2019’s original Ready or Not is a darkly comedic horror cat and mouse thriller, that mixes sharp in your face humour with over the top tense and gory thrills. When young bride Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the eccentric and uber wealthy Le Domas family her wedding night descends into madness when she is forced to play a sadistic version of hide and seek.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come begins literally at the conclusion of the first. Grace, covered from head to toe in the entrails of her former new family collapses on the steps while sirens fill the air and emergency services frantically try and figure out what is going on. Grace wakes in hospital just in time for the return of her estranged sister, while realising that she is handcuffed to the bed and the prime suspect in the mess she just escaped from. Still broken from her ordeal Grace is thrust back into the world she never wanted to be a part of.
Grace’s triumph left a vacuum amongst the most influential families in the world creating a power struggle for the top spot and the favour of the one Mr Le Bail, or in simpler terms Satans 2IC on this mortal plane. Unfortunately for Grace this means, as the last unofficial/official Le Domas, representatives from the remaining families have come together for another round of hide and seek with the stakes so much higher!
Stepping back into the role of Grace, Samara Weaving’s performance is central to keeping the pacing in check as she grunts and painfully groans her way through another night of mayhem. Weaving again channels the rage she brought in the original becoming increasingly disassociated from all going on around her continuously evolving to stay alive. The introduction of her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) adds a layer of tension between the pair as they navigate their own tricky relationship in the midst of the 1% hunting them at every turn.
Grace falls effortlessly back into stride calling on her experience, though battered and bruised with barely a time for a cigarette in between she is an old pro at hide and seek. To give us more of those fresh reactions and a sense of dread Faith has been dragged into the game with her sister forcing the pair to work through their differences in order to survive. While Faith is initially in denial of what is happening and at odds with her older sibling she quickly realises she is in very real danger and must follow Grace’s lead if they are to survive together.
The Pentaverate (yes I stole that, it played too often in my head to leave out) of 1% evil doers consists of some very eclectic characters, all who very evidently have grown up with a silver spoon firmly embedded between their lips with each showing little to no remorse over the rules of the game, in fact they revel in it. Favourites to win the coveted prize and retain the seat of power for their family is Ursula and Titus Danforth, played with an unnerving flair by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, they have the homefield advantage as the game takes place on their resort grounds owned by their ailing father and previous owner of the seat of power.
Presiding over this stage of the game is Elijah Wood’s unnamed attorney. The holder of the rule book and a stickler for the words written within. He offers a lighter touch to those around him, seemingly only interested in keeping and reminding us of the rules of the game while doing his best to be impartial to the carnage he is effectively unleashing upon Grace and Faith. He stands quietly and poised throughout offering small easy to miss moments of reflection for the hunters while pushing forward with the unholy wants of Mr Le Bail.
If you enjoyed the original this is all going to feel very familiar to you. The decision to keep Ready or Not 2 so closely aligned to the original will have some feeling like it is being held back from having as big an impact and yet with the inclusion of more family members and a bit of an expansion on the story the increased opportunity for deadly encounters makes for some interesting scenarios.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a simple premise but so much damn fun. Keeping it close to the original formula allows the absurdity of the plot and ever increasing carnage of the game to fill you with joy highlighted by a cast that delivers the deadpan humour so effectively. The inclusion of new players and rules can overcomplicate the core story, but the chemistry between each of the characters and especially Weaving and Newton bouncing of each other as siblings do keeps your focus and helps progress you through to the end.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is in cinemas now, grab your friends and enjoy a bloody night out with some laughs.
