Ready or Not 2: Here I Come picks up right where the first film left off.
After surviving the Le Domas family’s deadly game of Hide and Seek, Grace (Samara Weaving) walks out of the burning manor just as the police arrive. She sits down in front of the building, lights a cigarette, takes a few puffs, and passes out.
She wakes up at the hospital, where her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) pays her a visit. Grace tells her everything, from her husband’s family making a deal with a demon known as Le Bail, to the twisted game she was forced to play, to the bizarre rule that the entire family explodes at dawn if she survives. Faith thinks it’s all nonsense. But sure sis.
In a funny twist of fate, it doesn’t take long for Faith to realize that her sister is telling the truth.
A large man named Bill crashes the hospital and tries to kill Grace on the spot, only for his head to explode before he can do anything.
A man known only as the Lawyer (Elijah Woods) steps in to explain. Bill broke the rules by acting before the game officially began, and that violation cost him and his whole lineage’s life. As it turns out, with the Le Domas family wiped out, a new game automatically triggers. The six elite families of the High Council now have the right to hunt Grace, with the winner claiming the “High Seat” of the Council and control across the entire world.
The families currently in contention are the Danforths, led by adult twins Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy); the Wan Chens, represented by their matriarch Xing (Olivia Cheng); the El Caídos, who send their patriarch Ignacio (Néstor Carbonell); and the Rajans, who field their eldest son Viraj (Nadeem Umar-Khitab).
Grace wants nothing to do with any of it for obvious reasons. So the families use Faith as leverage, giving Grace no real choice but to agree. With everything set, the rematch between Grace and Le Bail’s families begins.
There are a few things I look for in a sequel.
It needs to make sense first, it must have continuity and cohesion. The stakes should also be bigger, better, and bolder. Lastly, it should expand on the themes, not just rehash what came before, but support those ideas and make them more persuasive. Of course, it still needs to retain what made the first one work, from the casting to the tone.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come successfully does all of these things.
It picks up right after the first one and tackles the same premise. Continuity and cohesion, check. Rather than fixing what wasn’t broken, the film builds on the lore behind the pact these families made with the devil. It introduces interesting new concepts along the way that genuinely got me excited about this franchise’s future.
The introduction of Grace’s sister raises the stakes. Grace is no longer fighting for her life alone, she’s fighting for her sister’s life as well. The enemies also grow in number and feel more vicious than those in the first film. Now that we know these people hunger for power, they will stop at nothing to kill.
This stake is not a big upgrade, but it’s bolder, and that makes it better.
I think Ready or Not 2 is a good example of a film raising the ante while still leaving enough space to push further. Restraining itself from going all in is actually the right call here. It’s better to save the best and most chaotic stuff for last, especially if a third film is on the way.
The film also hits the themes of the first one and expands on them. In Ready or Not 2, wealth becomes a flaw shared across families, not just one rich family. The problem isn’t one household’s twisted tradition. The problem is the system itself. Yes, wealth brings privilege, but it also brings moral corruption and extreme violence. There’s no loyalty, no satisfaction, just endless starvation for authority and influence.
Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (fun fact: they are collectively called Radio Silence) also retained most of what made the first film work. Samara Weaving’s return is one of its biggest strengths. She’s the heart and soul of Ready or Not. You simply cannot replace her as Grace.
The new additions also deliver. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, and Elijah Wood are legends in Hollywood and in the horror genre. Having them all in one film is already a huge feat.
Kathryn Newton is probably the best addition of all, and a big reason for that is Radio Silence had her in mind while writing the film. So her presence just comes organically. Her energy, humor, and bravery don’t need much convincing. She’s a natural complement to Weaving’s battered tenacity.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is not a perfect film, but it is a perfect sequel to Ready or Not. This is exactly the story that needed to come next.
3.5/5