When Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo formerly known as ‘Radio Silence,’ made the first Ready or Not in 2019, it was a relatively modest horror-thriller with some supernatural flair. Anchored by sharp genre filmmaking, a lean but effective narrative, and a standout performance from Samara Weaving, the film quickly took on a life of its own and gained unexpected pop culture traction. Within a few years, Weaving had risen through the ranks of horror stardom, while Radio Silence moved from relative obscurity to helming a new era of Scream sequels.
Now, seven years later, with significantly more experience, the entire team reunites for a direct follow-up in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. It’s the kind of return that feels genuinely satisfying. This sequel plays like a well-earned victory lap, revisiting a defining moment in their careers while making full use of their expanded resources. It would have been easy for the film to feel like a rehash or lose the original’s intimate charm, but instead, Ready or Not 2 delivers a bigger, bolder experience. It’s a chaotic, blood-soaked sequel that feels like a rewarding payoff for longtime fans.
TOP FIVE THINGS ABOUT “READY OR NOT 2”
5. The Villainous Heavy-Hitters
Considering that the first Ready or Not concluded with all of the diabolical antagonists being either savagely beaten to death or internally exploded by the forces of the literal Devil (if you haven’t seen it, don’t worry, the sequel has a built-in narrative hook that allows for a quick refresher so everyone is up-to-speed), the sequel had the unenviable task of finding an entirely new group of villains for Weaving’s protagonist to square off against. And perhaps here, more than anywhere else, the increased budget and reputation of the film and its makers pays off in spades.
The villains on this go-round are populated by a fantastic slate of genre veterans like Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, and Kevin Durand. They all do a tremendous job in their respective roles, hamming it up and having what feels like an infectious blast on-screen. Special credit is due to Gellar, who toes the line between chewing the scenery and empathetic humanity in some genuinely striking ways, as well as Hatosy, who gets the biggest arc of the whole group and really sculpts his character into someone who is oh-so-easy to hate (complimentary).
Also, David fucking Cronenberg is in this (!?!), and he manages to add an insane amount of gravitas in just a few minutes of screentime.
4. The Finale
The end of the first film was such a high point that even now, seven years later, its final shot has remained a memorable part of the zeitgeist in a fascinating way. This is so true that this film even literally opens with an extended, exacting recreation of it, and it works tremendously well. To that end, the second film had a lot to live up to in terms of building to a finale that felt big, ambitious, and emotionally earned.
Fortunately, writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy execute this with aplomb alongside directors Radio Silence, as the finale of Ready or Not 2 is once again a massive highlight. Even better yet, the finale manages to up the stakes of the whole film while feeling like a perfectly natural, organic expansion of this series and its larger mythos. There are definitely moments throughout the sequel where the exposition and regulations surrounding the ‘rules’ can get a bit much, but this ending makes it all feel worth it, paying it all off in a massive way while remaining deeply rooted in the heart of Weaving’s character and the film’s larger themes. Good stuff.
3. Radio Silence’s Direction
Some background: I liked but didn’t love Ready or Not. Beyond this, I felt similarly about Radio Silence’s Scream reboot in 2022, finding the direction not quite resonating for me in a number of ways. But then, come 2023 and their first at-bat with a sequel to their own work, Scream VI, something had shifted. From visual preferences to thematic integrity, everything about that film just worked for me, and that has remained true of their films since, with both Abigail and now Ready or Not 2 continuing to display a real sense of growth from the duo as cinematic storytellers.
There are many moments throughout this sequel that feel palpably action-oriented, full of white-knuckle beats and even emotional moments of catharsis. Chief among these is…
2. The “Total Eclipse of the Heart” Bit
There’s an intercutting setpiece toward the end of the second act of Ready or Not 2 that is the single most entertaining moment of the whole film, and surprisingly, a great demo reel for why Radio Silence might be an excellent fit for making a musical in the near future. This sequence features Weaving’s character and her sister, as played by fellow genre veteran Kathryn Newton (more on her in just a minute) having two different knock-down, drag-out fights with antagonists, but with all of it being set to Bonnie Tyler’s magnum opus of a song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
The sequence absolutely rules, showcasing a real sense of synchrony in both Radio Silence’s staging and Jay Prychidny’s editing. The sequence puts character first, is tangibly brutal, and incredibly funny. It is the Ready or Not series at its very best, encapsulating all of the very best elements at play in just handful of minutes of screentime. I adored it.
1. The Sisters
The best part of the movie though, has to be the central sisterly relationship between performers Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton. Each of these actresses have become new-age scream queens in the past few years and have even each collaborated with Radio Silence several times over. So to see them onscreen together is great; they have wonderful chemistry with one another and also get to really delve deep into this fractured familial relationship within the runtime of this taut horror-thriller.
It also must be mentioned what an enormous benefit this is to the film as a whole. The idea of bringing in a new co-protagonist, who can serve as a fresh perspective for potential audience members who might not have seen the first film or remember all the ins-and-outs of its lore, is one of those ideas that sounds great in-theory but could be detrimental in-execution if not handled well. You’ve definitely seen a bunch of movies that attempt something like this and fail miserably, winding up with an audience surrogate who is an utter bore and brings down the whole film.
Fortunately, Kathryn Newton is nothing short of endless charismatic here, and manages to play incredibly well off of Weaving. This pairing becomes the beating heart of the film, so much so that if I had any complaints about it, I would have liked just a little bit more time with them throughout the movie to give these performers an even longer runway to explore this relationship. But as it stands, it really is an impressive achievement, and one that makes the sequel feel distinct in numerous ways.
RGM GRADE
(B-)
I really dug Ready or Not 2. Considering that Radio Silence’s next project is to be the long-awaited Mummy legacy sequel starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, this sequel more than proves that they have what it takes to deliver large-scale, bone-rattling action with a horror-tinge to it. If you love the first film, you’re likely to love this one even more. If, like me, you thought that first one was just fine, you might be surprised by how enjoyable this go-round is. Ready or Not 2 is a supersized sequel that feels like everyone involved is firing on all cylinders, making this a more-than-worthwhile victory lap.
