Hiya!

Like a lot of people, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the first Ready or Not. I sadly wasn’t able to see it in the cinema because, back then, I was a big scaredy cat and I thought Ready or Not was just a horror movie. I did catch it on Disney+ because it got recommended to me by the app, 5 years later after the film was released in theaters. As that much time had passed, I never really thought they would make a sequel to Ready or Not. If 5 years have already gone by and no sequel was made, then I assumed Ready or Not was a “one and done” deal.

I was wrong.

Despite Ready or Not 2: Here I Come being released a full 7 years after, I was super excited for it. I also was going to not miss my chance to see this movie in the cinema. This is what I precisely did over the weekend and I would love to give you my thoughts on it.

So, I know this has just been released to theaters around a week ago. While that may seem like a lot of time has passed, I’m still going to be making this a SPOILER FREE review for a couple of reasons. One, I just know Project Hail Mary is sucking up audiences now because I know it is also really good. So, maybe some of you haven’t gotten around to seeing Ready or Not 2: Here I Come yet. Two, I’m making this SPOILER FREE just in case because Disney+ might recommend this to people 5 years from now. Anyway, to the review itself!

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come takes place just after the events of the first movie. Even though she just survived the deadly game of “hide and seek” the night before, Grace is captured by another group of devil worshippers who control the world. As she managed to survive the events of the first film, she has unwittingly become a very wanted woman as, now, whoever kills her becomes the head of all the devil worshippers in the world! To make sure she plays this new game of “hide and seek,” they also force her estranged sister, Faith, into the game.

Let me say this right out of the gate, I really liked Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. The question is more of how much I liked it. The movie does feel much bigger. There are now 2 leads playing this deadly game. There are more devil worshippers out to get them. The location is now set in a huge resort instead of just a mansion. This also means the setpieces are bigger. There are more humorous moments and a lot more gore as well. While all of this is good on paper, it does become the film’s double-edged sword as there are times when bigger does mean better and times when things should’ve been scaled down to achieve a better effect.

A good example of this is the action scenes. Things feel much more polished in the sequel and that’s good. The problem is that means it’s also missing the grittiness of the original. They’re also much longer and, once again, that’s a good thing. At the same time, however, it does seem like it’s lacking the punchiness from the first movie as well. Also, as the location is in a swanky resort hotel and the grounds around the said hotel, the setpieces are much more varied. Again, that’s great, right? On the other hand, these locations generally lack the gothic charm of the original mansion. So, things did get improved here but these changes, while making things better, can also make things a little distracting. Overall, they are welcome and still a whole lot of fun to see on screen.

The devil worshipping families we see here are also kind of a mixed bag. In the original, they were very inept and definitely didn’t come off as killers. Sure, they were ruthless but they weren’t exactly great at the actual killing part of the job. In the sequel, there’s a feeling they’re all almost good at the killing part as well. They’re much more comically villainous here when compared to the original and that both works for the movie as well as works to its detriment. By the end, there is only one person among the devil worshipping clan I can say was actually scary. The rest are too cartoony to be taken seriously.

The one thing I can say that wasn’t both a hit and a miss was the acting from all of the actors. Everyone here knew their assignment and pulled off stellar performances. The standout is still definitely Samara Weaving as Grace. Like in the first movie, her acting here is pitch perfect. Whenever she looks scared, you believe her. Whenever she has to take action and act like a badass, you believe her. I really need to look at more of Samara Weaving’s work because, if it’s like anything here, she deserves an award in the future!

The rest of the cast also pulls their weight. I never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer so I’m not all that familiar with Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s main body of work. However, I really liked her performance here as Ursula, a very controlled and calculating psychopath. She’s more of the brains trying to rein in Titus, her even more psychotic twin brother, played by Shawn Hatosy. Although he may seem not as threatening as Ursula, he does become much, much scarier as the movie goes on. I do have to sadly say I wasn’t all that enthused by Kathryn Newton‘s performance as Faith, Grace’s younger sister. However, I do think that’s mostly because she has to work alongside Samara Weaving so her performance, despite it being also pretty good in a bubble, just pales in comparison. It certainly didn’t help she’s a little bit too quippy even though she’s in the extremely dire situation she’s in.

I definitely cannot forget about Elijah Wood, who plays the devil worshipper cult’s main lawyer. He comes off as a little strange but that’s what he’s supposed to be. He’s a little mysterious and it’s almost like he’s the devil himself as he’s the one who sets the game in motion. The rest of the devil worshippers are also fine as well but, as good as they are, they are obviously not the main players. They do get their own fun moments, though. Still, you’re definitely watching this for Samara Weaving, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Kathryn Newton and Elijah Wood and not them.

One thing which surprised me is the lack of horror and tension in this movie. The original was super tense as things played out as if Grace would definitely get hurt or worse if she ran into one of her devil worshipping in-laws. Here, it does feel she has a greater fighting chance. A lot of the horror and tension was replaced with humor. As I’m much more of a comedy gal than a horror gal, I liked this change but your mileage may vary.

When I do have to weigh everything out, I can’t really say I like Ready or Not 2: Here I Come more or less than the first movie. I actually like them both on the same level. While this movie does have the feeling of sequelitis, with things being bigger and not necessarily better, it’s just a super good time. I do recommend you go see this in theaters and not wait for it to come to streaming. It’s that good.

Byee!

Have you seen Ready or Not 2: Here I Come? What did you think of it? Did you like it more than the first one or was the original better in your mind? Let me know in the comments section below!