By Rohan Coleman
Since the literally explosive release of the original Ready or Not movie in 2019, horror fans have regarded this gruesome marriage story gone wrong as one of the best modern slasher films. Led by scream queen Samara Weaving, this horror flick follows Grace as she attempts to navigate her new in-laws’ traditions, including a lethal game of hide and seek essential to the devil-worshipping rituals of the upper-class. After a long night of hiding and seeking, Grace finally makes it to safety, that is, until the March 2026 release of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.
Joined by up-and-coming horror icon Kathryn Newton, star of Lisa Frankenstein (2024), Abigail (2024) and Freaky (2020), this sequel follows immediately after the events of Ready or Not, where Grace must deal with the consequences of her wedding night. Newton plays the long-lost younger sister of our main character Grace, who reluctantly reconnects with her sister after learning about her hospitalisation. The family reunion is cut short, however, with a violent reminder of the hellish rituals at the core of these films.
Ready or Not depicted an unfathomably rich family playing a game of hide and seek to sacrifice Grace in order to uphold their ancestors’ contract with the devil, and in doing so prevent the complete destruction of their bloodline. However, because of Grace’s unwavering survival instincts, the family failed, breaking their contract with the devil and meeting their volatile end. As is the case with most cinematic devil rituals, it was not that simple, with the death of this family opening up another game involving four other wealthy families, who now must repeat this game of hide and seek in a fight for the chair of the High Council of the devil.
This second installation immediately raises the stakes, with the game of the film having more players, Grace’s newly reunited sister being hunted alongside her, and the final outcome being the fate of the entire world as we know it. Shifting the focus from the riches of one family to the key figures pulling the strings behind every major economic, political and military event of modern society alongside Grace’s attempts to protect her sister while navigating their difficult and spiteful relationship makes Ready or Not 2 much more intense, with every character, action and decision feeling a thousand times more important than in the previous film.
Similarly, this film utilises its wide ensemble far more creatively and memorably than Ready or Not. The 2019 film boasts actors including Andie MacDowell, Adam Brody and Henry Czerny in its ensemble, all of which did have interesting motivations and backstories, though the overall background cast felt heavily underutilised. The slasher-horror genre is known for pushing the creative boundaries when picking off its characters, finding the most unusual methods to depict their deaths, which makes the incredibly safe and uneventful handling of these side characters very disappointing for horror fans. However, Ready or Not 2 makes up for this issue, with its wider ensemble allowing for a range of differing character arcs, backgrounds, designs, and of course, more engaging and compelling gruesome moments. With huge hitters such as horror legends Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Cronenberg and Elijah Wood, it would be a huge mistake to underutilise this ensemble like its predecessor.
Similarly to the exhilarating use of its side characters, Ready or Not 2 also gives back to horror fans with its absolutely insane final chapter. The typical slasher formula is traded in for a completely on-the-nose ending, as the plot shifts from the game of hide and seek we thought we knew to a brand-new game with unimaginable consequences. The final chapter is much more intense and fantastical than the rest of the film, which sets Ready or Not 2 aside from its predecessor in a wonderfully convoluted manner.
Between the outstanding performances of the several horror legends adorning this cast, the striking and provocative plot direction and terrifically insane final chapter, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come retains what fans loved from the original, while improving upon its shortcomings and setting itself drastically aside. Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton combine their shared powers to create an unforgettable addition to the modern horror canon.