Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a hide-and-seek game in which the player already knows many of the hiding spots. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t joy to be found.
Ready or Not 2 (fittingly subtitled Here I Come) is, for better or worse, more of the same—a dark comedy horror with some satisfying eat-the-rich meat to its gory bones. The original Ready or Not was a fun social satire with as much grit as crowd-pleasing entertainment; its sequel barely strays from the path the first laid out, making it much less surprising or subversive. Thankfully, it still retains that same balance of morbid vibrancy and engaging craft, creating a film that should leave most fans with their appetites quenched.
Picking up immediately where its predecessor ended, Grace (Samara Weaving) is taken to the hospital following a deadly game of Hide and Seek, which saw her barely survive the satanic ritual of the Le Domas family she married into. But just when she thinks she’s out, she’s pulled back in. The Le Domas were part of a cabal of rich families who practised Satanism. With their deaths, as a mysterious lawyer character (Elijah Wood) explains, these families – led by twins Titus and Ursula Danforth (Shawn Hatosy and Sarah Michelle Gellar, respectively) now have to kill Grace in one ultimate Hide and Seek contest, or have their wealth stripped from them.
At first, Grace, understandably, refuses to play. But she has little choice, as her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), has been dragged into the game and is forced to participate. Grace reluctantly takes part to protect Faith, despite not having even fully recovered from round one. Thus, a new game of survival begins – same rules, same stakes, even the same blood-splattered wedding dress.
Like the original, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a comedy-horror that uses the extremes of its dark premise to critique the entitlement and straight-up bizarreness of the elite class. In particular, the film satirises the inherent gluttony and greed of the wealthy, even when they have more than enough. The rich families are fighting each other as much as Grace here, battling it out to have more status than the others by killing Grace first. As much as the picture adheres to the first’s eat-the-rich sentiments, it also appears to be arguing that the rich will eventually cannibalise each other if given the right incentive.
With the increasing return of monopolies in the film industry, there’s perhaps a potent observation there. Yet the film is more focused on using the cartoonish belligerence and shallowness of these various antagonists as a source of mockery. It doesn’t undermine the genuine harm these figures can cause – Titus gradually becomes a menacing persona the further the film goes on – but the bulk of the comedy comes from the sheer childishness and even cowardice that these characters’ lust for money and power gives rise to. A notable example is Maia Jae’s Francesca, an ex of Grace’s now deceased husband. As such, she wears her own wedding dress during the game as a way of spiting Grace, despite Grace having no clue who she was before their encounter; painting these antagonists as equal parts pathetic and powerful taps into the appeal of the film’s dual genre.
Grounding and contrasting the anti-wealth sentiments is the story of sisterhood between Grace and Faith. Where the first was about personal autonomy, the sequel is more concerned with solidarity. In a way, Ready or Not 2 serves as a reflection on how working-class people should put petty grievances and divisions aside when facing the oppressive might of the ultra-wealthy. But if we remove the subtext, it’s a charming story of sisters rekindling in the face of violence.
Weaving and Newton have a plethora of horror credits between them – both could debatably be labelled modern-day scream queens – and their frenemy dynamic amplifies the stakes and the humour when the unlikely duo is forced to work together. On their own, the characters perhaps don’t have that much depth – albeit Grace remains as cunning and inventive as ever – but Weaving and Newton’s chemistry carries the pair far, their shared arcs hitting just the right beats to generate investment.
Examining the picture just from face value rewards the viewer with plenty of hyperbolic humour and slasher horror. The gore does seem a touch toned down from the original, but there’s still plenty of squirm-worthy sequences – a moment involving the removal of glass from skin comes to mind – which is a testament to the effects and makeup teams.
On many occasions, the film hybridises its genres to create its visual absurdity. Explosions of blood are not uncommon, with an effect as entertainingly preposterous as it is graphic. The costume design – helmed by Avery Plewes and team – is once again alluring too, Grace’s bloody and destroyed wedding dress returning with a vengeance to smash the wealthy and the patriarchy alike, the costumes of the antagonists enhancing their pitiful characteristics. That household names such as Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, and even body-horror legend David Cronenberg, in one significant scene, are willing to be playful in their deliveries only adds to the picture’s quirkiness.
It’s a fun barrel of carnage, but there isn’t much risk-taking either. It offers the same anti-wealth commentary and the same survival-game setup, but some of the bite that made the original’s observations so impressive is lost through narrative recycling. That doesn’t make the film bad by any stretch, but it is a diminishing return nonetheless. It’s familiar territory to a fault, which will be disappointing for those hoping for something more out there in storytelling. But for those who want some amusing slasher thrills with some overt anti-wealth sentiments, you can do a lot worse than what this popcorn horror offers.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a hide-and-seek game in which the player already knows many of the hiding spots. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t joy to be found. Stylishly crafted and once again amplified by Samara Weaving’s natural charm as a performer, it’s a film that does exactly what it promises on the poster, and thus has more than enough to offer for fans of the genre. Sometimes, an enjoyable and accessible flick with a touch of timely subtext is all one really needs from their cinema trip.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is now playing in cinemas nationwide.
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