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Movie Review: ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’
Samara Weaving in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Opening in theaters on March 20th is ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come‘, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (aka Radio Silence) and starring Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Nestor Carbonell, and David Cronenberg.
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Related Article: Samara Weaving and More Talk Sequel ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

‘Ready or Not’ was a breath of fresh air when it came out in 2019: directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (‘Scream’ and ‘Scream VI’), screenwriters Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, and star Samara Weaving delivered a smart, subversive, often wickedly funny and unapologetically gory horror comedy that poked fun at wealth and marriage.

‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ reunites the same team and adds some more ingredients, including a new cast and an expanded in-movie mythology, occasionally yielding the same results. The movie is fun, although it takes a long time to get going and a lot of what worked the first time already seems familiar now.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

The new film literally opens as the first one ends, with a bloodied Grace Le Domas (Weaving) stumbling out of her in-laws’ burning estate, having survived a brutal game on her wedding day in which her new family must sacrifice her to a demon or face ruination and death. Grace (who immediately starts using her maiden name of MacCaullay again) is whisked to the hospital, where she’s met by her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton), who was called as her emergency contact.

Before the siblings can barely start airing grievances, however, they’re attacked (in a too-brief appearance from Kevin Durand); it turns out that the Le Domas family were part of a council of wealthy, powerful families who secretly rule the world thanks to their worship of Satan, and now that one of the families has been wiped out, the others have one night to kill Grace lest the same misfortune befall them. This time, however, Faith is caught up in the hunt, and the two sisters must face a violent onslaught by not one but four families, including the all-powerful Danforth clan.

(L to R) Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the set of ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

‘Ready or Not 2’ gets off to a creaky start: the entire first act is almost all exposition, as first Grace explains the plot of the first film to Faith, and then a smug, subtly amused Elijah Wood – as the council’s unnamed lawyer – lays down the complicated rules of the new game once Grace and Faith are captured (those rules, by the way, are bent or disregarded more than once as we go along). All that throat-clearing takes a long time and slows the pace to a crawl, only punctuated by the first attack on the sisters in the hospital.

Once the game’s afoot, the action picks up again and the first kill (death by industrial washing machine) is morbidly hilarious, thanks to Weaving and Newton’s reactions. Most of the would-be killers this time are barely sketched in as characters – save for the sinister brother-sister act of the Danforths, played by Shawn Hatosy (‘The Pitt’) and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ icon Sarah Michelle Gellar – which is a bit of a letdown from the first film: the dynamic there, as the Le Domas clan picked at each other while hunting Grace, offered a scathing critique of family that is missing from the new story.

(L to R): Kara Wooten, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Sarah Michelle Gellar in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

In one funny/not funny early sequence, the Danforth patriarch, played by legendary director David Cronenberg, picks up a bedside phone and mutters ‘Approve the ceasefire,’ while watching footage of a war zone on his TV. No sooner does he hang up then a ‘Breaking News’ banner announces the ceasefire. The idea that a small coterie of very rich, well-connected oligarchs runs the world – a sort of cross between the Illuminati and the High Table of the ‘John Wick’ films – is a prescient and all too timely one, but ‘Ready or Not 2’ more or less pays it lip service and moves on.

The film really shines brightest and comes fully alive when the MacCaullay sisters fight, claw, shoot, and kick their way through the vast new labyrinth of a Danforth-owned resort, although it begins to feel repetitive down the stretch. A more acidic layer of social critique is largely absent this time amidst all the hardcore violence and gore. Two movies in, ‘Ready or Not’ is still entertaining but has lost that fresh feeling.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Nestor Carbonell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, and Nadeem Umar-Khitab in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Although their relationship follows a shopworn narrative arc (the sisters greet each other coldly, fight, make up, fight, make up again, become besties), Weaving and Newton (‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’) make a great team and their interactions do keep ‘Ready or Not 2’ appealing. Weaving’s huge eyes and expressive features only emphasize her star presence, while Newton has undeniable charisma with a jaded undercurrent. Their chemistry makes the siblings’ relationship organic and well-earned.

Gellar and Hatosy make a solid brother-sister act as well, the former working a few extra layers into her character and the latter proving effective as a truly vicious, misogynistic psychopath (with all the money and power in the world at his fingertips). It’s great to see Cronenberg in his extended cameo, and the best of the supporting cast is the ever-efficient lawyer played by Elijah Wood, who’s clearly having himself a grand old time and wants to share it with us.

Final Thoughts

Elijah Wood in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have their strengths, including an eye for detail and a dark sense of humor, as well as their weaknesses, such as a tendency to edit their fight scenes a little too choppily. Their use of already tired tropes (such as scoring a violent confrontation with an incongruous pop ballad) is matched by their ability to concoct macabre but highly funny set pieces and some outrageous moments of gore.

But while ‘Ready or Not 2’ is moderately entertaining (especially in its second half), this sequel doesn’t sizzle like its predecessor despite doubling down on its protagonists, its world-building, and its undeniably hateful (and rich) villains. If the box office gross leads to a third film, the rules of the game may have to be changed before we’re ready (or not) to return.

‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ receives a score of 70 out of 100.

(L to R): Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I
Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

What is the plot of ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’?

After surviving a brutal ‘game’ that resulted in the deaths of her husband and in-laws, Grace MacCaullay learns that the wealthiest and most influential families on Earth have to kill her in a new game or risk losing their power and fortunes. Grace refuses to participate at first – until her younger sister, Faith, is also marked for death.

