‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ REVIEW: Glorious, bloody, horror movie fun
‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ REVIEW: Glorious, bloody, horror movie fun
There’s a lot of iconic horror movie imagery out there. A lot of them come from classics like Scream, Halloween, and Final Destination — all hits from the 90s and early 2000s. But I would argue that modern horror films have some heavy hitters. Chief among them is the ending of Ready or Not, which I’ve seen in multiple “good for her” posts and even as stickers.
This image is where we start Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. A blood-soaked Grace sits on the steps, smoking her well-deserved cigarette. As paramedics rush in, she very quickly collapses out of shock and is taken to the hospital. It’s a surprisingly realistic start to a horror movie, grounded in the trauma a final girl would be experiencing after her ordeals with murderous in-laws.
Samara Weaving as Grace and Kathryn Newton as Faith in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ | Still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
In many ways, Ready or Not 2 reminds me very much of the second John Wick film. There is an expansion of the world and the rules within it that kept me intrigued and wanting to know more as the film went on. Rich people who worship Satan and control the world? Fun to watch! And unfortunately, not as unrealistic as we might think, given recent events.
The new additions to the cast and the world of Ready or Not, in the form of Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, and Shawn Hatosy, are simply delightful. They’re clearly having a blast, and that makes the film fun to watch.
Newton nails her chemistry with Weaving as Grace’s estranged younger sister, Faith. I loved seeing the two sisters bicker and try to figure out how to get out of the situation. Their relationship is at the core of this film, and as someone with her own sister, it was very relatable and really got to me.
Set up as foils for Grace and Faith are Ursula and Titus, the murderous Danforth siblings, determined to cling to the seat of power. Their dynamic is interesting as it gets flipped towards the end.
Last, and the most mysterious of all, is Elijah Wood as The Lawyer — the figure overseeing the proceedings of it all. He is delightful in this, despite the role not being as big as the other new additions. Of all the characters, he is the one I am incredibly curious about, as he is such a mystery throughout the film.
But of course, Weaving remains the Ready or Not franchise’s shining star. Grace MacCaulley has very quickly become one of my favorite scream queens because of how much I love Weaving’s performance in these two films. There’s a vulnerability to her that contrasts with how feral she can get. There is an almost superhero costume-like quality to her bloodied wedding dress that she is forced to put back on. Even her iconic rolling scream is raw and comes from a place of desperation as she tackles her attackers.
Grace goes through a LOT in the span of two to three days. I winced a lot during this film because her pain was almost too believable at times. She takes so many hits, I was in disbelief that she was still standing. There is a fight scene with Ursula that was particularly brutal and also a moment of fangirlery for me as a massive Buffy fan, but dear god, the aftermath was hard to watch.
Samara Weaving as Grace and Kathryn Newton as Faith in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ | Still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
On that note, my one biased wish for this film is that they had swapped the storylines for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy’s characters. Yes, again — I’m biased because I am a Buffy fan who always wants to see SMG kick ass, but also because I think it would’ve been fun to see three blonde scream queens — Gellar, Weaving, Newton face off against each other on a larger scale. It would’ve been fun! Especially as Radio Silence has shown how much love and respect they have for horror as a genre and the scream queens of horror.
It’s hard to say which of the two films I like more. On one hand, the first is undeniably original and has become a staple in my horror movie rotation. I also like the kills in it more. On the other hand, the humour, the John Wick 2-ness, and the characters in Ready or Not 2 make the world much more of a wild and fun romp.
Ultimately, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a glorious, horror movie fun. It has endearing and infuriating characters, fun kills and near-misses, and enough blood to fill a very deep hole. While Grace and Faith may not want to go through that experience again, I, for one, look forward to my rewatch.
‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ is now showing in Philippine cinemas.
