Ready or Not 2: Here I Come picks up right where the first film ends: Grace (Samara Weaving) lights a cigarette as she sits in a blood-soaked wedding dress on the steps of the Le Domas Estate while it burns behind her. After marrying Alex (Mark O’Brien), Grace was invited to take part in their strange but seemingly harmless family tradition, which was set in motion when one of their ancestors made a deal with someone called Mr. Le Bail, to build the Le Domas family fortune. At midnight on their wedding day, every new member draws a game card from a puzzle box, but bad luck strikes Grace when she pulls the one bad card: “Hide-and-Seek.” During this game, the rest of the family must hunt and ritually sacrifice Grace before dawn to appease Le Bail, or they will die instead. Against all odds, Grace finds that she has survived.
When the paramedics arrive, Grace goes into cardiac arrest from shock and the wounds she has sustained. Following resuscitation, Grace finds herself handcuffed to her hospital bed as a cop tells her she’s suspected of arson and murder. Although they haven’t seen each other for seven years, Grace’s younger sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) shows up for no other reason than she was listed as her emergency contact. It doesn’t take long before the sisters are forced into the second part of the game. Since she won, which is a rare occurrence for an outsider, Grace triggered a clause that states she must compete for High Seat of the council, a position that comes with infinite worldwide power. The hunters, which consist of a nominated member from the four families who make up the council, must kill Grace by dawn. If any of them die, another member of their family must take their place. This time, Grace has to protect not only herself, but her sister.
Ready or Not 2 introduces us to a set of brand new characters. Chester Danforth (David Cronenberg), who holds the current High Seat, calls on his ruthless twin children, Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy), to win their seat back. Their younger brother, Kip (Dan Beirne), is happy to take a backseat. Rather than kill Grace, Wan Chen Xing (Olivia Cheng) tries to make a deal involving her idiotic son, Wan Cheng Fu (Antony Hall). Madhu Rajan (Varun Saranga) is all talk, saying things like, “If it were me out there she’d be dead,” but even his sarcastic wife Martina (Masa Lizdek) knows he’s a coward. It’s Madhu’s brother Viraj (Nadeem Umar-Khitab) who is the family’s true hunter. The final family includes the dangerous Ignacio El Caído (Néstor Carbonell), who prefers to hide behind a sniper, and Francesca El Caído (Maia Jae), Alex’s jilted ex-girlfriend, whose bitterness gives her the fire she needs. However, her young brother Felipe (Juan Pablo Romero) is equally ready if needed.
With varying degrees of screen time, each character is expertly portrayed, which allows the audience to fully take in Grace’s somewhat deranged opponents. Elijah Wood also stands out as the “The Lawyer,” who understands and enforces the rules of the game. It’s such a simple role, but Wood emits a strong sense of calm and authority as someone who is entrusted with a lot of power. It’s an important position to fill. Weaving and Newton’s complex sisterly bond brings a breath of fresh air into the mix. Grace and Faith had a falling out a long time ago, relating to their tough home life in the foster system. They argue and bicker like real siblings with a shared history and unhealed wounds, but they still love each other and have one another’s back. Their relationship is explored naturally as the story unfolds.
Ready or Not 2 feels visually and tonally consistent with its predecessor, thanks to the return of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, screenwriters Guy Busick and Christopher Murphy, and cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz. The cinematography is fantastic with luxurious interiors, lush green lawns, and colourful flowers, which lends itself to the atmospheric colour grading and real sets such as Toronto’s Rosedale Golf Club and Fairmont Royal York Hotel, each reflecting the wealth and power of the elite families. The directing is dynamic and captivating, as is the editing from Jay Prychidny. The film’s opening is arresting as the camera never leaves Grace—even when she passes out and is transported into the ambulance. We hear the paramedics, but we never see them. It keeps us with Grace in the aftermath of the trauma she has just been through and the impact it has on her body, which creates a powerful emotional intimacy with the character.
The action scenes are strong, entertaining, and often brutal. Grace and Faith aren’t stupid nor overly skilled, but they are resourceful and get by with some wit and keen survival instincts. When they are injured, the characters are truly in pain in a way that plenty of films tend to skimp over, but here it creates a sense of realism. Characters like Grace even become disorientated and out of it at times, which is reflected in the directing, which adds to this sense of realism. There’s also a fun mix of humour which is perfectly balanced and effective, alongside an incredibly fun soundtrack which makes excellent use of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
Grace looks iconic as hell when she changes out of her hospital gown and back into her crimson stained wedding dress, her blonde hair still tinted ginger from the dried blood. Later, she looks spectacular in a stunning all-black gown with a long train, complete with a crown and veil, all for a devil-worshipping ceremony. Weaving has never looked better. Any time she is covered in blood-spatter or brutally fighting back, we’re reminded of how badass this character is—especially when she dons a bandolier and wields a shotgun, ready to take revenge once more.
Ready or Not succeeded in having its simple set-up culminate in family members suddenly exploding to death, which also revealed that their devil worshipping is real. It didn’t overdo this surprising and comedic element, which is what made it all the more effective. It’s the same here—even though there’s more characters exploding throughout, it’s steady and well-balanced. Knowing the devil is real as hell in Ready or Not 2 also creates a slightly different experience for the audience. This time, the stakes are higher than ever. If anyone fucks up and angers Le Bail, he will definitely answer. This adds an extra layer to each character’s actions and motivations. Ursula even tells Grace that “there are no good guys or bad guys, there’s just the system.” They’re all in it together, all part of it. But it’s not just their desperation for life, it’s their desperation for wealth and power—the level of which these families have is maddening. But Grace wants no part of it. She’s seen what it does to people and she isn’t like them.
Ready or Not 2 is true “fuck the rich” cinema. It has plenty of interesting and intriguing twists up its sleeve to make it somewhat different from the first film. It also doesn’t hold back on its themes of betrayal. Highly engaging throughout, Ready or Not 2 is an enjoyable, blood-soaked, and cathartic thrill! It’s an absolute blast and an incredibly worthy sequel to a remarkably original slasher.
Ready or Not 2 is out in cinemas now.
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