WARNING: This Ready or Not 2 review contains minor spoilers
Blood is thicker than survival in the new Ready or Not movie–and there is a lot of that here.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet were aiming for something bigger with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and we see it.
We didn’t feel it that much, however. Did that impact the movie’s effect? Not so much. It’s still 100% entertaining.
But it pales in comparison to its predecessor, which is ironic because this new movie had so much potential in it.
The stakes are higher not just for Grace (Samara Weaving) but for the villains. This time, we discover that the Le Domas family is just one part of a Satanic cult that participates in this awful bloody games. After making it to dawn, Grace’s survival triggered another game. With her in-laws wiped out, something in the Council’s by laws is triggered and now, the remaining families in the organization must embark on a hunt of their own.
Ready or Not 2 takes off immediately after the events in the first movie. As Grace leaves the burning Le Domas mansion, paramedics take her to the hospital. Since no one knows about all the weirdness that occured that night, police naturally suspects Grace so they put her under investigation. While recovering (in hand cuffs), her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), arrives.
But before the two get the chance to catch up, one of the head of the families tried to kill Mrs. Le Domas in the hospital. It wasn’t long before the Lawyer (Elijah Wood) and his henchmen gassed and abducted the two sisters to be brought to where the deadly game will happen.
It’s interesting to see a sequel that seamlessly connects two films. By starting out minutes after the first movie ends, the story immediately creates a sense of danger. This, however, may briefly cause a problem for those who haven’t seen Ready or Not. The good news is, it’s easy to catch up as the movie rolls along. The script is pretty straightforward. It also doesn’t dilly dally, which is always beneficial especially for a movie with an ensemble cast. Once the ball starts rolling, it doesn’t waste any time showing us who the players are. Their lines giving away the kind of personality they have and even foreshadowing their eventual fates in the movie.
In just a few minutes since the start, we were able to learn all these as well as the bigger (more terrifying) picture. The first movie felt more like a glimpse into the sick minds of the rich and weird. An unveiling of their disgusting taste for entertainment and the dangerously foolish ways they try to gatekeep their circles. It was a case study of entitled brats justifying the ways they live.
It’s still the same this time, only bigger. The stakes are higher because it is no longer about a family trying to keep tradition. The world’s fate is on the line because, apparently, the High Seat of the Council has control of the world and get to decide global conditions, like approving a ceasefire during a war. The families called to hunt are not just playing for to keep their wealth, they’re playing the biggest game of tug-of-war.
Naturally, a reward of this scale further diminishes the significance of our lead character. Global dominion as a motivation should make for an easy kill. Even the least evil character here would not have any qualms un-aliving this bride. And this adds a very interesting, nice layer into the story.
The filmmakers, obviously, wanted this bigger and grander. And it shows. It’s bloodier. The kills are a bit more creative in the sense that they utilized weapons you wouldn’t exactly think of. There’s a lot more camp, thankfully. One standout was the duel between Grace and her former husband’s ex-girlfriend where they were fighting while ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ is playing. But it goes beyond that.
Expanding the story beyond satisfying devilish cravings of a family and involving the fate of the world gives it more… well not exactly political heft, but it does make the movie a little bit more attune to our reality.
However, this is also where some of the issues lie. The overall plot wasn’t able to give it enough room to develop. Aside from a scene in the final act where Ursula Danforth (Sarah Michelle Gellar) expresses her fear of her twin brother Titus (Shawn Hatosy) being in charge of the world, there’s really no other indication of how the whole kill-Grace-and-Faith-for-the-High-Seat would impact the rest of humankind. And that’s a bit of a letdown.
Additionally, nothing during the entire movie hinted that Grace actually give a sh*t about anything other than her and her sister’s lives (which is totally understandable) and that is also why that particular subplot (if we can consider that one) doesn’t much teeth.
Fortunately, the villains are a lot more fun this time. The personalities and antics were pure entertainment. They all played well into the archetypes they represent. The standouts, of course, were Hatosy and Gellar. Despite not having a lot of material (or lines) to work with, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer icon gave a nuanced performance that perfectly balanced camp, comedy, and seriousness. (It’s sad she had to go out that way, too. Like Cersei dying just because she got pinned down under a pile of stone.)
All of these culminated well in the final act. The entire movie was kinda predictable simply because there is no way the directors and scriptwriter are going to kill Grace. You know coming in that she will make it to the next morning. It’s just a matter of how.
And that is where the thrill lies. The fun is in how each hunter would try to off Grace and Faith. Now while these scenes got a bit creative with the choice of weapons, they weren’t as innovative as the ones in the first film. There was not a lot of shock value. Yes, there’s a lot of combustion, but not a lot of gore.
We saw a lot of blood, which is fun. But that didn’t really elevate the chase and kill scenes. And that was what felt like a letdown.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is now playing in cinemas.