Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come

After surviving a deadly game of hide-and-seek on the night of her wedding with her satan-worshipping in-laws, Grace discovers that beating the Le Domas family has only triggered a high-stakes rematch. Now, hunted by five devil-worshipping uber-wealthy families, Grace must once again survive a game of hide-and-seek, only this time, she has to survive along with her estranged sister, Faith.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is such a stupid fucking title.

I hate it so much. It's so bad. The worst part is, it's an easy fix too. Just get rid of the "2" in the title. Ready Or Not: Here I Come sounds a million times better than Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. What the fuck? Why would you do that? Are stupid people really going to be so confused that, without the addition of the 2 in the title, they will in no way understand that this is a sequel to the previous movie, Ready or Not? Is that truly a problem? And if it is, why? What happens if people do not immediately recognize that this is a sequeal? They decide to not go to the movie? I don't understand the thought process here. It's so dumb. I hate it so much.

Anyway, picking up at the end of the first film...

After managing to survive the Le Domas' homicidal hide-and-seek game and attempted sacrificial ritual, only to see the whole family explode, and to then be treated to a glimpse of the actual devil, Grace MacCaullay sits down on the steps of the burning Le Domas' mansion, lights a cigarette, and almost immediately passes out from adrenaline, blood loss, shock, what have you. First responders arrive, and take her to a hospital. There, she is reunited with her estranged younger sister, Faith, who is still her emergency contact, despite the fact the pair have not spoken to one another in nearly a decade.

Meanwhile, in the lands of privilege and wealth, five families are alerted to the demise of the Le Domas family. We soon learn that these are the various members of The Council, an–until recently–six member group of uber-wealthy elite families that quietly rule the world as a result of having made a bargain with their devilish benefactor, the enigmatic Mr. Le Bail. With the Le Domas family gone, the Council must now convene, as Mr. Le Bail's rules state that, with Grace's victory, another game must be played, one that will determine the new High Seat of the Council.

The members of the five families in attendance are twin siblings Ursula and Titus Danforth, whose family has held the Council's High Seat for years, Wan Chen Xing and her son Wan Cheng Fu, Viraj Rajan, his younger brother Madhu, and Madhu's wife Marina, Ignacio El Caido, his daughter Francesca, and his son Felipe, and finally, Bill Wilkinson (played by the always welcome Kevin Durand, a man who unfortunately has "Elon Musk" face).

Prior to the rest of the Council arriving at the Danforth golf course, resort, and hotel, where the game will be held, Ursula and Titus are ordered to by their elderly and bed-ridden father Chester to smother him, as he will be too old to participate, but wants the Danforth family to retain the High Seat, so he will need to be dead in order for his children to take his place in the coming game.

Bill Wilkinson, meanwhile, armed with throwing knives and coked out of his mind, attempts to kill Grace while she's still at the hospital. Unfortunately for Bill, Mr. Le Bail's games have rules, so this is deemed to be a violation, as he failed to wait for the game's official start. As a result, Bill (along with the entire Wilkinson family line presumably) explodes in a shower of blood.

Grace and Faith suddenly finding themselves under the gun, but before they can escape the hospital together, they are gassed, kidnapped, and brought bound and gagged to the complex in the center of the Danforth Golf Course, Resort, and Hotel where the remaining four families of the Council are waiting.

The pair awaken tied to chairs in the kind of guady and over-stated room that rich people think looks nice, while Le Bail's representative, a tiny little man known only as the "Lawyer" (who answers the question "What if Frodo had kept the One Ring, instead of throwing back into the Fires of Mt. Doom from whence it came?") explains the situation, and the rules of the coming game...

Due to Grace's victory at the Le Domas' hide-and-seek game, the now four remaining families must play another game of hide-and-seek, where the head of each family will hunt Grace and her sister across the resort grounds and try to kill them before dawn. During this, the rest of the family members watch from the complex, ready to take the field should Grace kill the head of their family during the game. The family that brings Grace down will ascend to the Council's High Seat and wear the High Seat's Ring, gifting them with seemingly unlimited worldwide power, as well as control of the Council. The only rule, other than to kill Grace before the sun rises, is that the players are not allowed to kill one another.

The rules thus established, everyone signs a blood oath, and the game begins. Grace and Faith are handcuffed together and released onto the resort grounds.

Throughout the rest of the day, and into the night until dawn, Grace and Faith are chased by a small gaggle of Failsons and Karens, a truly unimpressive collection of dullards, dipshits, fuckups, losers, and sociopathic assholes born atop a vast pile of money, and raised with no skills, even less intelligence, and the belief that no rules apply to them, because they usually don't.

