Following their slasher tenure on Scream and Scream VI and the subsequent dive into the modern Universal Monsters universe with Abigail, Radio Silence returns with a Ready or Not sequel. Released exactly six years and seven months after the first film, the successor project multiplies the original’s brilliance fourfold, even if the narrative and its themes must find a way in and out of all the action. Ready of Not 2: Here I Come is another step in the proper direction for the filmmaking team. Noting their roots in helping jumpstart the V/H/S horror anthology film franchise as well as in the “all roads lead back to each other” one-off film, Southbound, it’s a no-brainer that they have evolved in the supernatural subgenre. Pair this with Ready or Not and this decade’s slasher gems, and a sequel so centered on sisters stuck in a sinister situation seems semi-surreal.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is written by executive producers Guy Busick (Ready or Not, Castle Rock Season 2, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail, Final Destination: Bloodlines) and R. Christopher Murphy (Ready or Not, Castle Rock Season 2) with the screenplay by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (V/H/S, Southbound, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail) and Tyler Gillett (V/H/S, Southbound, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail) via Radio Silence. The film is directed by Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett.
In this review, I will discuss Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. As the article’s title states, no spoilers will be present. References to the 2019 film will be made.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Synopsis
According to Searchlight Pictures, here is the official synopsis for Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Guy Busick, and R. Christopher Murphy’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.
Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.
Searchlight Pictures
Discussion
In reading through Searchlight Pictures’ official production notes for the film, I’ve become enthralled by Bettinelli-Olpin’s small comparison of main character Grace Elizabeth MacCaullay Le Domas (Samara Weaving) to Keanu Reeves’s John Wick. The Ready or Not protagonist is described as continuing to “surviv[e] through instinct and stubborn willpower rather than strength or preparation”. This is an insightful juxtaposition to the action role. MacCaullay Le Domas is not a full-blown killer. Instead, she is a sort of fighter because of her capacity to love. Like John Wick, Radio Silence’s Ready or Not establishes its protagonist and her conflict of being forced into a world of certain order, structure, principles, and rules. If that is the case, then Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is somewhat the John Wick: Chapter 2 of its world-building.
Danforth patriarch Chester Danforth (David Cronenberg) begins the film with the assertion that rules must be followed. Unlike Scream‘s meta-commentary, Here I Come‘s rules are intended solely for the Ready or Not world. The specificity is incredibly interesting, with “The Lawyer” (Elijah Wood) present to enforce them. He reiterates that these rules must not be broken, as doing so will anger the watchful entity, Mister Le Bail. Ready or Not‘s display of sacrifices continues to be a marvelous blend of emotion, terror, and levity.
The Screenwriting
Whereas the John Wick films unravel character and narrative development as the action sequences progress, Ready or Not and its sequel voice wants, needs, and desires from scene to scene. The El Caídos seek honor and gratification; the Wans long for safety and security; and the Danforths look to maintain power. Irony comes a long way, and the script calls for much of it. The given names of Grace and Faith MacCaullay (Kathryn Newton) are kind of funny as the personified qualities to combat the occult. It also feels like revisiting the first film is no longer a requirement. Flashes of MacCaullay Le Domas’s life pass through her mind in the opening. Additionally, she does a recap of past events in dialogue with her sister shortly afterward.
I love the collective ability to create tension in one moment and subvert it with the unexpected in the next. The kills are either creative or decent. However, it’s interesting just how many neck-related injuries are exhibited. The executions are calculated and well-written, and comedic timing is everything. I don’t think I can count the number of moments wherein I let out a chuckle because of on-screen awkwardness or lack of preparation. Suffice it to say that the screenwriters deserve their roses.
The Feminist Angle
The decision to move the film’s release date from April 10th to the middle of Women’s History Month is a fine appeal to kairos. Given the Radio Silence film catalog, I admire how progressive their material continues to be. In V/H/S‘s “10/31/98” segment, a quartet of guys unintentionally rescue a woman from physical assault. In Southbound, two men’s demons catch up to them. The Scream and Scream VI reboot sequels (re-quels) entail a young woman who is made out to be the villain of her own story due to a bloodline she was born into. Similarly, Abigail follows a woman who kidnaps an apparently young girl but learns that being more present in children’s lives is the first step in a proper upbringing.
In Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the Council families view the MacCaullay sisters as zoo animals. This perception of the women as inferior is important. Despite their lower/ middle-class backgrounds, they aren’t even the ones itching to kill each other. The older sister is accused of marrying into the Le Domas family for the money, when that isn’t true. The sisters have a rough dynamic akin to the Carpenters, or Ana Lucia “Joey” Cruz and Abigail. It’s uncanny to see, but it works well with the MacCaullays. Their narrative is a reminder that talking down on women’s ethos has been the point as far back as Scream. Melissa Barrera’s Samantha “Sam” Carpenter is a shining example of this. Indisputably, Radio Silence is on the correct side of history and cinema history.
Meanwhile, the men of the film are purposefully flawed. Titus Danforth (Shawn Hatosy) is most destructive, never relents, and never holds back. Ignacio El Caído (Néstor Carbonell) is a trigger-happy, albeit rusty marksman. Madhu Rajan (Varun Saranga) is cocky; all talk and no show.
The Balls in Motion
Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, Busick, and Murphy’s storytelling heavily commits to a sequel that surpasses the successes of the original by incorporating more blood and insanity into its story. The end of the first film showcased the Le Domas family blowing up in detonations of blood. However, in the sequel, the paffings—i.e., “the sudden, explosive, full-body detonation[s functioning as] an environmental event”—are a more valuable element. Approximately two hundred and fifty (250) gallons were used out of a total of about three hundred and twenty-five (325) gallons. Because of this feat, I cannot imagine what will happen if and when a third Ready or Not film enters John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 territory.
MacCaullay Le Domas’s wedding dress is drenched in blood for the majority of the film. Yes, there’s the hospital gown for a portion of the first act. There’s a smoky, tenebrous wedding dress and veil towards the end. Yet, thanks to costume designers Avery Plewes and Christine Toye, the blood-red dress primarily represents a new chapter for the films. Faith MacCaullay’s Thelma & Louise-inspired outfit is stunning. Newton wears it flawlessly, even when covered in blood. Her choice of weapon enhances her stature, demanding of some respect. I personally like the battle damage to characters, from one torn long-sleeve from MacCaullay Le Domas’s wedding dress to her sister’s rag doll appearance in the latter half of the film.
An Immersive Experience
Compared to the Le Domas mansion in the first film, the Danforth estate gets its money from people who have bucks to spend. The lodge holds a golfing field, an ominous laundry room, a bleak casino room, a strict ballroom wedding venue, and more. It’s funny, then, that it’s looked at as a building plucked from Scooby-Doo. That is not to mention that Gellar portrays a character who wears a mask rather than seeking to remove it from others’ faces. Production designer Andrew M. Stearn et al do laudable work in bathing the atmosphere in severe shadow and textures to maintain “classic horror tropes”. The contrast of this with the gothic architecture of the final scene’s setting is clever, as if the latter were constructed on ancestral sins and feral carnage. Personally, I wish the excitement had been prolonged to further display the duality of gothicism and horror.
Facing the Music
Music composer Sven Faulconer et al’s soundtrack often gets me lost in the film. I mean that on a positive note. Director of photography Brett Jutkiewicz captures the opening scene in a neat tracking shot that transitions the first film to this new one, all while Amy Winehouse resets the tone. Violins and cellos dominate when necessary, such as in the initial gathering at the Danforth estate or in occult members’ last-minute desperation for the High Seat. Incorporating Korean pop (K-Pop) music is vital in demonstrating diversity, not just in the cast roster but in the tastes as well.
Hearing Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in Jamie Blanks and Silvio Horta’s Urban Legend and Johannes Roberts, Bryan Bertino, and Ben Ketai’s The Strangers: Prey at Night is one thing. Conversely, listening to the song in a horror comedy is a different circumstance. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come has outstanding fight sequences—perhaps not on the same level as a John Wick film. Then again, I have to commend what the filmmakers, the crew, and the cast can get away with this time around.
The Crew Behind Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Brett Jutkiewicz (Ready or Not, The Black Phone, Scream, Scream VI, V/H/S/85) serves as the director of photography. Pief Weyman serves as the stills photographer.
David Allan serves as the gaffer.
Jay Prychidny (Orphan Black, Scream VI, Wednesday) serves as the editor.
Sven Faulconer (Scream VI, Hellboy: The Crooked Man) serves as the musical composer, with original themes scored by Brian Tyler (Darkness Falls, Bug, The Final Destination, Final Destination 5, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail).
Matthew Thomas (Scream VI) and Peter Bateman (Fifty Shades of Grey, 11.22.63, Scream VI, Until Dawn, Predator: Killer of Killers, The Conjuring: Last Rites, Predator: Badlands, It: Welcome to Derry, Mortal Kombat II) score additional music.
