Weeks after the seventh Scream movie came out, which was made after Radio Silence's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett dropped out to make Abigail and now Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the sequel to their highly successful 2019 movie, the war has been settled.
The connection between the projects goes beyond the directors. Yes, Radio Silence's duo is the obvious connective tissue, but Guy Busick, who co-wrote Scream 7 with Kevin Williamson, also co-wrote Ready or Not 2.
They are very different horror comedies, but there's a creativity that Ready or Not 2 has that makes it nearly impossible to wonder what could've been had Radio Silence remained on board for Scream 7.
Weaving once again returns as Grace MacCaullay, and she may become the defining final girl of a new generation. Above all else, Ready or Not 2 knows what it is (something the Scream franchise used to do), and it leans fully into it without holding back.
What's Ready or Not 2: Here I Come about?
The sequel to Ready or Not picks up right where the first ends. Grace is enjoying her cigarette after her traumatic experience. However, she is immediately detained under suspicion of murder before she collapses.
Upon waking up, she is still being interrogated while recovering from her wounds from the deadly game of hide and seek. That's when her sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), reemerges after their falling out nearly a decade earlier.
Unfortunately, Grace isn't out of the woods despite winning the game of hide and seek. Now, all of the wealthiest families in the world are hunting her down in a new game at the risk of losing their status. Whoever kills Grace will win unlimited power, which is represented by a ring provided by Elijah Woods' character (go figure). And now, she has to escape another game of hide and seek, this time while (literally) handcuffed to her sister.
Getting right into the action
There isn't much set up in Ready or Not 2 — it gets right into the action and spends minimal time explaining the rules. We've been there before, and anyone watching the sequel without seeing the original can pick things up easily.
This time around, the stakes are higher, and the kills are grittier — and there is a lot more human combustion in Ready or Not 2. It's wholly entertaining and complete surface-level fun.
Even still, it's a romp. Weaving and Newton are believable as sisters, even if the supposed ages don't quite match up. The personalities of those chasing Grace don't shine as much as in the last movie, though Wood's devious performance is definitely a highlight. He's the Alton Brown to this Cutthroat Kitchen.
Weaving has always shone in horror projects. Ready or Not was her breakthrough, and Grace has an edge that other final girls lack.
It's unclear if the franchise will continue. For the sake of Weaving's star power, it should, and it doesn't appear that Busick and R. Christopher Murphy have run out of ideas yet.
Going bigger than the first movie
There's also a continuation of Busick and Murphy's clever religious themes. The families all worship the devil, but the idea of blind faith is hilariously satirized in the Ready or Not sequel.
The key is bringing the Radio Silence guys back. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, for all their faults with their two Scream movies, excel with big set pieces and pacing.
Ready or Not 2 goes bigger in almost every way. The pool of hunters is bigger, and so is the scale of the venue that Grace and Faith have to navigate.
In Ready or Not, the setting is largely self-contained. The game of hide and seek mostly takes place in Grace's in-laws' mansion. Now, the action is brought outside, providing new challenges and a new aesthetic. For the most part, the Radio Silence duo takes advantage of these new settings. There are still some of the claustrophobic scenes inside a mansion, but the openness of the golf course, for example, makes for interesting, fresh scenarios.
The supernatural elements
For the most part, the Ready or Not movies are grounded, as grounded as a deadly game of hide and seek can be. The supernatural elements were mostly kept at bay in the first.
However, that changes in the final act of Ready or Not 2. Busick and Murphy take big swings here. Some will have a hard time connecting with it, while others will appreciate the risk taken.
The best thing going for Ready or Not 2 is that it's a very small-scale franchise, with just two installments to date. The rules of the game are still being established, and now, Busick and Murphy either have new avenues to explore or can call it quits. Either way, this is way more creative than Scream 7, which would've made you think Busick was creatively bankrupt.
Should you watch Ready or Not 2: Here I Come?
As Scream 7 showed, the horror genre is in desperate need of new franchises. Ready or Not 2 could be the next big thing if the filmmakers play their cards right.
Ready or Not 2 is a breath of fresh air. It never takes itself too seriously, but it also knows how to have a tremendous amount of fun. No, it's not avant-garde cinema, but it's unlikely anyone was hoping for that with this movie.
So, count to 10 and watch this movie.
Grade: B
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come will be released on Mar. 20.
