"Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" is one of the biggest new movies that hit theaters over the weekend; perhaps the biggest new release not named "Project Hail Mary." But if you're like me, you might have been worried you needed to have seen its prequel, "Ready or Not," which I hadn't seen in years, and had basically forgotten.
Luckily, you can stream "Ready or Not" on Hulu right now, and it's just 95 minutes long. So I quickly gave it a watch before screening the follow-up to the 2019 horror comedy later that night.
With both films fresh in my mind after back-to-back viewings, I can confirm that, while neither movie is bad, there's a clear winner as to which is the best. Don't worry; I'm not going to spoil how "Ready or Not 2" ends if you read on.
‘Ready or Not 2’ proves simpler is sometimes better
If you haven't seen 2019's "Ready or Not," the premise is simple. A young woman named Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into a wealthy family. But before she can be part of the family for good, she has to play a game: hide and seek.
The twist? The game has deadly stakes. If she is captured, her new in-laws, the Le Domases, will sacrifice her to uphold their pact with Mr. Le Bail (who turns out to be Satan). If she lives, her new family will be the ones to die instead.
And that sums up everything you need to know about the 2019 horror comedy. From there on out, it's just gory kills and shocking betrayals until the sun comes up.
But in "Ready or Not 2," things get more complicated. Now, there are additional Satan-worshipping families, a high council led by the Danforth clan (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy), and a set of more intricate rules laid out for us by Le Bail's lawyer (Elijah Wood). There's palace intrigue and battles over succession. Oh, and now Grace's estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), is caught up in the whole sordid affair.
While I appreciate the inclusion of some actors I like, particularly Wood, who is great as "the Lawyer," this movie is largely yet another deadly game of hide-and-seek. I didn't need more complications, and honestly, I didn't need Grace's sister, though I had no issues with Newton's performance. I just needed Grace to be in another situation where she has to make it to sun-up, though whether this movie needed a sequel at all is debatable.
Verdict: Both movies are good, but 'Ready or Not' is better
Ultimately, the simplicity of "Ready or Not" makes it the better movie, and the one I'm far more likely to rewatch. The sequel's new twists and wrinkles aren't overwhelming, but they're largely superfluous, and just serve to bloat the movie's runtime (though only slightly) and confuse the viewer. Don't get me wrong, by the end of this sequel, you probably won't have many questions, but the Lawyer's new rules for this multifamily game of life and death might have you wondering if you've missed something on a few occasions while watching the film.
Still, both of these movies are good, and I can recommend seeing both of them. My only caveat is that you can wait for "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" to arrive on Hulu if you can't swing an expensive night out at the movies.
