‘Ready or Not 2’: Here comes the review

BY ASHTYN HANSARD

Digital Media Director

On March 20, “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” was released in theaters, continuing the story of our protagonist, Grace MacCaullay, after her new in-laws tried to kill her in a game of hide-and-seek.

Before we start on the review, just a quick recap of what previously happened in “Ready or Not.”

Grace MacCaullay, a former foster kid, marries the love of her life, Alex Le Domas, and ends their wedding night by playing a game chosen at random with the rest of the Le Domas family, a family tradition of theirs. 

After selecting the game “hide-and-seek,” the Le Domases begin to hunt her down during the game due to a deal their ancestor, Mr. LeBail, made with the devil. If the Le Domases don’t find and kill Grace by dawn, they will all die in the name of Mr. LeBail. In the end, Grace survived, leaving the Le Domases and her husband to die. 

Now, onto “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.”

When the movie started, and I was sitting in the theater, I was very surprised to see that the sequel starts directly after the first movie, even re-showing the very final scene of “Ready or Not.”

Grace ends up in a hospital and, once healed, is taken down to a police station for questioning since the cops believe she killed the Le Domases. Her sister, Faith MacCaullay, arrives at the hospital to check on her, where we learn just how distant the two are.

Later on, we learn that other families are tied to a deal with Mr. LeBail and the devil. These families are the Danforths, the Wan Chens, the Rajans and the El Caidos. They have a chance to fight for a ring that gives them power over the world, now that the Le Domases are gone.

Even though Grace has already survived hide-and-seek once, she must play again with her sister in order to truly survive Mr. LeBail and tear down his whole society.

In order to keep the movie a surprise for first-time viewers, I’ll turn instead to the acting performances.

First, this cast was absolutely stacked. Samara Weaving, Shawn Hatosy, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kathryn Newton and Elijah Wood played some vital characters and truly let their acting abilities shine. My personal favorites were Weaving, Hatosy and Wood.

Weaving, who plays Grace MacCaullay, is an actress absolutely built for the horror genre. Her crying and screams are so realistic and visceral that I always forget she’s acting when it happens. She carries a rage and desperation in her character choices that are impossible to ignore. Considering her emotional range along with her comedic timing, it's no wonder she’s the lead of the movie.

Hatosy did fantastic with his character, Titus Danforth. While a few of his lines were a little cheesy, Hatosy still delivers them in a way that is as terrifying as his character. He plays Titus with such chaos and anger that you can feel how dangerous he is through the screen. Even then, Hatosy’s performance is captivating and really makes an impact.

Wood is the most different character here, playing the lawyer for all of these families. Rather than having to carry heavy emotions, Wood’s character doesn’t express himself much, keeping fair and calm throughout the whole movie, even in the most climactic moments. I find this incredibly impressive, as I find it hard to keep myself from expressing too much.

I also felt that the plot of the movie worked well despite immediately following the first film.

I was nervous at first, especially considering that having a sequel follow directly after the prequel is risky since there’s no room for character development off-screen. However, I feel like it strangely worked in this case. By having no time skip for the sequel, it makes Grace’s anger even more justifiable and hits harder, especially now that her estranged sister is dragged into it. 

I also like that, even though it’s people hunting down Grace in hide-and-seek once again, it has a different feeling to it than the first movie did. In “Ready or Not 2,” Grace is prepared rather than being surprised by the deadly twist.

I’d love to dive more into this movie and why I think it’s great, but I’ll save it for another article. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” will be on select streaming services soon, so keep an eye out for this thrilling sequel.