Ready or Not 2: Here They Come review by Bobby Blakey
Before directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett took on the task of rebooting the Scream franchise or diving into the world of vampires with Abigail they took fans into a insane game of violence with 2019s Ready or Not. Now they are heading back to the game with Ready or Not 2: Here we come bringing back lead Samara Weaving along with a great new cast including Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Varun Saranga, and Daniel Beirne. Could this next chapter bring more of the same fun carnage, or will it fail to make it to dawn?
Ready or Not 2: Here We Come follows Grace, moments after surviving an all-out attack by the Le Domas family, who discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.
I love films like this where they literally pick things up at the final moments of the previous film. The final scene of the first film is the first scene here and it wastes little time getting right back into the insanity of it all. They give just enough of a break to introduce new characters and expand the lore of this world thus making everything bigger and bloodier. Now that the big reveal of the previous film is out there it allowed them to just get right into the craziness of it all and they go all in. It brings more humor this time around which works fine, but it does veer it away from some of the suspense and horror elements of the first film. Some might be upset by this, but it takes the film into new territory and gives it a whole new vibe while keeping what made it work intact.
The entire cast are great fun with everyone bringing something different from
sleezy to funny to creepy and everything in between. The primary focus sits on the relationship between Grace and Faith played by Weaving and Newton. They are great together with their dysfunctional relationship bringing a nonstop fight between them while fighting to survive this crazy situation. As much as I loved them both I was annoyed a lot of the time with the issue of their past constantly brought up and not nearly as traumatic as they played it up. It’s fine and more of a personal annoyance and doesn’t hurt the overall film.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much screen time the other cast members got, especially Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood who are both great here. The dynamic of all the members of the council and their family is what really makes this film work. They are so over the top at times it is just fantastic to watch, and you cannot wait for them to meet their end in some bloody fashion. As much as I loved the crazy family of the first film these new additions are so much better in their insanity and idiocy.
The blood flows freely this time around with it rarely letting up from the moment it kicks off the new game. I think the first film still stands above this one, but the expansion into a bigger game of play lets them do more things and elevate it like any sequel should. I am not sure if they will figure out a way to return to this world, but I would be here for it. Either way it offers up a perfect ending to the two-film story.
Decide for yourself and check out Ready or Not 2: Here I Come in theaters now from Searchlight Pictures. Searchlight Pictures.