Courtney Howard // Film Critic
Rated R, 1 hour and 48 minutes
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, Dan Beirne, Olivia Cheng, Antony Hall, Varun Saranga, Masa Lizdek, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Nestor Carbonell, Maia Jae, Juan Pablo Romero, Kevin Durand
For as fresh, irreverent and intelligent as the original READY OR NOT proved itself, its sequel READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME fails to deliver as much devious cleverness. In fact, the proceedings don’t justify their existence until the splatter-horror-comedy’s final act – the only time the filmmakers attempt to do anything interesting with the set-up. Unwieldy, meandering and reductive, the second chapter in one woman’s on-going saga of having unwittingly married into a family of Satanists expands at a tortuous cost to our patience.
Directors/ co-writers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett along with co-writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy steal a page from JOHN WICK 2’s world-building with their invention of a High Council. Turns out, the Le Domas family – the first film’s insufferable, wealthy pack of jackals who played childish games with severe, supernaturally-enhanced consequences whenever someone married into the clan – was just one of a handful of families with a seat on the committee. However, when Grace (Samara Weaving) won her game of Hide-And-Go-Seek and got a ghostly salute from its sadistic inventor Mr. Le Bail, she unknowingly opened up a clause in the game’s rules.
According to the big book kept by Mr. Le Bail’s Lawyer (Elijah Wood), since a new player has entered their midst, a new head of the high table must be selected. The current leader, ailing billionaire Chester Danforth (David Cronenberg), recently sacrificed his life so his power-hungry kids Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy) could have the best chance at claiming the prize of a gold signet ring and command of all Satanic forces in a contest held at their sprawling country club. Also vying for ultimate evil dominion are two Persian brothers (Varun Saranga and Nadeem Umar-Khitab), a Chinese businesswoman (Olivia Cheng), her rotund son (Antony Hall), a Spanish show host (Nestor Carbonell), his shrill daughter/ Grace’s husband’s psycho ex-girlfriend (Maia Jae) and eager son (Juan Pablo Romero). Grace’s chances for survival are further diminished as her estranged younger sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) has been roped into the deadly shenanigans. Grace must survive another all-nighter of the same game that brought her to this God-forsaken place.
The filmmakers work overtime to craft their spin on a sequel. The trouble Grace’s in with law enforcement investigating the unbelievable happenings behind her in-laws’ deaths is a predictable opening act. The film’s Long Running Gag that she can’t get hold of a cigarette doesn’t fare much better. That they make the new cadre of characters play the same, demented cat-and-mouse as before without much improvement upon the formula is completely tiresome and makes us wonder why they didn’t choose any other child’s game. It’s a contrived rule they’ve added to explain their lackluster creative choice.
During Grace’s pursuit, it’s revealed that there’s a loophole she could employ in order to stop the killing. This drastic measure is revealed to her very early on and it takes forever for the filmmakers to circle back to the idea and finally give audiences the explosive mayhem they’ve been waiting for. Until then, we’re left to suffer through everyone saying “fuck” more times than in a Scorsese movie.
Another of the more maddening aspects is that the creatives play fast and loose with the rules of the world. Who explodes and when is up to the screenwriters at any given time. Kevin Durand’s burly coke-fiend disobeys the rules, jumping the gun early in his attempt to kill Grace at the hospital, and combusts. But when Madhu’s mad wife Martina (Masa Lizdek) forfeits her role in the competition by speeding out of the compound, she questionably remains alive when vacating the game, which is strictly verboten. Madhu is also surprisingly allowed to stick around while conveniently remaining in one piece, primarily to be the obnoxious comic relief. Lucky us.
Grace’s journey in READY OR NOT was one that narratively centered on the trust between a husband and wife that turned into a toxic, massive betrayal. READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME’s central crux is the exact inverse with the siblings’ fractured relationship, where Faith’s perceived betrayal leads to an inevitable reunion. The depiction of sisters’ broken relationship is lazy, falling back on clichés every time the action pauses for them to verbally spar.
Though the proceedings move through their pre-ordained motions at a decent clip, there’s still plenty of downtime to wonder about certain elements. In the case of Viraj grabbing a metal mask with his machete, questions swirl in our minds over his motives: Why does he need a mask? It’s not like he’s in danger of being identified either by his prey or fellow players if he wins or loses. Does the character, or the filmmakers, think he looks cooler in a mask? Was it done to cheat the shots with a stunt actor who might not look anything like Umar-Khatib? Is it easier than face replacement VFX in post if he sports a mask? We may never know these answers. Yet the fact we’re taken out of the movie to ponder such things speaks volumes about the film failure to capture our attention or immerse us in its hijinks.
The one in-competition face-off that holds a modicum of fun, frenzied frivolity is the fisticuffs between Grace and ex-husband Alex’s unhinged former fiancé Francesca. This sequence is conceptualized and executed like it’s out of a Jackie Chan movie, as the two adversaries fumble around after accidentally spraying pepper spray in their own faces and proceed to try to kick the crap out of each other in a baby-shower themed ballroom. Weaving, Jae and their stunt doubles are totally locked into the hilarity of the situation too, heightening the physical comedy and intensive choreography. Tripping over tables, punching through cardboard standees and angrily struggling with each other while Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” plays is the right kind of note the rest of the film should’ve hit.
That said, those earned good graces are undone by the inter-spliced segment that usurps the positive energy, where Faith takes a brutal beating by psychopath Titus. We’re aware he can’t kill her because he’ll need her for emotional blackmail later, but somehow that never crosses his mind until it eventually does. The filmmakers seem to relish the over-aggressive, non-cartoonish violence more than the despicable character does. We already understand Titus is a bad guy and, despite it being the moment his twin sister finally wakes up to that fact, it’s played for far too long with staggering, empty-calorie vulgarity.
Grade: 2 out of 5
READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME is now playing.
