Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come Review – Lackluster Comedy-Horror Sequel Plays A Weak Game

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It’s been roughly seven years since we first met Grace Le Domas (played by Samara Weaving) in Ready or Not – the bride who miraculously survived a deadly game of hide-and-seek with a sinister family. Since then, the gap between the wealthy and the poor has widened, and action movies filled with dark humor and plenty of gore have become increasingly popular. The style of filmmaking that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are known for feels both less innovative and more relevant today than it did in 2019, but this new film doesn’t quite capture the current mood.

The actors do a great job with this sequel. Courteney Weaving is as delightful and emotionally open as always, and Kathryn Newton fits right in. They have good chemistry, but the script lets them down, forcing them to rehash the same old grievances repeatedly. The supporting cast is fantastic – featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood, all delivering wonderfully wicked performances. However, despite the strong acting, the movie itself feels empty and doesn’t offer any new insights or build on what came before.

Watching Ready or Not 2 feels a bit like watching kids play laser tag – lots of action and jokes, but ultimately not very meaningful. It’s a frustrating movie. The first Ready or Not had some interesting points to make about society, but this sequel relies on empty spectacle. It’s filled with weak attempts at building a believable world and relies too much on cheap humor, which ruins any real suspense. And at over two hours long, it feels drawn out considering how predictable the ending is.

Ready Or Not 2 Loses Its Own Game Through Poor Characterization & Lazy Plotting

Here I Come picks up right where the previous movie left off, with Grace smoking a cigarette while her in-laws’ house burns. However, her relief is brief, as she soon wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed, suspected of murdering the entire family. To make matters worse, her sister Faith arrives, still angry after seven years of feeling abandoned by Grace.

Before they can even begin to understand what’s happening, things get even worse with the arrival of more ruthless, wealthy individuals. It’s revealed that the Le Domas family is part of a group of six powerful families who secretly run the world, all thanks to a deal with a mysterious, sinister figure named Le Bail. Elijah Wood’s character explains, in a somewhat awkward way, that a strange clause in their agreements allows Grace to compete with the other families for ultimate control – a position that essentially rules the world.

The movie portrays a world where even life and death are treated like a game, reflecting a cynical view of society. While the filmmakers, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, emphasize this idea, they do so repetitively and without adding much depth. Once you understand this central concept, the movie offers little else, leaving you with a drawn-out and tiresome wait for the next violent event.

I have to admit, watching Ready or Not 2 was a blast! There’s plenty of over-the-top, delightfully gruesome stuff happening on screen. But honestly, I found it a little harder to really root for Grace this time around. She feels so overwhelmed and just tossed around by events, unlike the first movie where she was really taking charge. It got to the point where Grace and Faith surviving all those near-death experiences felt almost like a joke – seriously, how can anyone be that lucky?

While Ready or Not felt like a complex game of chess, Here I Come is much simpler, like tic-tac-toe. The filmmakers have prioritized style over a strong story or well-developed characters, creating something that feels like a short scene from a video game. A sequel wasn’t really necessary after the first film, but now that it exists, it’s disappointing that it doesn’t offer more – either in terms of suspense or meaningful commentary. Ultimately, the directors seem content to simply repeat the same ideas they originally set out to poke fun at.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come screened at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival and releases wide in theaters on March 20.

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2026-03-14 14:48