Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) Review

It takes a lot of nerve to end a film with a mansion full of rich maniacs exploding mist, then follow it up by saying, essentially, ‘that was just the warm-up’. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come opens in the immediate aftermath of that carnage, gives Grace MacCaullay barely enough time to catch her breath, and promptly drags her back into another round of aristocratic nonsense with a body count attached.

You can visualise the film’s creators (namely Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) almost shrugging as it does this. Of course there’s a sequel! Of course the world is bigger! Of course there are more families, more rules, more ways for the obscenely wealthy to justify appalling behaviour. The surprise isn’t that it exists, it’s that it leans into the idea with such casual enthusiasm.

Where the first film thrived on confinement, this one is much more interested in sprawl. The game is no longer limited to one deeply unpleasant family. It’s a network now, a kind of Satanic secret society of the monstrously entitled, each with their own rituals, grudges, and flair for theatrical violence.

That expansion doesn’t always help. There are moments where the film seems slightly too pleased with its own mythology, pausing to explain rules that might be better left half-understood. You can sense the machinery creaking, straining to to scale up something that was, by design, so tightly wound the first time around. But it’s hard to be annoyed when the film is this eager to entertain.

Samara Weaving returns with the same feral energy that made Grace such a compelling presence before. There’s a noticeable shift this time though, as she plays the whole thing with a kind of incredulous fatigue – as if she can’t quite believe she’s been dropped back into this mess. And it works. It gives the chaos a through-line. No matter how elaborate things get, you always have her reaction anchoring it.

Kathryn Newton’s Faith adds a different rhythm to the film. Where Grace is all nerves and instinct, Faith is more guarded and sardonic. Their dynamic is confrontational rather than sentimental, which suits the film. They argue, improvise, survive, repeat. It never quite turns into the emotional centre the script probably thinks it is, but it gives the audience a chance to catch its breath between the bursts of violence.

And the violence is, for better or worse, the main attraction. The sequel follows that unwritten rule of escalation with admirable commitment. The kills are bigger, nastier and even more ridiculous. You get the sense that the filmmakers are seeing how far they can push things without falling fully into parody. Sometimes they get very close.

The supporting cast included a mix of genre legends. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy lean into their bad guy roles with icy relish, while Elijah Wood turns up to deliver exposition as if it’s the most reasonable thing in the world. There’s a lot of straight-faced absurdity here, and we’re cool with it.

So to answer the biggest question about Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – Is it necessary? Not even slightly. Does it capture the same sharp bite as the original? Not quite. But it does manage something arguably more difficult. It takes an idea that should have been exhausted and finds a way to keep it moving. Not always forwards, but at least entertainingly sideways.

You may not need another round of this particular game. But it’s hard to deny that it’s still a good time playing along.

Movie Rating:

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come trailer