The Wasteland Reviewer

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

Are we ready for another rousing round of “Hide and Seek”? The Radio Silence crew achieved something truly special with their horror/action/comedy Ready or Not which grabbed the attention of many when it came out. The film centered on a young woman marrying into a rich family which turns out to be a Satanic cult who forces her into a game of “Hide and Seek” to save her life. With Radio Silence’s sequel, Grace made it out alive from her wild night but opened up a whole new nightmare as she and her sister must survive the eldest members of all the most powerful families in this cult. What ensues is a wild night of blood, shenanigans, and dark powers.

What do Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett bring to Ready or Not 2: Here I Come from behind the camera? One of the defining features of Radio Silence is their dark sense of humor. There is plenty of that sense of humor injected into this horror/action flick. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett deliver plenty of sarcasm, snark, physical comedy, and dry wit. There are plenty of fun slasher elements thrown in too with plenty of blood, jumps, mutilation. There are even some uncomfortable bits of body horror that will churn your stomach too. Unfortunately compared to the first film, Here I Come is not as consistently engrossing over its almost two-hour runtime, but it does deliver quite consistently. Pacing-wise, there are some lulls in the frenetic energy especially when the film must stop and drop plenty of expositional dialogue along the way. The crew find some solid emotion as well with the central sisterly dynamic being the core of the film. There are sharp camera movements, editing, and needle drops giving Ready or Not 2 plenty of personality and flair.

Does the writing for this sequel deliver as well? When you look at the overall narrative, this does follow that sequel trope of taking the first film and just making it bigger. With that increase in size and scope, you get a lot of fun and wild world-building making the Ready of Not world even more intriguing. But there are also some drawbacks as there are quite a few sequences just dedicated to expositional dialogue and there are so many characters stuffed into this sequel. Some of the expositional dialogue feels a bit cumbersome. Then you have a lot of characters who are quite one-note and not as intriguing as they could be. Some of the motivations behind the sisterly divide that made Grace and Faith estranged feel a little undercooked, but the acting and emotion elevate it enough. There are only a few characters who have interesting depth including the dangerous twins, Ursula and Titus Danforth, who have their own conflict and realized motivations outside of just power. They attempt to throw in some added motivation for the other hunters, but they don’t really stick out enough. From a story standpoint, Radio Silence certainly finds plenty of twists and turns, loopholes, and shocks that make this film feel a bit fresh when compared to the first. The film is a little bit overstuffed but still engaging.

What brings Ready or Not 2 up from being just another retread of the first film? The cast goes a long way in making this one stand out. Samara Weaving continues to prove that she is the perfect combination of big presence, detailed facial expressions, sharp wit, and a unique scream that sticks with you. Kathryn Newton is a fun addition as Weaving’s sister as they have great banter (even if Weaving carries much of the emotional weight). 90s horror stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy are excellent as the Danforth twins. Gellar brings a strength and judgment that stands out while Hatosy delivers an unhinged performance with plenty of interesting acting choices that accentuate Titus’ psychotic personality. Elijah Wood is saddled with mostly expositional dialogue as The Lawyer who is the keeper of this cult’s bylaws, but he just plays the role so perfectly and finds his own way of injecting subtle humor into the film. Even David Cronenberg gets a small role as the elder Danforth and leaves an impression (even if most of his screentime is as a massive portrait). The rest of the crew are mixed bags with Kevin Durand having a small and wild turn that stands out and Nestor Carbonell going for an accent and energy that just falls flat.

Is Ready or Not 2: Here I Come another strong outing from Radio Silence? Ready or Not was so fresh, fun, and energetic on such a tiny budget. Here I Come is bigger and bolder even if it does not always hit. But this is still a fun, bloody, and action-packed ride with another star-defining turn from Weaving. Radio Silence continues their streak of dark funny slashers, and we cannot wait to see what comes next.