Ben Zales (Mr. Robot, The Forever Purge, Night Teeth, They/Them, M3GAN, Abigail, Companion, Opus, Daredevil: Born Again, Ballerina, M3GAN 2.0) serves as the music editor. Brendan Leong serves as the additional music editor.
Adam Stein (The Witch, The Strain Season 2, Ready or Not, In the Tall Grass, Saw X, From Seasons 2 & 3) serves as the supervising sound editor.
Ryan Joe Allam and Paul Germann (Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, The Iron Claw, The Shrouds, Hell of a Summer, del Toro’s Frankenstein, Over Your Dead Body) serve as the sound effects editors.
Casting, Storyboard, and Stunts
John Buchan (Splice, Ready or Not, In the Tall Grass, Dream Scenario, Forbidden Fruits) and Jason Knight (Splice, Ready or Not, Women Talking, Dream Scenario, Forbidden Fruits) serve as the casting directors.
Rob McCallum (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Land of the Dead, Four Brothers, Jumper, Max Payne, Orphan, Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Devil, It: Welcome to Derry, Whistle) serves as the film’s storyboard artist.
Dan Skene serves as the stunt coordinator. Stephannie Hawkins serves as the assistant stunt coordinator.
Naomi Frenette (X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Scream VI, HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, Black Phone 2, Whistle) serves as Samara Weaving’s stunt double.
Tressa Young serves as Kathryn Newton’s stunt double.
Josslyn Farrow (Whistle) serves as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s stunt double.
Melanie Phan serves as both Maia Jae and Olivia Cheng’s stunt double. Alex Armbruster serves as Néstor Carbonell’s stunt double.
Aesthetics
Matthew Whelan and Jesse Kawzenuk serve as the visual effects supervisors.
Andrew M. Stearn (Four Brothers, The Incredible Hulk, Max Payne, Nikita, The Handmaid’s Tale Season 1, Ready or Not, The Umbrella Academy Season 4) serves as the production designer.
Colin Woods is the supervising art director.
Jon Chan and Thomas Inwood are credited as art directors.
Rebecca Elliott serves as the set decorator.
Avery Plewes (Ready or Not, Scream VI) serves as the costume designer. Christine Toye serves as the assistant costume designer.
Ryan Reed (Pacific Rim, It: Chapter One, It: Chapter Two) serves as the hair department head.
Colin Penman (Goosebumps, Mimic, the Saw franchise, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pacific Rim, 11.22.63, The Strain, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Dune: Part One, Beau Is Afraid, Dream Scenario, Eddington, Black Phone 2, Whistle) serves as the prosthetics department head & makeup artist.
Indiana Allemang serves as the key makeup artist. Alessondra Bastianoni serves as the makeup artist.
Karlee Morse is the key prosthetics makeup artist.
Gregory Zoltan Stevens serves as the special effects supervisor.
The Cast of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Executive producer Samara Weaving (Ash vs Evil Dead, The Babysitter, Ready or Not, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, The Valet, Babylon, Scream VI, Azrael, Borderline, Eenie Meanie, Over Your Dead Body) and Kathryn Newton (Paranormal Activity 4, Blockers, Freaky, Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail) portrays sisters Grace Elizabeth MacCaullay Le Domas and Faith MacCaullay, respectively.
Elijah Wood (The Faculty, the Lord of the Rings film franchise, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, Sin City, Cooties, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Yellowjackets, The Toxic Avenger) portrays “The Lawyer”.
David Cronenberg (The Fly, Nightbreed, Jason X, Slasher, Star Trek: Discovery, Humane) portrays Chester Danforth, the patriarch of the Danforth family.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Cruel Intentions, Scooby-Doo, The Grudge, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Do Revenge, Dexter: Original Sin, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale) portrays Ursula Danforth.
Shawn Hatosy (The Faculty, Fear the Walking Dead Season 1, The Pitt) portrays Titus Danforth, Ursula’s twin brother.
Néstor Carbonell (The Dark Knight, Lost, The Dark Knight Rises, Bates Motel, Shōgun, The Rip) portrays Ignacio El Caído, the patriarch of the El Caído family.
Maia Jae and Juan Pablo Romero portray Francesca and Felipe El Caído, Ignacio’s daughter and son, respectively.
Olivia Cheng portrays Wan Chen Xing, the head of the Wan family.
Antony Hall plays Wan Cheng Fu, Chen Xing’s son.
