Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

And if you're a pop culture junkie who's not following the show yet, we're thinking you need to fix that right now by following Popculture Happy Hour on your favorite podcast app. Now onto the show. The cheeky horror comedy ready or not took the familiar premise of dealing with hellish in laws and picked it up like a hundred notches. It starts from our weaving as a bride who's forced to partake in her new family's game tradition on the night of her wedding. The game is hide and seek and as you might recall, it turns out quite deadly.

Well, ready or not, here comes the sequel. It picks up right where the previous story left off, but this time with more lore, work or, and more stars, like Elijah Wood and Sarah Michelle Geller. I'm Eishah Harris and today on NPR's Popculture Happy Hour, we're talking about ready or not, too. Here I come. Join me today is my co-host Glen Walden. Hey Glen.

Here you are. Also with us is filmmaker Popculture critic and I heart radio producer Jo Wellmonique. Welcome back to Well. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

So great to have you both here. So, tomorrow weaving plays grace and ready or not, too, here I come. And it opens with grace having just barely survived her wedding night.

In the first movie from 2019, her wealthy new husband's family tried to kill her before dawn, as part of a satanic ritual.

You know, totally, totally normal stuff. They didn't succeed, and so everyone in the family, including her husband, spontaneously combusted. Now she's traumatized and hospitalized and the police suspect her of murder. And her estranged younger sister Faith suddenly shows up because Grace still has her as her emergency contact. She's played by Katherine Newton.

But even worse than all of that is this.

“Grace's survival has messed with the power structure of a secret international council that's kind of like the Illuminati.”

The high seat is up for grabs, and the heads of each family may grace play another high stakes round of high and seek. Well, ready or not, too, is in theaters now Jo Well. I'm going to start with you. Were you ready? Or were you not?

For this sequel. The first time I saw the original film, I was completely under ready. I had no idea what I was stepping into. And I absolutely fell in love. So I was very ready for this one.

And I will say, did I enjoy as much as first one?

Not quite, but still had a really good time. Some of my favorites are in here, great like character actors throughout, good murders. And then a lot of fun playing up of some of the tropes established in the first one. I kind of all win on this series. It's a good time with the movies.

I enjoyed it. Glenn. What about you? How are we feeling about this one? Yes, same.

I mean, this is the same directing team Matt Bentley Open and Tyler Gillette. It's the same writing team. Guy Buick and are Christopher Murphy. Yeah. That's a good thing.

I mean, we're going on vibes here, but it certainly feels like they just wanted to keep telling the story not necessarily wanted to build a franchise. I'm sure they did.

“But it doesn't feel like that, and that's important.”

But as Jo Well mentioned, that first film was such a revelation to me.

It was a surprise. It came out the dead of August. It was this nasty piece of work that felt like a very worthy edition to what is a surprisingly robust film genre of Samara weaving kicks butt and ends up covered in blood. There are many films in that genre. There should be a letter box list if there isn't already.

Yeah. And it was so smart and how it did it. Like it was so smart that the lace of her wedding dress acted as capillaries that kind of soaked up the blood and then carried it throughout the dress. So you kind of could mark a time by how red her dress was. It was very lean and brisk and streamlined.

This film can't be any of those things. I mean, this film can't be a surprise. It's not lean or streamlined because it is an expansion of this world and this mythology. I saw it a great time. I am me.

So obviously, I thought we wasted way too much time on the sister emotional baggage stuff. This film finds so much time for these two to have a surprising amount of heart to hearts that re-litigate old, you know, family baggage. That should not be the priority at that moment in time. I understand the narrative and the pulse behind it because you want us to invest in the sister. She can't just be a plot device.

I wanted to invite you to the wedding. I would have come. I don't what I want to do to know that I want you there. I still felt every one of those scenes when they hit was just wasting precious time from what this film wants to be. And it should be which is a rich jerk snuff film.

That's what I pay money for. I do envy the folks who see this in a theater because I watched alone. This film is made for the catharsis of the Hissable Villain meeting a hilariously violent death. The fist pump. A factor is very high in a film like this.

I had to do it on my home couch. I'm in. Yeah.

“I think we're all kind of an alignment here.”

I know that's not that interesting. But what I loved about the first film and I remember seeing it all those years ago, my goodness.

But what I loved about that movie is that it was just very lean and very like we got just enough information about grace.

“You know, she's from a foster family and that's all we need to know.”

That's why they're not there. She has some baggage, but we don't need to know what that baggage is exactly. And you know, that movie also had Adam Brody and Andy McDowell. But like every character they were rich jerks, but also they had a little bit of just a little bit of like difference between them enough to make it feel a little bit different and you're in and out and you're following the journey.

