“Ready or Not: Here I Come” (2026) puts the final nail in the coffin of the cliche sequel curse.
Despite the seven year gap in between the first film and this one, the sequel picks up the second that the original ends.
Samara Weaving returns as “final girl” Grace Le Domas, in her blood soaked wedding dress and yellow hightops.
“Ready or Not” (2019) began with Grace’s wedding to Alex Le Domas, a wealthy young man from a large, secretive family whom Grace is only now properly interacting with for the first time.
After the wedding, Grace is asked to play a game with Alex and his family as part of the family’s post-wedding tradition.
The premise of the game is simple: Grace must draw a card from a deck and whatever game the card depicts, the family will play.
Grace goes along with the Le Domas’ antics and draws a card that reads “Hide and Seek.”
Initially, Grace laughs it off, asking “Are we really gonna play that?”
The Le Domas’ reveal to Grace that, due to a deal their ancestors made with the satanic figure Mr. Le Bail to become rich, they have to hunt and kill her before dawn or they will all die.
Spoiler alert: Grace wins.
Immediately after the climactic deaths of the surviving Le Domas family members, “Ready or Not: Here I Come” sees Grace go into cardiac arrest and be resuscitated by paramedics on her way to the hospital.
As this happens, a new double-or-nothing game of hide and seek is triggered involving The Council, five other families who all have deals with the devil.
The Council must take over the task of trying to kill Grace before dawn to determine who will take over the High Seat of the Council and, essentially, rule the world.
“Ready or Not: Here I Come” follows its predecessor’s lead when it comes to creating a star-studded ensemble cast.
Shawn Hatosy (“The Pitt” and “Animal Kingdom”) is an amazing addition to the sequel’s ensemble as Titus Danforth, the slightly psychotic twin brother of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Ursula Danforth.
Katherine Newton (“Abigail”, “Lisa Frankenstein”) is introduced as Grace’s estranged younger sister, Faith MacCullay, and the film’s second protagonist.
Elijah Wood (“Lord of the Rings”) delivers a subtle, yet hilarious performance as The Lawyer, an ominous middleman sent to handle the devil’s contracts.
A big question among “Ready or Not” fans after the sequel was announced in June 2025 was… Why? The story was over; the final girl got her victory.
Surprisingly, Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy do an amazing job of taking a story that was, for all intents and purposes, finished, and expanding the world in a way that feels new and fresh but seamless.
The sequel also expands on the lore of Mr. Le Bail himself and the rules of his game.
Best of all, Grace’s character development reaches new levels thanks to the contentious dynamic between her and Faith, who must now work together to survive and also try to work out their differences in case they don’t make it till morning.
Since its opening, “Ready or Not: Here I Come” has quickly become the follow up fans didn’t know they needed, complete with more blood, better costumes and even better characters.
If you’re a fan of the original or a horror fan in general, trust me what I say the film doesn’t disappoint.
