Ready or Not was a surprise hit in 2019 and took a very simple premise: a woman forced into playing a deadly game of hide and seek, and it was a blast as we watched the lead character, Grace, fight for her life against an overprivileged family who are hunting her down in a gothic mansion. Now the sequel has arrived, and for those who have never seen the original, it kicks off seconds after the first film, so it may be a good piece of advice to watch the first film to be up to speed. If you can’t be bothered, then you might enjoy this more than number one, but it really isn’t as good.

Grace, after surviving the first game, finds herself at the centre of other families all longing to take the seat of the head of the powerful throne that has become vacant. The way to do this is to track and kill Grace during another game of hide-and-seek. If she wins, she becomes the all-powerful one in a satanic cult. The ante is upped when her estranged sister Hope is thrown into the game.

The whole creative team behind the original are back. After taking the reins of Scream (5) and Scream VI, as well as the vampire horror, Abigail, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who brought a ton of fun with Ready or Not, have decided that if you are going to make a sequel, why change anything? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Sadly, that is the movie’s downfall. It is the same premise with more characters, so more blood and more inventive deaths. What does work is giving Grace a character to banter and battle with, her younger sister Hope, even if this is a little contrived.

The trouble with making a sequel to a film that was so much gory fun is that you can never meet the high expectations. Yes, this does have some really great moments, including one of the funniest fight scenes involving two people with pepper spray in their eyes (and a scene that could have been taken even further). Yet at the heart, it is like a carbon copy. Maybe a different game could have been played (a deadly game of Jenha? Or Monopoly?)

Having Grace partner up with her wayward sister is a bonus, but the idea of Grace abandoning her when they were young just seems too convenient and doesn’t quite click. Watching the screaming pair battle people out to kill them does work, as they are forced to work together to survive.

The blood letting is upped with plenty of stabbings, shootings and exploding people (long reason why that happens) and having the various families trying to outwit the girls as well as each other does bring a little more peril, but again, could have been explored in more details.

One of the high points is the casting, all of whom seem to be having the time of their lives.Shawn Hatosy, more known for TV series such as Animal Kingdom, is particularly vicious as Titus Danforth, the twin brother of the head family, who is also the most dangerous man of all the clans.Horror director David Cronenberg makes a brief appearance as the head of the Danforth and it’s a shame his appearance is so brief. Good to see Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, back on the big screen, reminding us just how scheming she was in Cruel Intentions, while The Lord of the Rings Elijah Wood gets a huge bite of the apple as the lwyer.

The film’s strength is having returning star Samara Weaving, who was such a strong lead in the first film, teaming up Kathryn Newton, who made a massive impression in the comedy horror, Freaky. Watchug the pair, you can tell they really enjoyed each others company off screen and it translate. You could spend more time with this pairing, as the chemistry bubbles.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come was always going to have a struggle meeting the high bar that the first film set, but it’s still a load of fun, it is funny in a very dark way and it will make you wary of dealing with large rich families. It does, however, answer the question: what is it like to get into a washing machine? The answer isn’t very pleasant.

3 out of 5

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathlyn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Woods, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, Dan Beirne, Olivia Cheng, Nestor Carbonell, Antony Hall, Varun Saranga

Written by: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy, (screenplay) Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Running Time: 108 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 20th March 2026