“John Wick” is about an ex-contract killer who takes revenge on a crime syndicate for the murder of his beagle puppy Daisy. The premise is simple, a bit stupid, but also very effective. In “John Wick 2,” however, the scenario opens up – and the downright religious bureaucracy of the global assassin community is revealed. “Ready Or Not” is about a bride who becomes embroiled in a life-or-death game of hide-and-seek with her in-laws on her wedding night. The premise is simple, a bit stupid, but also very effective. In “Ready Or Not 2,” however, the scenario opens up – and the downright religious bureaucracy of the global Satanist community is revealed.
“Ready Or Not,” which cost just six million dollars, was a veritable success in 2019 with worldwide revenue of around $57 million. However, that’s not a sum that would have made an early sequel an absolute must – and so directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin used their hit as a springboard to film the franchise sequels “Scream 5” and “Scream 6”. Now the duo has returned to their devilishly fun game of hide-and-seek – and since there is still no money rain on the scale of “Scream”, everything suggests that the two were really up for it. And what can we say: that’s exactly how their even bloodier sequel feels!
In “Ready Or Not 2” there are now two hide-and-seek scream queens in Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton – in keeping with the title.
In the final scene of “Ready Or Not,” the bride (Samara Weaving) sits smoking on the steps in front of her in-laws’ estate in a blood-stained dress. However, her relatives have all just exploded after Grace survived until sunrise and won the hide-and-seek game. Mr. Le Bail himself even appears to nod appreciatively at the winner. But that is not the end, but just the beginning. After all, the Le Domas were not the only clan that made a pact with the devil. Instead, there are six families worldwide who now claim the presidency of the High Council.
How much power this brings is shown when the previous ring bearer, Mr. Danforth (a terrific cameo from cult director David Cronenberg), only has to pick up the phone to bring about a ceasefire in an international conflict that he has just heard about in the news within seconds. But how is the chairmanship determined? The paragraph-riding devil-worshipping advocate (Elijah Wood) knows the answer: with another round of hide-and-seek, of course! Whoever kills the bride becomes the new head Satanist. This time, in addition to Grace, her younger sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) is also drawn into the matter…
Rules, rules, rules
The old book that Elijah Wood (“The Toxic Avenger”) carries around with him all the time is damn thick. But as we all know, the devil is in the details – and so there are not only a lot of paragraphs, but of course also the corresponding sub-paragraphs to regulate every aspect of being a Satanist. Of course, as with the assassin codes in the “John Wick” universe, this is all complete bullshit. But because everyone knows that and no one pretends it’s anything else, it still puts you in a great mood at best.
When hunting Grace and Faith, only weapons that come from the era in which the respective family made their pact with the devil can be used. Does that make sense? Nope! Does the action become much more varied when some are using antique pistols and others are using modern sniper rifles? In any case! The newly added cast members also know exactly what kind of film they are starring in – “The Faculty” star Shawn Hatosy in particular really lets the misogynistic-sadistic full-on psycho show off.
The new additions like David Cronenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar are a real asset for “Ready Or Not 2”!
What inspires the most, however, is cult vampire hunter Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy”), who has already proven in “Ice Cold Angels” that the role of the entitled bitch, played with a wink, suits her particularly well. The fact that Samara Weaving (“Azrael – Angel Of Death”) now has another tried-and-tested badass scream queen in Kathryn Newton (“Freaky”) is a cool thing in itself. Unfortunately, the two of them dwell on their trauma for so long that Grace went to study in New York and Faith, who was left behind, broke off contact in a fit, until at some point it just becomes annoying – and unnecessarily slows down the already (too) long film at 112 minutes.
Those responsible also didn’t do themselves any favors with the size of the property they chose for the second round: with the forest and golf course, it’s too big to conjure up a certain claustrophobic feeling like in the first part – and at the same time it’s not big enough to open up completely new possibilities for the killer hunt (such as the global opening in the “John Wick” universe). There is a really brilliant idea in the action confrontations when two opponents, after a bear spray attack on each other, engage in a somewhat different kind of boxing match, almost blindly. Otherwise there is little that is really new compared to its predecessor, although the running gag with people suddenly bursting never gets old. At least towards the end, “Ready Or Not 2” spins completely freely again – and then the goat becomes the GOAT
Conclusion: Just as Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin apparently imagine a decent game of hide-and-seek, it’s always a great time!