And with this one, I agree that the sister, I don't think we needed her to be there. It just felt forced in many ways. But what I did appreciate about this movie is the expansion of the fact that this isn't just about this one family. Actually, there's like an entire circle living in these times and learning about certain things. It's like, oh, everything is connected and actually maybe conspiracy theories are true to some extent.

I'm not putting my tinfoil hat on fully, but I will say that aspect of this movie and the way they choose to do it with these clauses and these rules and the rules are fun. Like there are rules that pop up in this movie that help explain why people are dying or why they might not die or might not deserve to die. And it was fun to see Elijah would sort of playing the facilitator here as the lawyer. Your family must be represented by the eldest member or legally appointed head of household and all trials of succession, for Article 2, Section 3, Subsection C.

He's very good at these kinds of rules. He's good at just getting in and getting out and making weird faces and being kind of sinister. Cherubicly sinister, yes. Yes, man, that man has not aged. He's like, he's like, I'm the feral track. I don't know what he's doing, but he still looks like he is a baby.

“But yeah, I thought overall this was it was fun. And I mean, what did you make of the big bads?”

Because one thing I do have to say, like since this first one came out, not that they didn't exist before, but since this movie has come out,

there's been a lot more movies that are kind of similar in terms of like rich wealthy people are awful and we want to watch them die. What do you call them, Glenn? Rich Jerk snuff film, like, we've seen quite a few of those movies. Do we think all of that time passing has maybe affected the way this movie hits you? Given that we've seen this many, many times before in recent years? Well, what this film does is it kind of mixes things up a bit, so it's not the same. The same waspy white rich jerks who get snuffed, it's they bring in folks from other lands and they flirt with stereotypes. I think the acknowledges that it does that, but it's a rich bag. I can only say as someone who hates golf and all that golf stands for setting this at a satanic golf resort felt both fitting and inevitable.

I was here for that. I don't think I'm going to return to this film as often as I have the first, but I'm glad it's out there, man.

I think what made the first one so deliciously enjoyable was not just that they were like mustache twirly, but that the crime was so egregiously sinister and personal. Like in meeting this woman who's like, I have no family and I'm completely alone and I'm so excited to marry into this family and watch them completely turn against her. And then I think in giving her a sister in this one, some of that loan survivors obviously removed and so the stakes feel a little lower. And on top of that, it's so much less personal the stakes for the wealthy folks. They're not directly connected to her. It's kind of broad.

“It takes away some of the like, yes, until glad they got their come up ends. When I do think they do really well in this film is the initial set up, you know, at the end of ready or not spoilers, she lives that's how we got a second one.”

They come right back to that point at the top of this movie and she's cool and she's smoking and then she passes out. They completely undo the final girl moment for her. They take her to the hospital, they clean her up her putting back on. Before we started recording, we're talking about how part of her getting back into the chaos is, you know, as she's attacked, she's like, okay, so the game's not over. I can't fight in my hospital gown. I have this dress that is covered in blood and shredded, I'll put it back on now.

If you're a logical person, you're like somewhere in this hospital, yes, they're additional gowns, but there might also be just a loss and found there might be a gishop downstairs. They're out there. You want to look around for anything else, but for me, as someone who did really enjoy watching the dress transform over the first part, I was kind of excited to see her back in it.

I wish the sister bits have been played a little bit better. I don't mind stopping to talk in a horror movie. I always think it's kind of funny and silly when we figure it out.

But I think if the conversation is the exact same beats every time, you're kind of like, okay, you get it. As much as I think the relationship between Grace and Faith could have been pumped up a little bit and had a little bit more dynamic, I kind of did enjoy Catherine Newton in this movie.

Listen, you guys seem like good people, and I don't even know why I'm here. We haven't seen each other like seven years.

Why not? Let's call for Kate. And also, what really works for me is the murders in this movie, you're like, how does this girl just keep getting away? At some point, you're like, this is a logical. They've got all of the weapon. She has nothing. She's been beat to hell, but these people are so incompetent in their ability to kill. That it makes it kind of enjoyable because our point of the wrong way, they're shooting like stormtroopers, just completely missing and an open field. There's no reason.

And that kind of works for me as a how is she still on her feet situation. Yeah, the film flirts with realism in the beginning because it kind of has to. It doesn't want to return Grace to butt kicking mode right away. She's traumatized. She's in chalk. Because she needs an arc, right? We have to go through some kind of narrative arc of gaining her power, but they do away with that so soon.

“I was so grateful for that because as soon as you realize that the only way this movie can work is if in your head you kind of slide it into the superhero genre because Grace clearly has Wolverine's healing factor.”

