Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Starring Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy
Directed by Radio Silence
After surviving the deadly night of Hide and Seek, Grace (Samara Weaving) wakes up in the hospital as a person of interest in the Le Domas murders. Things get more complicated when her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) arrives because Grace forgot to remove her from the person of contact in case of emergency, and things go further downhill when they're both abducted at the hospital.
They wake up at the grounds belonging to the Danforth family, who's patriarch Chester (David Cronenberg) discovers Grace survived her game and therefore the balance of power has shifted: now the remaining families have gathered together for the ultimate game of Hide and Seek - whoever kills Grace before dawn will control the world. Grace and Faith find themselves in the fight for their lives against feuding families, including Danforth's villainous children Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy) as they must not just fight back, but manage to not fight one another in the process.
The Good:
"Ready or Not 2" continues with the original right after it left off, not giving Grace a moment to breathe before thrusting her into another chase for her life, and it actually makes sense. Having survived the Le Domases, she is thrown into another game where the other powerful families vie for ultimate control of the world. They can only do this by eliminating Grace, as explained by the Lawyer's reading of the tome the families have used for centuries, and while it somewhat doesn't make sense, it makes enough sense to enjoy the festivities.
Like most horror sequels, "Ready or Not 2" amps up the violence, deaths, and characters, leaving Grace (and this time Faith) in a wider expanse to explore and hide, as the Danforth land is vast and filled with buildings and other places to hide and fight in. The fights themselves are longer and more violent, and even downright hilarious (especially a scene where Grace fights one of the family members in a dining hall with a perfect song playing), with more bodies exploding and covering our heroines in their blood - to which Faith isn't particularly a fan of.
The comedy is just as hilarious as the original, in both slapstick and dialogue, with Samara Weaving once again proving her versatile acting nature to play Grace as a victim, victor, and proving her depth of talent as she endures everything in-between. Kathryn Newton is a welcome addition as the younger, more spontaneous Faith, and seeing how they interact is equally hilarious.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is the queen of horror and it was amazing having her in this film playing a villain, something she hasn't done since "Cruel Intentions." Ursula is a complicated character as she sees what she's doing not as good or bad, but following the rules set upon their families centuries earlier by Le Domas himself. She doesn't want to kill Grace, but she needs to in order to gain the power she wants to control the world in her way. Her relationship with her brother is also strained, much like Grace and Faith, but Shawn Hatosy's Titus grows from an annoying brother to stone cold psychopath as the film develops. While the other chasers are essentially stereotypes, these two have huge character developments all their own (plus seeing Gellar pull out the old "Buffy" stab pose gave me geekgasms).
Elijah Wood plays the Lawyer, the no-nonsense narrator of the movie in essence as he serves as the exposition dump for the movie. He is the one who lays out the rules, who explains the history, and holds control of the Le Domas tome. Though stoic and monotone, he also has moments of hilarity as he ducks behind a podium before an imminent explosion, as well as other moments that really showcase his own comedic timing.
The violence is explosive (quite literally) and also surprisingly at moments terrifying, in particular a scene where two characters fight to the point where I wonder how one of them survived. That beating was particularly brutal, and possibly could trigger anyone who endured an abusive relationship, but it's interchanged with a more hilarious fight taking place somewhere else. Grace and Faith both go through the ringer, focusing on Weaving and Newton's ability to perform under pressure. Radio Silence excels at blending the violent with humorous, and they continue the tradition here.
The Bad:
Although Kathryn Newton is a welcome addition, there is no real bond between herself and Weaving, which I guess is supposed to be because Grace and Faith are estranged, but the reason for their estrangement doesn't really lend itself to making sense, and they have a few moments where they repeat their dialogue and issues that comes off as padding the runtime.
The purpose of the sequel is explained, but the rules are somewhat ambiguous, with seemingly numerous characters breaking the unbreakable rules in the movie, along with the Lawyer consistently explaining things again in a repetitive nature.
The Verdict:
While not as great as the original, "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" more than owns its existence by providing another bloody, hilarious adventure for Grace to endure and once again showing Samara Weaving's undeniable talent.
The Score: A
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