It seems like before every movie nowadays, there are a slew of trailers for horror movies that take themselves too seriously. Bad horror movies have always existed, but they seem to be in the majority these days. Because of this, I rarely find myself paying to see horror films in theaters. 

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come was an exception. In fact, I was looking forward to it. Not because the film necessarily seemed leagues better than the rest of horror trash, but because the first one was just too good not to be curious as to where the story would lead. 

Ready or Not 2 takes place exactly where the first film, Ready or Not, left off. Grace MacCaullay, played by the irreplaceable Samara Weaving, is taken from her late in-laws’ burning home and brought to a hospital. She’s reunited with her estranged sister while the audience is briefed about the greater plot surrounding the events of the first film. 

The story instantly ramps up when it is revealed that, due to Grace’s survival of a twisted version of hide-and-seek, a new game has begun. The wealthiest and most powerful families in the world will come together in an attempt to claim the “High Seat” for their family name, and to do so, they must kill Grace.  

All the filmmakers behind the project are the same as the original Ready or Not’s, an advantage it has over many industry sequels. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return as directors, and it’s obvious how much fun they’ve had with these films; with neither of the movies attempting to be high art or particularly exceptional, it’s apparent that the end goal was simply to deliver a good time for the audience. This is cemented by the small role played by horror director David Cronenberg, as well as the directors’ love for the horror genre in general. Despite the Ready or Not films not showcasing Cronenberg’s trademark body horror, it is nice to see the directors show respect for a master of the genre.  

The gore is over the top and glorious, the kills are just as brutal, the sudden combustions are more frequent, and all of the blood will make the audience audibly squeamish — in a good way! These aspects taken from the original film create a strong base in the sequel’s favor. 

Despite this, flaws are inevitable when a sequel is ultimately unnecessary; a gimmick is only as powerful as it can be on first use. Because of that, the starting point for this film was significantly behind the first. 

Ready or Not 2 tries to add a serious familial sub-plot that, frankly, is even more unnecessary than the film itself. On top of this, the dialogue is much cheesier, and it’s hard to tell if it’s intentional or not. Like the first, there are plenty of fantastic one-liners — my favorite being, “I’m really not used to people combusting all over me” — but whenever a character’s dialogue goes uninterrupted for longer than 30 seconds, it goes downhill. Along with occasionally cringeworthy writing, this sequel suffers from poor tone shifts that the first one nailed. 

But just because the film is flawed doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the watch. Every fight scene is incredible, and most are downright hilarious. A farcical fight sequence to quite the unexpected ’80s love song, the performance of the year coming from a goat, Samara Weaving’s hysterical scream, and Elijah Wood make the film absolutely worth the price of admission. 

Ready or Not 2 takes a political stance, just like the majority of films from the past year. The critique of the uber-rich has been done many times, but the absurdity of this film makes it not feel so oversaturated. It also helps when those characters are fun to watch while simultaneously oh-so-dislikeable.     

Despite Ready or Not 2: Here I Come being an unnecessary sequel to a film that could have easily stood alone, complaints cannot be made about its existence. It does the original justice. Hopefully, the series won’t be continued — but, if it is, it’ll be hard to stay away from the fantastic moviegoing experience these films provide.