Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
The sequel that pushes the chaos to a whole new level, “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” revisites the insanity of “Ready or Not” produced by Radio Silence Production in 2019. Bringing back bloody explosions, messy family drama and many jump scares.
The film wastes no time throwing viewers right back into the madness. The opening scene begins with Grace, played by Samara Weaving, waking up in a hospital from her infamous nightmare wedding night, right where the last movie ended. Instead of feeling peaceful after surviving the deadly events of the first film, she’s informed that she’s being charged with arson and murder. Seconds later she’s being chased by a coke addict through the hospital and minutes later, he explodes. It’s chaotic, confusing and honestly a wild way to open the film, but it immediately locks you in and makes you want to see what’s going to happen to Grace now.
In the first movie, Grace marries into the wealthy Le Domas family, who built their empire by signing a deal with a demon named Mr. Le Bail. As part of this deadly pact, every new in-law has to play a game, if Hide and Seek is drawn the family must sacrifice the new bride before dawn to avoid death, a tradition maintained to keep their wealth.
Grace pulls the hide and seek card, she manages to survive and the Le Domas family explodes. But new problems arise, with the Le Domas family gone, a position that supposedly controls the world has opened up. Several powerful families are now competing for the High Seat of the Council. This position grants leadership to this satanic cult. In order to get this seat, Grace must die by dawn, if the families don’t succeed, the seat will automatically revert to her. Since it hasn’t been open in years, some families have been training to kill, while others never expected to be in this position.
Suddenly Grace finds herself hunted again, this time caught in the middle of a much bigger power struggle. Alongside her estranged sister Faith, played by Kathryn Newton, the two spend most of the film handcuffed together, running for their lives while also trying to figure each other out.
The sister dynamic adds another element of chaos to an already messy situation. Their relationship evolves throughout the film while they dodge killers, uncover secrets and attempt to survive the increasingly absurd situations thrown at them.
Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
The complexity of the characters adds another layer to the film, and the actors are given room to shape those performances.
“If the character believes what’s happening, the audience will believe it,” director Tyler Gillett said. “That’s what allows us to create something crazy that can still be scary and funny.”
The sequel is once again directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking duo known for their ability to blend horror with dark humor. Since the first “Ready or Not,” the two have worked together on several major horror films including “Scream” (2022 film), “Scream VI” and “Abigail” (2024 film).
Despite the seven-year gap between the two films, the directors say returning to the story felt natural.
“It really was the beginning of our career in so many ways,” Bettinelli-Olpin said. “We love what the movie became, but we also feel really grateful for the experience of making it.”
For them, revisiting the world of “Ready or Not” felt less like returning to a franchise and more like reuniting with old friends.
Bettinelli-Olpin describes it as “getting together with your best friends after years apart.”
He explained that returning with the same creative team allowed them to push the film further while staying true to what made the original work, a balance that’s clear in the sequel’s mix of horror and comedy where brutal kills are often followed by laugh-out-loud moments.
According to Gillett, finding the right balance between the two is something the team constantly works on throughout the filmmaking process.
“It starts on the page,” he explained. “Usually the script is even gorier and even funnier. When we shoot it, we give everyone permission to take big swings.”
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the set of READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Much of that balance is refined in the editing room, where the filmmakers constantly adjust the tone to make sure the violence never goes so far that audiences disconnect from the story.
The result is a film that embraces its absurdity without completely losing its emotional core.
For someone who normally avoids horror movies, this one definitely kept me on my toes. There are plenty of jump scares, and the chaos rarely slows down. The film doesn’t try to reinvent the formula of the original instead, it amplifies it, making everything bigger, louder and bloodier.
Even when the story gets ridiculous, the characters remain believable enough to keep the audience invested. The mix of horror and comedy keeps the pacing fast, and the constant chaos makes it hard to look away.
Whether it’s brutal kills, unexpected twists or moments of dark humor, “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” fully embraces the madness that made the first film so memorable.
Out in theaters now, be ready… or not.
Contact CU Independent Senior Arts Editor Lou Leclercq at louison.leclercq@colorado.edu
