Film Review: READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (2026): An Even Better Scarefest Than the Original with Samara Weaving at the Top of Her Game
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Review
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) Film Review, a movie directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, written by Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and starring Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, Dan Beirne, Olivia Cheng, Antony Hall, Varun Saranga, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Masa Lizdek, Nestor Carbonell, Maia Jae, Juan Pablo Romero, Kevin Durand, Kara Wooten and Grant Nickalls.
Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have made a fun and bloody sequel to 2019’s Ready or Not called Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Samara Weaving reprises her role as Grace MacCaullay and she is joined by Kathryn Newton who is on board here playing her sister, Faith. This new sequel is like a mob movie, a soap opera and a horror movie all combined into one and has all the right vibes to make it a picture destined to become a midnight movie classic. There’s plenty of blood on-hand here so that when the movie unleashes its key scenes towards the end, audiences will definitely get what they’re looking for in a movie such as this one.
This movie proves that Grace and Faith have a very strong bond as siblings. Faith is ultimately kidnapped by the baddies the movie features and it’s eventually up to Grace to save her sister in any way possible. This movie showcases Elijah Wood as the slick lawyer running the rather brutal and shady proceedings this time out. There are several families competing to win the major prize of fortune and that’s where the soap opera angle comes in. Sarah Michelle Gellar (formerly known as Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays Ursula Danforth who has a tight bond with her violent brother, Titus (Shawn Hatosy). That bond is put to the test when Ursula starts to feel sorry for Grace and Faith and opens up to one of them later in the picture. Things then happen that I won’t reveal here.
This movie doesn’t spare scenes of satanic rituals which are being conducted due to the beliefs of the bad characters in this film. Weaving makes every scene in this film believably constructed as Grace must make an attempt to try to save her sister and that could mean making a choice to be close to the despicable Titus who is not a nice guy at all. Weaving’s acting is quite impressive as she not only makes her character seem plausible, she gives precise line deliveries that enhance the quality of the film and, thus, the intensity of the action.
One violent and effective scene has Titus viciously attacking Faith who he needs to try to take out of the picture in order to get closer to the ultimate prize of leading the cult the movie portrays. This film generally has the same basic structure as the original Ready or Not, but this time out, the stakes are higher and the plot has more tricks up its sleeve than audiences will see coming from the early scenes in the film.
Film director David Cronenberg even gets a supporting role in the action as the wise Chester Danforth who meets some surprising situations in this new sequel head-on. Cronenberg has a small part, but the casting of Cronenberg is inspired. That’s because Cronenberg is a film-making legend who could do a movie like this very easily, only with a much darker edge than the one this film even possesses. To see him camping it up in a film like this is lots of fun and only makes one appreciate what the new movie is trying to do even more.
Eventually, a pair of characters will have to get married in order for the story to reach its bloody climax and it’s interesting to see how the film deals with its final twists and turns. Most of the suspense comes from the intelligence that the character of Grace possesses. Newton is also perfectly cast as the little sister who teams up with her big sister to kick the bad guys’ butts when the situation calls for it. Newton has charm to spare and when she’s in danger, the audience will root for her all the way.
Sarah Michelle Gellar surprises the most in a complex performance where her character and Titus ultimately are pitted against each other in a very scary situation that arises within the plot. Shawn Hatosy is downright frightening as the guy who will do anything to see Grace and Faith dead unless another solution comes up that could benefit him.
Samara Weaving has come a long way as an actress and this is some of the best work she’s ever done right here in this very picture. She creates the drama that stirs up the real horrors in the story line. Weaving attacks her dialogue with impressive ferociousness and she and Newton prove an unstoppable team. Elijah Wood steals a few scenes from the ladies as well with his proper lawyer character who takes no sides unless he has to.
This film does start off a little slow as it builds off the events of the first picture, but how can one fault a movie for gradually setting the stage for wild rituals, horrific games and killings that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats? This movie knows the formula for a good horror show and, thankfully, employs it in a highly entertaining way. Yes, some scenes of the movie can feel really over-the-top at times, but that’s the nature of these types of films.
If you like scary movies set in large mansion type homes with a bloodbath ending thrown in for good measure then this picture is for you. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is the type of horror movie that you’ll still love “tomorrow” even after it may go down as a simple guilty pleasure while watching it. Acting this good is hard to come by in a fright fest like this, and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come delivers the goods, the blood and the action in a straightforward and very entertaining way.
Rating: 7.5/10
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