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Review: ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come’ is a Fun Horror Sequel that Doubles Down on the Blood, Gore and Mythology of Its Predecessor
March 24, 2026Ben MK
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When it comes to horror movie sequels, there are a few unspoken rules that every fright-filled follow-up must adhere to. Whether it's upping the body count, going more extreme with the kills, or expanding the lore of the film's world, if the next chapter of any genre entry is to be successful, it needs to prove to moviegoers that it's not just willing to give audiences more of what they know and love about its predecessor, but to also throw in a few new twists along the way. It's a tried-and-true rule of thumb that has served many a fan-favorite horror franchise well, from supernatural chillers like Insidious to slasher thrillers such as Scream. And with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, writer-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are stepping up their sequel game and following suit, in this spontaneously exploding, blood-splattered continuation of their 2019 sleeper hit. Taking place directly after the events of the original, the story once again follows Grace Macaullay (Samara Weaving), the unsuspecting bride who married into the Le Domas family, not realizing that they were members of a Satanic cult who had sold their souls in exchange for all the wealth they could ever dream of. Now, after surviving their deadly game of hide and seek and making it all the way until dawn, Grace has earned a well-deserved reprieve. Unfortunately for her, however, fate would seem to have other plans in mind. And by the time she awakens in hospital, handcuffed to her bed and with her estranged younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), standing in front of her, the wheels will have already been set in motion for her next trial of endurance. For the Le Domas family were not the only ones who managed to strike a bargain with the infernal Mr. Le Bail. As a matter of fact, there are five other bloodlines irrevocably entangled in Le Bail's contractual grip. And now that the Le Domases are no more, Le Bail's lawyer (Elijah Wood) is obligated to recruit these other families to carry out the next game, as a new group of players must compete to become the new head of an all-powerful High Council — a title that they will have to win by hunting down and killing Grace before the next sunrise. Enter the hunters who will find themselves going up against a prey who is far more capable that they ever imagined — bickering siblings Titus and Ursula Danforth (Shawn Hatosy and Sarah Michelle Gellar), Shanghai businesswoman Wan Chen Xing (Olivia Cheng), nightclub-loving brothers Viraj and Madhu Rajan (Nadeem Umar-Khitab and Varun Saranga), Spanish sniper Ignacio El Caído (Nestor Carbonell) and hotheaded entrepreneur Bill Wilkinson (Kevin Durand). Brought together on the grounds of the Danforth's vast estate, this group's first mistake is to underestimate Grace and Faith's will to survive. And when the game begins, it's a mistake that will come back and bite them one by one. Whether it's being put though the hot cycle in an industrial-strength laundry machine or being shot point-blank in the head, none of them are safe as long as they let their overconfidence get the better of them. Little do any of them realize that there's a small loophole in Le Bail's contract that would allow Grace to live while also granting them the power they so covet. And when Grace uses this as a means of saving both herself and her sister, it sets the stage for a finale that has the potential to upend the High Council for good — and perhaps even afford Grace and Faith the opportunity to dole out a little revenge as well. Suffice to say, if you're a fan of the first movie, then Ready or Not 2 delivers exactly what you might anticipate from a sequel, serving up an array of adrenaline-pumping set pieces that see parties on both sides getting the crap kicked out of them, capped of with a variety of bodies spontaneously exploding like the fleshy bags of blood and guts that they ultimately are. As for building out the backstory of its predecessor and providing viewers with a more robust mythology on which to stake all of this over-the-top violence and gore on, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett handle that challenge amicably as well, filling their cast of antagonists with actors who are eager to chew the scenery, and making this frenetic follow-up feel less like a half-baked exercise in murderous mayhem and more like a genuine second chapter, especially for audiences who enjoyed the first go-round. It all adds up to a fun horror sequel, thanks in no small part to Weaving, who reprises her role as the final girl of this franchise with aplomb. After all, it's not just the antagonists who make or break a slasher flick such as this, but also the protagonist who refuses to say die. And as far as the genre is concerned, watching Grace turn the tables on her would-be killers once again is a cathartic experience that will never get old — a sentiment that, in turn, will no doubt help Ready or Not 2 avoid being slaughtered at the box office as well. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come releases March 27th, 2026 from Searchlight Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of R for strong bloody violence, gore, pervasive language and brief drug use. Its runtime is 1 hr. 48 min. |
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