Nadeem Umar-Khitab portrays Viraj Rajan, the head of the Rajan family. Varun Saranga portrays Madhu Rajan, Viraj’s younger brother.
Maša Lizdek portrays Martina Rajan, Viraj’s “immaculate, detached, and disinterested trophy wife”.
Daniel “Dan” Beirne (I Used to Be Funny) portrays Kip Danforth, the Danforth twins’ cousin.
Kara Wooten portrays Pernilla, the Danforth twins’ silent assistant.
Minor Roles
Grant Nickalls portrays Detective Roger Bassett.
Dina Pino (Whistle) plays Nurse Amy.
Emily Stranges and Jonathan Mason appear as a bride and groom, respectively.
Kevin Durand (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Butterfly Effect, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Legion, I Am Number Four, Tragedy Girls, Abigail) appears as Bill Wilkinson.
Performances and Character Developments
Watching Weaving go from the runaway bride to a frustrated older sister is entertaining. MacCaullay Le Domas and MacCaullay’s ongoing quarrel as siblings is a spectacle in itself. Fans and viewers of the first film understand that the former doesn’t want to sell her soul. More so, it’s cool to witness what the actor can do when exploring darker possibilities. Weaving has good line-readings, but my favorite is delivered when the main character remembers to reject tradition. She’s spicier than Bee in McG’s The Babysitter movies when the scene calls for her to be bad. It only cements the actor as a talented but underrated figure in recent years.
I don’t fully agree with Newton being cornered into the “annoying little sister” archetype, as per the production notes. The performances that she gives in both Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy’s Freaky and Zelda Williams and Diablo Cody’s Lisa Frankenstein are unique to the individual role asked of her. Likewise, with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett as the directors, Faith MacCaullay is just as unique. The character is a believer in goodness. While she experiences some of the worst, it takes a lot to alter her perception.
Innocuous Characters
Previously, Wood has portrayed protagonists and antagonists. Yet, it isn’t often that I see the actor as a man who overlooks the physical conflict. I see him as a Dungeon Master (DM) in this way, what with his huge book in hand and determining what is and isn’t acceptable. The Lawyer is a professional, and I respect the role as much as I do the women of the film.
Olivia Cheng portrays a solid role as Wan Chen Xing. Her character isn’t as calm and collected for the sake of being a good person. She carefully plans her moves as a means to save her own skin. The screenwriters develop her concisely. Unlike the other heads of the Council, she is protective of her family, and I love her for that decision.
The Antagonizing Forces
Saranga has some of the best comedic timing in the role of Madhu Rajan. Maybe it’s due to editor Jay Prychidny’s use of cuts. His reactions and responses to misfortune are priceless. I would love to see an extended cut of the film that showcases each of the families, including the Rajans, for the sake of the dynamics. As a foil to the MacCaullay sisters, especially the older one, Madhu Rajan rejects the rites passed down to him. Although, he does so because of fear fueled by his self-interests.
In light of recent events, Sarah Michelle Gellar has an appreciative performance as Ursula Danforth. The character’s love for the game is evident, and diminishing that would be wrong. Oddly enough, the mother-son/ husband-and-wife/ weird twin relationship between the Danforth siblings—Gellar’s words via production notes, not mine—adds another layer of discomfort to the narrative. Trust me when I say that Ursula Danforth is the nicer twin for reasons that I can not spoil.
Like Wood, it’s lovely to see that Hatosy has flourished after his time on Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Williamson, David Wechter, and Bruce Kimmel’s The Faculty. Titus Danforth is the sibling to watch out for. The physicality of the actor is tremendous, and the role suits him perfectly at his current age. Danforth’s attempts to use psychology and brute force are sufficiently feasible. Surely, his gray military top and camo pants make this man a villain. There comes a point around the end of the second act or the start of the final act wherein I feel as if Hatosy mirrors Everett McGill’s Eldon “Daddy” Robeson in Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs.
Final Thoughts on Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
If Ready or Not is a prologue to Satanic ritual, then Here I Come is the awesome advent of a much wider infrastructure. The original excels on its own, but the sequel ups the ante as a motion picture, alright. With that said, the final scene is a detailed portrait of sacrifice and a thirst for power. I’m not as big a fan of the closing moment as I am of MacCaullay Le Domas sitting outside her former in-laws’ burning mansion. Regardless, concluding on a sweeter note opens the door for endless options. Overall, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come may not be for everybody. For me, I don’t see anything wrong.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Guy Busick, and R. Christopher Murphy’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is now playing in theaters!
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