03/04/2026

FRIDAY | APR 3, 2026

25

LYFE

0 Directors: Matt Bettinelli Olpin and Tyler Gillett

MOVIE REVIEW

Ű BY AMEEN HAZIZI

A direct sequel to Ready or Not (2019), Ready or Not 2: Here I Come picks up immediately after Grace MacCaullay’s brutal night of survival. The film wastes little time widening its scope, turning what was once a contained survival story into something closer to a full-scale battle royale. The result is bigger, louder and bloodier, though not always more effective. From survival to spectacle The first film worked because of its simplicity. Grace (Samara Weaving) against one family, one house and one night. That tight focus created tension and clarity. Here, the sequel expands the playing field significantly. Grace is now paired with her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton), shifting the dynamic into a two-against- many scenario involving several elite families. On paper, this raises the stakes. In execution, it dilutes the tension. The film becomes more of a cat-and mouse chase across multiple locations, which makes it feel less urgent. There is always something happening, but it rarely feels as sharp or as focused as before. Rules that do not hold The sequel leans further into the mythology surrounding Le Bail and the rules governing the game. However, those rules feel increasingly vague and inconsistent. Loopholes appear at convenient moments, while certain restrictions seem selectively enforced. In the original, there was still some uncertainty about whether the supernatural element was real or imagined. That ambiguity added a layer of tension. Here, the occult is far more explicit, removing that uncertainty and replacing it with spectacle. It makes the world bigger, but arguably less interesting. Injuries that do not matter A major distraction is how the film handles physical consequences. Grace, who should still be recovering from the first film, appears largely unaffected. Midway through, both she and Faith take significant punishment, including injuries that should leave them barely standing.

0 Cast: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle

Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood, Kevin Durand. E-VALUE 6 ACTING 7 PLOT 7

Grace (centre) is forced back into another deadly game, this time with higher stakes and more players.

Bloodier, but not always better

o Ready or Not 2 favours spectacle over precision

trained threats, but their actions do not reflect that level of skill. Their violence feels generic rather than specialised. Kevin Durand is particularly underused, exiting the film before making a lasting impression. David Cronenberg appears briefly in a role that feels more like a nod to film fans than a meaningful addition. Sarah Michelle Gellar has a few standout moments, though her character’s abilities can feel inconsistent, especially during action sequences. Chaos, humour, excess Where the film does succeed is in its willingness to lean into chaos. There is noticeably more blood this time, with several sequences pushing the violence further than before. The tone remains darkly comedic, which helps balance the brutality.

By the final act, however, both characters appear almost fully recovered, with only minor visible damage. It weakens the impact of the violence and makes the stakes feel less real. When characters can endure that level of damage without consequence, the tension begins to slip. Crowded but uneven cast The expanded cast brings in several recognisable names, though not all are given enough to do. The twin antagonists are framed as highly

Grace (left) and Faith navigate a deadly game together, their strained past shaping every decision they make.

From left: Ursula (Gellar) and Titus Danforth (Shawn Hatosy) lead the hunt as twin power players, driven by ambition and a ruthless grip on the rules of the game.

concept into something larger in scale, but less controlled in execution. The shift towards a multi-player game raises the stakes, yet weakens the clarity and tension that made the original stand out. It remains an entertaining watch, carried by its pacing and lead performances, but it lacks the precision and originality needed to leave a stronger impression.

One of the more memorable scenes involves a fight between Grace and Francesca El Caido (Maia Jae Bastidas), where both are blinded by pepper spray and end up wildly swinging at nothing. It is clumsy, exaggerated and one of the few moments that fully captures the absurd energy the film is aiming for. Final verdict Ready or Not 2 expands the

A new line-up of elite antagonists enters the game, each of them vying for power in a deadly ritual where alliances are fragile and survival is never guaranteed. – ALL PICS FROM IMDB