mr Le Bail is needed, because this is another bloody delight.

We pick up immediately where the last film left off as Grace, her wedding dress torn and splattered with blood, lights a cigarette outside the home of her (former) in-laws, now engulfed in flames, before promptly collapsing due to sheer exhaustion. Emergency crews attend to her before taking her to the hospital, where she reunites with her long-lost and estranged sister, Faith (Newton). However, the police are understandably interested in hearing Grace’s side of the story about how she went from happily married to a widow in less than 24 hours. But before that can happen, both sisters are promptly kidnapped and taken to a vast private resort, where Mr Le Bail’s mysterious Lawyer (Wood) tells them that, due to Grace’s survival and the deaths of the Le Domas, this has triggered a new game. Simply put, whoever kills Grace first will win control of the High Seat of an all-powerful Council that runs the world from behind the scenes.

 

Although Grace is initially adamant she does not want to go through this nightmare once again, she is left with no other choice when the council threaten to kill Faith if she does not agree. A new game is afoot, with brand-new players, but the rules remain the same. Grace and Faith must do whatever they can to lie low and prevent the other four families, namely the Danforths, the Wan Chens, the El Caidos and the Rajans, from killing them and claiming all the power in the world for themselves. If it isn’t broke, there’s no need to tamper with it was clearly the mindset of returning writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, because it is, more or less, a very similar film to its predecessor in terms of plot. Such familiar beats risk making this sequel stale very quickly, so to counter this, the screenplay expands the world these families inhabit and their motivations for finishing what the Le Domases could not. Furthermore, with it being a battle of super-rich, smug as fuck families vying for control of an all-powerful seat on a council, one could almost liken it to a certain HBO show, only with more than a dozen bucketfuls of blood.

What also makes this sequel a refreshing burst of energy is the introduction of Faith. After damn near stealing the show in Abigail, Newton once again brings that feisty energy to deliver another memorable performance. There is clearly no love lost between these two sisters after years of not speaking to one another. Although Faith is understandably furious with Grace for getting dragged into this game of life and death, she realises that the sisters must set their differences aside and stay alive against the countless numbers of Satanic-worshipping, uber-rich arseholes coming to kill them. The most memorable individuals are the mysterious lawyer and Wood, who is devilishly delightful in yet another role where he is carrying an all-powerful ring. Of those new characters tasked with doing the hunting, the most memorable are the Danforth siblings: Ursula, played by the one and only Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Titus, played by Shawn Hatosy. Like the MacCaullay sisters, their relationship isn’t perfect, but they know what could be theirs for the taking if they succeed, and they’re extra motivated to reclaim the seat once held by their father, Chester (Cronenberg).

After being entrusted with the reins of a legendary slasher franchise featuring numerous killers who like to don ghostlike masks, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have only gone from strength to strength as directors. Such was the understandable reverence they held for the Scream franchise that their perfect blend of horror-comedy took a back seat. However, now they’re back in this wacky world of the supernatural, the gloves are once again off. No longer being confined to one admittedly rather large house and its grounds allows them to go bigger with truly bonkers action setpieces, including a brutally memorable, fierce showdown between Grace and her late husband’s former fiancée, who harbours a deep grudge against Grace for stealing her man. Hell truly hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Ultimately, it all comes back to Grace, and Weaving slips back into this role (and her bloodied wedding dress) effortlessly, and delivers another killer performance to further establish herself as a truly iconic modern-day scream queen. In a world where the rich seem to be getting richer with each passing day, films which channel an “eat the rich” vibe are worth their weight in gold. Despite its obvious similarities to its predecessor, this sequel goes all in to deliver balls-to-the-wall bloody action. For that, you can’t do anything except sit there and quietly give it a nod of approval.

Upping the stakes from its predecessor, this is another delightfully batshit and blood-soaked serving of over-the-top comedy-horror with a killer sisterly double act in Weaving and Newton.