1 of 5 | From left, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Samara Weaving star in “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
LOS ANGELES, March 16 (UPI) — Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, in theaters Friday, effectively expands the darkly comic horror of 2019’s original. Though six years later, it fits together with Ready or Not seamlessly.
Picking up from the final shot of Ready or Not, Grace (Samara Weaving) is picked up by paramedics from the burning mansion where her new in-laws subjected her to a game of Hide and Seek to the death.
While Grace is at the hospital and questioned by a detective (Grant Nickalls), Chester Danforth (David Cronenberg) sets in motion a rematch. International heads of six Satanic families may compete for his High Seat on the Council, since the family from the first movie failed to defeat Grace.
The sequel balances the real-life ramifications of surviving a Satanic Hide and Seek match with the absurdity of continuing that game. The outrageous mythology of the Danforth family quickly intrudes upon the logistics of the aftermath.
Chester’s children, Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy), are the hopeful heirs, but the film introduces colorful relatives from around the world with flamboyant characters.
Each of the families have their own dysfunction. The only disappointment may be that some of the more entertaining seekers get killed off too early.
Chen Xing (Olivia Cheng) has an ulterior motive and an oblivious screen addicted son (Antony Hall). Bill Wilkinson (Kevin Durand) is coked up and unhinged.
With no drugs, Ignacio (Nestor Carbonell) is overzealous compared to everyone except perhaps his own daughter (Maia Jae). The Rajans (Varun Saranga, Nadeem Umar-Khitab and Masa Lizdek) disagree on the extent of a hands on approach to the game.
Ursula and Titus keep their true motivations ambiguous to each other and the audience. Their brother Kip (Dan Beirne) is more interested in indulging in luxuries while they hunt.
Since Grace’s estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), was at the hospital as her emergency contact, the Danforths threaten Faith to force Grace to play again.
Fleeing the hospital, Grace even dons her bloody wedding dress because she needs something durable to wear. That becomes her uniform in the sequel.
There are a lot of further rules to explain, and a lawyer (Elijah Wood) instructs both the families and the sisters. Once the game proper begins, the sequel relentlessly pits the families against the sisters.
The Danforths commandeer their casino resort, so killers hunt Grace and Faith through the golf course, gambling hall and even the industrial laundry. It’s a grander canvas than the mansion, providing a larger variety of chases and fights to the death.
Some of the rules still raise more questions. The lawyer says seekers may only use weapons that existed when their ancestors made their bargain with Satan, so some must be fairly recent to be using a high-powered sniper rifle and drone.
Without spoiling the backstory between Grace and Faith, their estrangement is fairly reductive. Newton makes a sassy partner to Weaving, worthy of a somewhat deeper relationship, but it is still nice to see them work together.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come recaptures the manic anarchy of the first film. Designed to be watched back to back, Grace gains a formidable ally with whom to face flamboyant new Satanic families.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.