Hot Take: Why I Like Ready Or Not 2 Even Better Than The Original

There are a lot of sequels coming out in 2026 (as per usual), and one I've had highlighted for viewing has been Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. I found the first Ready or Not to be one of the most refreshing horror comedies I’d seen in some time. It has that rare but beautiful combination of a fun and biting story that I love from the genre, when you can find it, that is. But, I really didn’t expect to walk out of Here I Come and say to myself, “Wow, I might like that better than the first film." Now that I realize that opinion isn’t a popular one, I need to talk it out.

As we’ve come to expect when a followup comes out, critics have been comparing Ready Or Not to the original, saying it feels "familiar" and “rinses and repeats so much” of what happened the first time around. Just to defend myself a bit with some numbers here, it’s not like people are panning Here I Come. It has a “fresh” score of 76 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and at the moment, the cinephiles on Letterboxd have given it a 3.4 out of 5, with the most common being a healthy rating of 4 out of 5 (which is what I’d rate it myself). For context, the first movie holds a rating of 3.5 on the social media site. Anyways, let’s forget them now, and talk about me and my steaming hot take. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Grace Is Both Way More Unhinged And Well-Rounded In The Sequel

When I sat down to watch Here I Come, and I think this is an important note, I hadn’t seen the original since the first time and the only time I saw it back in 2019 when I caught it in theaters. I have since revisited the first movie, which CinemaBlend gave five stars in our Ready or Not review, after the fact and confirmed to myself my thoughts of being Team Sequel.

I think my particular admiration for No. 2 has to do with the development of Samara Weaving’s Grace as a character this time around. Look, she’s an amazing final girl in the original movie, but in the second she becomes a lot more than that. She becomes a hero. And, she does it literally the day after having the worst wedding night of her life. I love the idea of her nightmare continuing after all the craziness of the first movie, because it allows Grace to fully not give an f- anymore, and allow herself to become as feral as what’s happening around her calls for. In my opinion, Grace fully delivers on that front.

As a horror fan who’s seen an unsuspecting woman manage to make it out alive of a traumatizing and wild event time and time again, I found it to be even more satisfying to see her do it this time. That's not typical in other franchises with sequels.

Grace And Faith Are A Blast To Watch Together

I love the Die Hard of it all that is Ready or Not, but I found myself laughing aloud on multiple occasions as Grace's estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), was pulled into the world in Here I Come. It kind of felt like a buddy comedy in many parts of it, which was actually so nice to see in a genre where women dealing with pain alone is kind of the big trope.

Yes, I can see why some people might be disappointed by it being more of an action comedy than a horror movie this time around, but I personally love when a followup can switch up its tone a bit and take audiences into a different direction. Not only did I think Grace and Faith were fun to watch hide and seek together this time around, they really offered me an emotionally grounded story about sisters that made me care so much more about Grace, too.

Learning about their backstory and how they grew up as orphans helped me understand why Grace would be in this situation to begin with, and why the whole situation of your new family hunting you kill-or-be-killed style would hit even harder. Grace just wanted to belong, and then she was thrown back into survival mode. I loved how the circumstances of the game in Here I Come allow Grace and Faith to work through their issues, and become a family again through being there for each other. That depth wasn't as present in the first movie.

The Casting Additions Are Too Good

This third reason is probably more about the fangirl in me, but having Sarah Michelle Gellar back in a movie, and playing a baddie made me so happy after growing up watching her play Buffy. Then you add Elijah Wood, a.k.a. sweet Frodo Baggins, as the guy who’s protecting the sanctity of this ring from all these rich families?? I couldn’t handle how good that was. They knew what they were doing there, and I was eating it up.

And, There's So Many Funny Moments I Already Want To Revisit

Both movies have some really great scenes, but there are too many from the sequel that have been living rent free in my head since I saw it (which was actually close to a month before the premiere because I saw an early press screening). I love the random exploding bit in the Ready or Not movies, and Here I Come had a lot more moments with it that really just got me every time. Or, what about the scene where Grace has a showdown with the other “bride” in a wedding venue? And, the finale where Grace single-handedly outsmarts the whole room of satanists!! The whole time I was having an absolute blast, and living for it all.

I think what I love about it is it keeps the spirit of the original, but it feels like it’s everything amplified times two! I will absolutely be watching them both together back-to-back when I get the itch to rewatch, but I just feel like I’ll be anticipating going back to Here I Come more than the first one.

Now, if we want to be objective, of course the first one is more original, and there's nothing like your first time seeing a concept play out, but I just love when a sequel can up the stakes and make me love characters and a world even more, and Here I Come did just that for me.