The only reason this group even allow themselves to bound by the rules of this particular game is because the only thing that overrules their seemingly insatiable greed, their murder-boners, and their all-consuming sense of self-preservation, is the clear understanding that Mr. Le Bail holds their leashes.

Meanwhile, the two sisters must find a way to overcome a lifetime of emotional baggage, residual anger over the loss of their parents, and faith's belief that Grace abandoned her to the foster system years ago, if they hope to survive the night.

In the end, after a big blow-out of blood and comeuppance, and another brief appearance from Mr. Le Bail, the sisters are free to leave the premises, taking the Council's sacrificial goat with them, as well as a promise that they will never again leave each other.

The End.

I enjoyed this film, and I really appreciate that they saved the goat.

I think that if I had to have a complaint about Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come, it would be that it really is just a "BIGGER" rehash of the first film. It's undeniable. It's the same basic concept as the last film, and for the most part, it plays out pretty much the same. The nuances are different, obviously, but it generally goes just like you'd expect it to, especially if you saw the first film. Still... it's fun, despite the lack of inventiveness. Plus, it's always a joy to watch a bunch of wealthy assholes get absolutely fucked up.

And to be fair, it's totally understandable why the sequel would trod the same ground. After all, it's a pretty easy formula to re-do, only "bigger". In the last film, it was an "elite" family protected by (literally) the evil power of their money, and as a result, they are able to indulge in wanton and degenerate behavior, like hunting the poor for sport. This time, there's MULTIPLE "elite" families, all of whom are protected by (literally) the evil power of their money, and as a result, they are able to indulge in wanton and degenerate behavior, like hunting the poor for sport.

So, for me, it's not so much a rehash as it is more bang for your buck.

Besides, it's a classic idea, that a small group of wealthy families are behind the scenes controling everything like the secret kings and queens of Earth, probably because, most days it seems like that's basically true (gestures vaguely at the world around us). It's an idea that's used in tons of films... Rosemary's Baby, John Wick, National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Hot Fuzz, amongst others. It was recently used in the comic book Exquisite Corpses, and is the basis for the classic conspiracy/crime comic, 100 Bullets. As far as basic set-ups go, this idea makes sense, and it works. It allows the film to focus a very well-earned and ever-growing hate for the wealthy onto several annoying piece of shit stereotypes as the villains, which the audience then get the pleasure of watching get destroyed, and in the end, the studios make money, the audience is entertained, and everyone goes home happy. What's the downside to that? None that I can think of.

Plus, the metaphor is very simple and relatable and easy to apply. The whole set-up of the movie, the game itself, is incredibly unfair. The odds are stacked against the hero, while the wealthy enjoy a plethora of undeserved advantages. That’s the metaphor, right? That's the entire thing. Simple. This time, as a bonus, there's the added wrinkle that the heroes also come from a "broken" family–due to economic hardships resulting from social inequities–that hampers their ability to simply survive the night, let alone win the game.

Again... metaphor.

Of course, the film doesn't go much deeper with the metaphors than that, but that's fine, because it definitely goes bigger with the blood splatter, which is really the whole reason to tune in, right? Plus, like with True Blood, I always appreciate a joke centered on the helpless resignation of a character who has suddenly found themselves being splattered by way too many exploding bad guys lately.

That said, the blood oath bothers me.

Whenever someone makes a blood oath in a movie or a tv show, I always wonder why they don't choose a different place to cut. Why the palm? That would hurt like crazy, and for at least for the next couple of days, the resulting wound would totally get in the way of doing stuff, which you'd think would be a problem if "doing stuff" meant fighting for your life and/or wielding weapons. Plus, it's gonna take forever to heal, because you're constantly flexing your hand. And the whole time, it's sore, you can't grip things easily, plus it's wrapped in this huge bandage, and either way, it will definitely get infected. It's on your hand! If you're on any kind of adventure, then your hand is definitely going to get dirty. What's the point of surviving, if you just get a staph infection? Much like when characters get stuffed into the trunks of modern day cars, but don't use the little interior handle to get out, this bugs me. It always bugs me.

That said, I loved the way Grace dealt with Francesca. Classic bit.

But most of all, just like in the last film, I really like the open-to-interpretation question of the whole thing. Like... was Grace just doing the Devil’s work for him the whole time? According to the film, these families have been part of the Council for decades by this point. Was this whole thing just the Devil bringing in an outside consultant for sp,e strategic restructuring of an organziation that had grown stale? I like imagining that this is true. Plus, it fits with the whole "double-edged sword" angle that usually comes with deals with the Devil too.

Anyway, when it's all said and done, if you enjoyed Ready Or Not, then you'll enjoy Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. Yes, it's more of the same, but the same was fun last time, and it's pretty fun this time too, so why not?