Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Writers: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Stars: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Elijah Wood
Synopsis: After surviving one deadly game, Grace and her sister Faith must now outrun four rival families competing for a powerful throne – winner takes all.
It is baffling why Ready or Not 2: Here I Come took almost seven years to find its way into theaters. The original was an oh-so-bloody, completely refreshing, often hilarious, and brutal instant horror classic. It is one of the most ruthlessly entertaining thrillers in years and sparked a horror-comedy revival over the past decade. The movie slaps, slays, or downright f*cks, or whatever the kids are saying nowadays, in a clear nod to a younger demographic.
While watching Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the blood-splatter fest is still there, the demonic supporting characters, empowered by seemingly unlimited power, still reign supreme, and the returning star doubles down on scream-queen, hilariously macabre goodness. Yet, you begin to realize the film is not as clever, the characters, even the lead, are still paper-thin, and the script takes the easy way out rather than fighting its way out of the corner it places itself in.
In other words, the highly anticipated follow-up is just okay, or a “six-seven,” being the proper youth movement translation.
The sequel continues to follow Grace (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’s Samara Weaving), the last survivor of the wedding-day massacre. The police find her sitting on the stairs of the Le Domas manor, smoking a cigarette, wearing her once-pristine wedding dress, soaked in her own and her family members’ blood. She later wakes up in the hospital, being interrogated by a detective who blames her for the deaths.
Mrs. Le Domas then gets a surprise visit from her estranged sister, Faith (Freaky’s Kathryn Newton), whom Grace has not seen in years and who was obviously not invited to the wedding. They argue, with Faith showing no concern for Grace’s injuries or mental health, allowing an endless amount of exposition to be vomited into a tiny scene. Don’t worry, though, if you miss it, it happens again and again, even during and between psychopaths chasing them.
Faith is Grace’s emergency contact, which leaves me wondering why her fiancé from the day before was not. Either way, as she walks with her sister down the hospital hallways in handcuffs, a cocaine-fueled adult entertainment producer (The Naked Gun’s Kevin Durand) throws a Bowie knife from about fifty yards into a cop’s neck. One might ask, if he can do that from that distance, why not just throw it into Grace’s heart, Bon Jovi style, but I digress.
That brings us to a nice supporting cast, as Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings) appears, who plays the evil force Le Bail’s “Lawyer,” who saves the girls for them to play their little game. Since Grace survived her wedding night, the head seat at the table, which controls everything around the world, is up for grabs between the wealthiest families on earth. Whoever kills Grace by dawn will find themselves with unlimited power. If they don’t, they lose everything.
Oh, and Faith is handcuffed to Grace for good measure. This is where the film feels forced and odd, falling into clichés the original would never touch. While Newton’s character is used as a storytelling tool to suggest that Grace would never give up after such a nightmarish ordeal, the film becomes uneven. Literally, in between murderous kills, chasing them with machetes and sniper rifles, they find time to calmly talk about their history in endless exposition.
None of this warrants the time. Even the chase scenes lack verve, as the film shifts from the original’s house of horrors to a lush, open-field golf course, sacrificing suspense and tone. Everyone suddenly becomes a bad shot after earlier miraculous ones. I began to howl, not in a good way, as Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, playing demented twins chasing the sisters on a golf cart, can hit a drone from a mile away with a revolutionary handheld musket, but then, in striking distance, fire a straight shot that hits a tree hundreds of yards to the right.
All of this is surprising, since the film is once again helmed by the original directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by the original scribes, Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. The film has an incredibly hard time maintaining suspense and tension because it simply does not know how to sustain escalation. The creative team never goes beyond the original premise, instead delivering a watered-down version.
You can never call Ready or Not 2: Here I Come boring, as the actors can be deliciously entertaining in an over-the-top way. In particular, The Pitt’s Hatosy, truly nasty here, if not somewhat comically evil. The third act does make up some initial ground the first hour lost by filling half the time with Wood’s character, essentially, Exposition, Esquire, walking briefcase of redundant comprehension.
Only then will you truly begin to see a rich history and backstory of the organization.
However, by then it is too late, and you can only hope a third chapter will bring back a glimpse of the original’s brilliance. See it if you love the original, but go in with low expectations. Unfortunately, the sequel is a forgettable extension of the original, which is hardly worth your time or money.
You can watch Ready or Not 2: Here I Come only in theaters starting March 20th!
