It’s not spooky season yet. Regardless, the eldritch cosmic forces have granted us an early treat: a delightful bloodfest of slasher horror and dark comedy in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) (RoN2).
After the first film’s cult?classic success, the sequel had some pretty big sunflower?yellow Converse sneakers to fill. So… did it manage?
Ready or Not (2019) ended with Grace (Samara Weaving) surviving her in?laws’ satanic family tradition and walking out of a burning mansion like the patron saint of “I want a divorce.”
RoN2 picks up right where we left off — Grace alive, traumatized, and very much not free of the Le Domas curse. Instead of the well-earned rest she thoroughly deserves, she’s thrown into a new iteration of the game: double or nothing.
The game begins in Hunger Games style, as we see a filmed, ritualistic hunt featuring a roster of wealthy psychos and, unexpectedly, Grace’s estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton).
Unlike the first film, RoN2 delves into Grace’s backstory. We finally see the fractures between her and Faith — resentment, abandonment, and the kind of unresolved tension that only a demonic blood pact can bring forward, am I right, sis? Their dynamic becomes the emotional spine of the movie, grounding the chaos in something surprisingly tender despite its rocky journey.
And then there’s the cast. Fellas… Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, absolute legend Elijah Wood, (The Faculty (1998), Lord of the Rings (2001)), plus the iconic queen Sarah Michelle Gellar, (Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Scooby-Doo (2002)). Add in the one and only Shawn Hatosy (The Pitt (2025-), Animal Kingdom (2016-2022)) and you’ve got a lineup that feels almost unfair. Each of them brings such a unique flavour to their role that the ensemble becomes unforgettable — and a genuine delight to watch. Am I biased because this top-notch cast feels like it was assembled specifically to target my millennial horror heart? Hell yeah. Does that make the movie any less good? Not at all.
Where the first film was tight, contained, and wonderfully claustrophobic — all creaking hallways and quick, satisfying deaths — RoN2 expands the arena. The scale is bigger, the traps are more elaborate, and the kills are more… fun, let’s go with that.
Don’t get me wrong, this is nowhere near close to Saw (2004) or Final Destination (2000)’s levels of gore, but some deaths are creative, and people exploding never seems to get old.
Whether this expansion of the logistics works depends on what you loved about the original. If you were there for the intimate cat?and?mouse tension, this sequel’s go?big?or?go?home approach might feel like a departure. If you wanted more lore, more chaos, and more rich people exploding, you’re in for a feast.
Faith is a fantastic addition to the franchise, offering a sharp, complicated contrast to Grace — the kind of sibling dynamic that shows how strength can look wildly different depending on who’s holding it.
Also, billionaires selling their souls? Absolute cinema. Any movie that depicts them as people willing to literally sacrifice their humanity to the devil is a win in my book. RoN2 doubles down on the satire — old money, cultish, dynastic, ritual-obsessed families — all of it lands with a sharp, self-aware bite. Considering how scarily close it sounds to reality, it makes one wonder if this is one of those cases in which fiction isn’t exaggerating so much as gently tapping us on the shoulder and whispering, “This is already happening, babe.” How it’s all explored is cathartic and thus therapeutic. Whoever knew a mental health day could come so cheap?
And the music. Holy [REDACTED]. The needle drop of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” during one of the film’s most chaotic sequences is so absurdly perfect that I had to fight to bite back a laugh. I’d rewatch this film solely for that scene.
RoN2 is messy, ambitious, and gleefully unhinged — a sequel that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologize for it. The only thing that could’ve made it better is a gay proposal scene (you’ll see what I mean if you give this movie a chance), but alas, we can’t have everything.
There’s much mystery left to unravel, and if the box office is any indicator, this franchise is far from over.
Bear in mind: if you didn’t like the first one, you probably won’t like this one either. But if you did? This sequel is a bloody, chaotic, devil?blessed delight.
