I’m not entirely sure why I don’t adore Radio Silence’s Ready Or Not more than I do, especially as it saw Samara Weaving in full final girl mode as she violently defended herself against a family of wealthy satanists dead set on sacrificing her on her wedding day. Rich with witty lore and not afraid to shed a lot of blue blood with it, this perky comedy/horror/thriller was extremely likable, and yet at times felt like a more glib version of Adam Wingard’s You’re Next despite the fact that Weaving put in a truly memorable performance.
Well, in a rather strangely scheduled grouping of anti-Satanic girl-bossing (Kirill Sokolov’s similarly themed They Will Kill You is released in a matter of days) Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come arrives as the latest offering of the film making collective that also gave us Screams 5 and 6 and the gooey vampire flick, Abilgail. Can they continue to fully embrace their concept while opening up the lore? Sharpen the knives and load the guns, because ready or not, here it comes.
After her wedding night ended with her getting hunted by her new family thanks to a rule included in the deal they made with the Devil, a battered and bloodied Grace Le Domas (formerly MacCaulley) wakes in hospital to discover that her ordeal may not be quite over yet. Not only has she been handcuffed to her bed as the police wait to question her about the suspicious fire that consumed the Le Domas mansion, but her estranged sister, Faith, has been called as her emergency contact despite the two having a bitter falling out in their teens.
However, even this proves to be a preamble to the main event when we discover that Grace’s survival and the messy end of the Le Domas bloodline has caused a clause in the bylaws of the shadowy, ungodly cult to kick in. It seems that with the eradication of Grace’s in-laws, another game has triggered that requires the hapless bride to endure yet another round of hunting, but this time it’s the eldest heads of the other five familes that now have to bring Grace down in order to claim to be the head of the order. With the recent death of their patriarch, Chester Danforth, twins Titus and Ursula are stepping up for their house while the other bloodlines offer up their representatives, each eager to take power by slaughtering our battered heroine. However, making things even more awkward for Grace is that after being whisked away from the hospital by the underlings of the mysterious Lawyer, she awakes to discover that she’s got to survive this new ordeal while handcuffed to a very resentful Faith.
What are the odds that Grace can weather yet another night of being hunted? With the stakes being even higher not only for her, but the various entitled douchebags trying to punch her ticket, can the MacCaulley sisters endure a second bout of satanic panic until the sun comes up?
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m more used to the vibe a Matt Bettinelli-Olpin/Tyler Gillet film puts out, or it’s the fact that Ready Or Not 2 flows a little easier because it gets to hit the ground running, but there’s much to enjoy watching Samara Weaving defend herself a second time against devil worshiping one percenters. In fact, it’s one of those sequels that tends to merge thematically with its predecessor so well, it might as well just be one big movie now. Where Ready Or Not had the surprise advantage and allowed Weaving’s wedding dress clad protagonist carry the film almost solely through her strong and immensely charismatc performance alone, the sequel may dull Weaving’s presence a tad by having her share the spotlight with Katheryn Newton’s ticked-off sibling, but wherever it fails to match up in some places, in others it enriches and expands this world in a way that maximises it’s devilish potential.
For a start, an expanded playing ground gives the filmmakers far more resources and square footage to fuck around in (we’ve upgraded from a gloomy mansion to an entire hotel resort plus golf course) and their time spent rebirthing the Scream franchise means that Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet are well versed at dolling some wickedly ironic violence and gore. However, while the squabbling, spoiled Le Domas family from the first film was fun, Ready Or Not goes all out with some delicious stunt casting in order to give us a gleefully hissable rogues gallery that you’re just itching to see have their privileged asses handed to them.
For a start, Sarah Michelle Geller goes from vampire slayer to bride beater as the duelling pistol weilding Ursula and she’s flanked by The Pitt’s Shawn Hatosy as her icy veined twin and better yet, the bedbound head of their family is played by an appropriately gaunt David Cronenberg whose early exit is cover by one of the most imposing portraits you’ve ever seen. Elsewhere, as the little weird Laywer who presides over all the pernickety laws that comes with worshiping the infernal “Mr. Le Bail”, we get none other than Elijah Wood, which means that with Hatosy, we get something of a mini reunion for The Faculty – if that floats your boat (which it should). Adding to the expanding menagerie of rich dicks are the likes of Kevin Durand, Néstor Carbonell and a whole host of character actors willing to do their best to out-smug one another and much like the first film, a huge amount of pleasure is derived from watching these guys get their splattery just desserts.
Also benefiting the upping of scale are some of the set pieces, which throw in rocket launchers, yet more glorious body explosions and a wonderful moment that sees both Grace and her assailant both blinded by pepper spray and attempt to fight one another while being completely blind. But while the addition of Newton gives Weaving something a little different to play with than simply absorbing Bruce Campbell levels of punishment and continuing to deliver the best screams in current cinema, Grace’s family drama weirdly makes it feel like the spotlight is off her a little too much. We still get all the tool ups, she’s still rocking that iconic bloody wedding dress/sneakers combo and she still brings the pain, but at times it feels like Grace is now part of an ensemble rather than the stand-out. Still, regardless of all that, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come goes a long way towards helping reevaluate my opinions of the original which I’m still astounded that I didn’t like more at the time.
A bigger playground, bigger gags and yet more opportunities to watch some the smartly cast villains burst like trust fund water balloons means that Ready Or Not 2 hits the ground running while still providing emotional depth as two estranged sisters come together to smash satanists. The zingers are extra zingy, and the violence is surprisingly rough for a glib, beat the rich comedy, but much like it’s predecessor, Ready Or Not 2 is likable as H E double hockeysticks.
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