So you’re going to make a sequel to one of the most revered horror comedies of the century almost 7 years after. That normally isn’t a recipe for success, but in the case of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, it not only works incredibly well, but the new additions to the cast, mythology, and just the overall feelings make for an excellent sequel. Returning for this is the star of the previous film, Samara Weaving as Grace, the directing duo of Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), who also wrote the screenplay, and with screenwriters Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
The sequel takes place seconds after the end of Ready or Not, with Grace sitting on the steps of the mansion where her night from hell happened. She passes out and wakes up in a hospital, with some very serious legal trouble stemming from the death of her in-laws and their immediate family. Her emergency contact? Her sister, Faith (played by Kathryn Newton). Right off the bat, this is some of the best casting I have ever seen. The dynamic between Weaving and Newton hits right away and never lets up for the entire film.
The death of the Le Domas family in the first film triggers a clause in the bylaws of whatever shadowy cabal of secret families that run the Earth under the guidance of Mr. Le Bail. That clause sees the council needing a new head of the table, and Grace is the representative from the Le Domas family now. She and Faith are kidnapped and forced to play another dangerous game (which the movie does recognize plenty of times is similar to the first film) to stop their own deaths and the control of the council going to the worst possible option.
The other families include the Danforth family twins, Ursula and Titus (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy), the Chen Xing family (played by Olivia Cheng and Antony Hall), the Rajan family (played by Varun Saranga, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, and Masa Lizdek), the El Caido family (played by Nestor Carbonell, Maia Jae, and Juan Pablo Romero), they’re rounded up by The Lawyer (played by Elijah Wood), and there are other members that come and go throughout the film.
Samara Weaving is fantastic in the film, she brings back the wit and moxy from the first film, but she ups the ante here. There are legitimately some scenes where she’s having to do such emotionally weighty things, whether that’s having a deep conversation with her sister while people are trying to murder her, or basically the entire third act of the film, which I won’t spoil here. Kathryn Newton ends up making the movie though. For a lot of other performers, it really feels like this would have been a let-down, but her energy picks the movie up and carries it further than it really had a right of going.
However, the most evil and frightening performance in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come goes to Shawn Hatosy’s turn as Titus Danforth. He starts off as just “that guy you know, that you know sucks, but he’s not really that dangerous” to ” holy hell, this is the blueprint for every evil and wicked man in power in human history”. It’s a whole different layer and level of terror to his performance. He relishes in being violent and wicked, but still somehow remains composed. It’s kind of funny through the first half of the film, and then somewhere along the line, a switch flips, and it isn’t funny anymore.
That feeling of dark comedy and almost whimsy is still prevalent throughout this sequel, though. It might stick just a bit around the third act, where it takes a turn, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it definitely changes up the proceedings a lot. The third act is pretty dense with plenty of commentary and imagery of how marriage and the world order changes all of us. That bit of stickiness is really the only thing that I can complain about with the film. Outside of that, fans of the original get more of the hilarious dark comedy and Samara Weaving getting chased around by rich yuppies. It adds plenty with Kathryn Newton’s performance as Faith, the bigger lore of the secret society, and ends on an even more triumphant note than the first film.
Overall, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is an electric sequel that doesn’t necessarily outdo the magic of the first film, but adds a lot to the mystique and fun of this series.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come releases in theaters on March 20th, 2026.
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