But again, who cares? Yeah, I mean, at one point she gets injured in a way that is very similar to the way she got. She was injured literally like 24 hours before and yet somehow. She's still able to wield whatever weapon she needs to in the moment. And I think that like regarding the wedding dress, which I find again very, very fascinating that she would put that back on. They should have probably called it like, I don't know, ready or not back in the wedding dress.

That's what she didn't call this that. Something borrowed. Something. Something new. But yeah, I, one of the relationships, you know, the sister's relationship and then you also had a brother sister relationship between Sarah Michelle Galler and Sean had a see and Sean had a see who I recognize from the pit. He's one of the doctors on the pit. I was like, oh, look at him. He's like playing a phone villain here. They're playing siblings who this is another thing about sequels is that often with sequels. They have bigger stars including a cameo from David Cronenberg who's playing the Sean had a see and Sarah Michelle Galler characters dad in a scene.

I would say if you have a David Cronenberg to a movie give him more to do. Yes, but you have that sort of their brother sister relationship and they're supposed to be twins. Sure. I found those relationships a lot more interesting just because, you know, they are vying for the win. Like all them want this, whereas the grace and faith character don't want to be involved in this at all.

“And I thought that sort of dynamic was interesting to see and it did make the deaths of some of them because a lot of them inevitably are dying.”

It did make it a little bit more satisfying in a way that I wasn't expecting to see. Overall, I don't know how much there is to say about it other than like it's a fun time. There are going to be a lot more deaths. It's a little bit longer. You can kind I felt like it kind of felt long towards the end. But, you know, there's some great needle drops. There's Amy Winehouse of beginning.

There's going to say there's a great fight scene in a ball room that really really really really really really really. Yes. Good comedy. I'll admit this. There was a part of me that thought this was trading on ground by going back to Hayden Seek. Hayden Seek can tell Dawn that same premise once again.

Because if you remember the OG family, they played all kinds of different games. I said, why are you going back to Hayden Seek? And then I realized Glenn, it's called Ready or Not. It's got to be Hayden Seek. That is the franchise, right?

I mean, I was going to be Hayden Seek just deal with it. No, bring out that creepy card thing again. Play the weird song. It was part of it. I feel like that.

That creates like crankups song and maybe even you can't, I don't know if you can do this third time.

But in a second time, she pulls Hayden Seek again. I figured out a bit like, wow, here we go. Super funny. And some of that gothic tone is missing from part two. Yeah.

“Well, yeah, you're not going to get gothic eyes from a golf course, right?”

Like that's not. That's inherently not what it is. I mean, having recently rewatched the first one, again, part of the issue, I think, and what I remember correctly, like Hayden Seek is the only game that actually is like the dead one. The deadly one.

The other games are just like simple, parlor games or whatever games you play with your family. And so, then we would have no movie. Unless they invent it. I don't know. Maybe they play Mafia next time.

Maybe it's like traitors. Maybe there's a traitors version of it. It would love to see it. Except people actually die. It can't be part cheesy.

I would like to see it third.

I'm just letting the studio know. If you guys wanted to put a third out, I would still be in theaters. This franchise is just fun. I love a final girl. I love a good for her moment.

And this movie has that in spades. So, I'm really excited to see a Jen Pop reaction to this. I might go to the movies. I think you're right. When seeing something audience, it's going to hit.

Yeah. And I will say I've a request for a third.

The one thing that both of these films kind of let you down a little bit on is in the dialogue.

You want to give in this premise. You want crisp biting. Withering. You want witty. And what you get.

I mean, they'll start something.

“And then this happened a lot in the first film.”

Instead of saying something biting and withering and sarcastic, they would just curse.

And, you know, okay, that's a fun rug poll. Every so often you can't keep doing that. It is the same writing team. Same merely functional dialogue. But again, I'm in.

I don't know.

“I think we've given them an idea for the next movie.”

It needs to be more like traders.

People can get banished, but they can also actually get bad at it. And that would be very fun. You can't have a little Alan coming, cameo. And we need Ryan Johnson to come in and punch us up a bit. I think that's exactly what I guess we're saying.

I think that is what we are saying here. Maybe that's unreal. Well, we still had a good time.

“And hopefully, Joelle, you will have a good time seeing it in theaters.”

Hopefully more people see it in theaters. Bring back theaters, especially for movies like these. This is what they are made for. The Hub brings us to the end of our show, Joelle Monique, Glen Walden. Thanks so much for being here.

We were ready. And we were here. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

This episode was produced by Liz Metzker, Carly Rubin, and Mike Katsov, and edited by our showrunner Jessica Readie. Hello, come in, provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to pop, put your happy hour from NPR. And if you're not already following the show, do that right now.

I'm Anisha Harris, and I'll see you all next time.