‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ review: Samara Weaving returns in bloody, bland horror sequel

Dirs: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett. US. 2026. 108mins

More bloody and gratuitously violent than the 2019 original, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come delivers short-term thrills in an emotionally hollow gore fest. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett pick up exactly where the first horror left off: an exhausted Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) smoking a cigarette on the steps of her in-laws’ burning home. Afterwards, Grace and her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) are placed in a new rat race against richer, more malicious foes. Despite the crowd-pleasing replaying of the first film’s simple premise, this film’s John Wick-esque world building wrongly takes precedence over the sisterly trauma bonding at its heart.

Short-term thrills in an emotionally hollow gore fest

Coming seven years after Ready or Not became a surprise box office hit, taking $58m worldwide, Here I Come aims to keep up its predecessor’s momentum. Following its world premiere at SXSW, the film opens on March 20 in the US and April 10 in the UK; intriguing counter-programming against the swashbuckling male-led sci-fi adventure Project Hail Mary. 

Here I Come begins on a high. Upon being found by police in her tattered, blood-caked wedding dress, Grace goes into cardiac arrest while being transported to the hopsital. With every defibrillator shock, flashbacks recall the events of the first film: Grace drawing the hide and seek card; killing her demon-worshipping fiance and his family; setting his house ablaze. A needledrop of the Shirelles’ ’Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ plays in the background, coyly asking the audience whether the blind adoration that existed for the prior film will be replicated here. 

The overcrowded script penned by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy evidently doesn’t trust the viewer to know the answer. Because when Grace awakens in the hospital, she once again explains the events of the first film; this time to her sister Faith. Beyond those narrative reminders, this film’s flat photography lags significantly behind the prior film’s amber-coated cinematography.

The sequel also never allows the audience time to get to know its characters. With Faith’s appearance, we learn previous little about the sisters – both live in New York City and have not spoken for seven years – before we’re whisked into the film’s new game. With Grace’s killing of the Le Domas dominion, there is an imbalance among the six wealthy Satanist families, requiring a competition to determine who will become the new head of their council. The current chief, Chester Danforth (a wily David Cronenberg) wants the power to remain with his cold daughter Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and his demented son Titus (Shawn Hatosy). 

These twins are joined by heads of the other families: Ignacio El Caido (Néstor Carbonell) from Spain, Wan Chen Xing (Olivia Cheng) from Shanghai, and Madhu (Varun Saranga) and Viraj (Nadeem Umar-Khitab) from London—who kidnap Grace and Faith and take them to a secluded, palatial hunting ground. This world building is so screwy that a character named ‘The Lawyer’ (Elijah Wood), is perpetually required to explain the rules. If Grace lasts until dawn, she will live. Whoever kills her will become the new head of the clain, inheriting greater wealth, power and one signet ring to rule them all.

While Here I Come isn’t lacking for action—including big bazookas, long sabers, and a gruesome kill involving an industrial washing machine —the sisterly dynamic is duller than a blunt knife. A committed Weaving and a passionate Newton simply don’t give off enough sibling energy. Since Grace and Faith haven’t spoken for nearly a decade, part of that detachment is intentional, but their conversations are also one-note. There’s no mention of childhood memories, former friends, or any detail that would allow one to believe they’ve even met before. The stronger sibling bond is instead shared by Ursula and Titus whose toxic relationship, powered by Gellar’s complex intensity, can be felt in their animalistic bickering. 

Fascinatingly, unlike Ready or Not, this sequel isn’t necessarily about eating the rich. It’s actually a hyper-brutal movie about how the rich, if given enough space, will eat each other. One wishes, however, that amid comically exploding Satanist bodies and the rapid extinguishing of blood lines, the film made that point more succinctly rather than overly relying on the first film’s tested formula. Tellingly  Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come concludes like it began, with a cover of ’Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ – a decision that unconsciously signals how insecure this sequel feels about relying on its past riches.