Who is in the cast of ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’?
- Samara Weaving as Grace MacCaullay
- Kathryn Newton as Faith MacCaullay
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Ursula Danforth
- Shawn Hatosy as Titus Danforth
- David Cronenberg as Chester Danforth
- Elijah Wood as the Lawyer
- Néstor Carbonell as Ignacio El Caido
- Kevin Durand as Bill Wilkinson
- Olivia Cheng as Wan Chen Xing
- Varun Saranga as Madhu Rajan
- Nadeem Umar-Khitab as Viraj Rajan
- Juan Pablo Romero as Felipe El Caido
- Masa Lizdek as Martina Rajan
- Maia Jae as Francesca El Caido
- Daniel Beirne as Kip Danforth
- Antony Hall as Wan Cheng Fu
‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ opens in theaters on March 20th.

List of Movies Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett:
- ‘V/H/S‘ (2012)
- ‘Devil’s Due‘ (2014)
- ‘Southbound‘ (2016)
- ‘Ready or Not‘ (2019)
- ‘Scream‘ (2022)
- ‘Scream VI‘ (2023)
- ‘Abigail‘ (2024)
- ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come‘ (2026)
Buy Tickets: ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Movies on Amazon
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March 19, 2026
‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ Cast Interviews
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Opening in theaters on March 20th is ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come‘, which is a sequel to 2019’s ‘Ready or Not’ and was once again directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (‘Abigail’), who are also known as Radio Silence.
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Samara Weaving (‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins’) returns to her role as Grace MacCaullay and is joined by new cast members Kathryn Newton (‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’), Sarah Michelle Gellar (‘The Grudge’), Shawn Hatosy (‘The Pitt’), Elijah Wood (‘The Monkey’), Nestor Carbonell (‘The Dark Knight’), and David Cronenberg (‘The Fly’).

(L to R) Kathryn Newton, Samara Weaving, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood star in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Elijah Wood about their work on ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’, Weaving’s return to her character, what it was like for the other actors to join the franchise, the new characters, working with the directors, and what fans of the first movie can expect from the sequel.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Weaving, Newton, Gellar, and Wood, as well as directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.

Related Article: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood Board ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come’

(L to R) Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Moviefone: To begin with, Sarah Michelle, what would you say to fans sitting down right now in a movie theater to watch this sequel to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: I think that if you love the first one, you’re guaranteed to love the second. But I think the most important thing is to consider that, as popular as the first movie was, they did not rush out a sequel. Radio Silence waited until they knew they had the story and the cast. They really did it right. I think what we do in this one is we really honor the legacy of the first one and just continue that. I would say unhinged is a good word. There’s no setup in this one. You are in it.

Elijah Wood in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Elijah, what would you say to get people excited for this sequel?

Elijah Wood: I mean, get ready for a ride. Like the first film, when that game of Hide and Seek begins, it’s a ride until the end of the film and this movie is no different. The stakes are bigger. It does not let up once it starts. The thing is, it literally starts seconds after the first movie ends. You’re kind of off to the races very quickly.

Samara Weaving in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Samara, is there anything you would like to add to that?

Samara Weaving: Just buckle up. Get ready. It’s going to get weird.

MF: Kathryn, what would you say to prepare fans of the original for this sequel?

Kathryn Newton: I would say have fun and scream. It would be so cool if people walked out of this and saw it again and had something to say every time there was a kill, like a ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ situation. Can we come up with some kind of drinking game or something?

Kathryn Newton in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Samara, what was it like for you to return to this franchise and play this character again?

SW: It was a dream. I really didn’t think that I would be able to after the first one because it was such a weird movie and we didn’t know if people would like it or not, because we had such a great time making it. So, the fact that I got to do it again was just the best.

MF: What was it like having Kathryn as a partner this time around?

SW: Oh, so annoying. No, it was so great, because I would get a bit bored on the first one because it would just be me running around like a lunatic. So, it was great, I had a friend on set with this one.

(L to R): Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Kathryn, were you a fan of the first film and what has it been like for you to join this series?

KN: I was. I was really honored to be a part of it, and wanted to make the growing fan base, the cult fan base even happier, and hopefully they love it. Just to work with Matt and Tyler again was a dream. They’re the best.

(L to R) Nestor Carbonell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, and Nadeem Umar-Khitab in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Sarah Michelle, were you a fan of the first movie and what was it like for you to join the series and take on this role?

SMG: I had seen the original. I was a big fan. I got a call one day, and they said, “Have you ever seen ‘Ready or Not’?” I said, “Yeah, of course.” They said, “Well, they’re making a sequel.” I first thought, “Really? It’s been five or six years, and they usually rush them out.” I read it, and I absolutely loved it. Just from reading it on the page, you see it. I said, “I want to meet the boys immediately.” I met the guys on a Zoom the next day, and I think I said yes about a minute into the meeting. I think that’s about how long it took.

Elijah Wood in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Elijah, your character is very mysterious, and we don’t learn a lot about him during the movie. Did you create a backstory for yourself to understand where he comes from and his role in this world?

EW: No, but I certainly thought about it. Matt, Tyler, and I would talk about who this guy is, and where he’s come from. Is he immortal? Has he been around for centuries? Has he been doing this for a long time? Things like that that certainly kind of were in the fabric of what I was thinking for the character. Then my task was to deliver those rules in as interesting a way as I could.

(L to R) Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Kathryn, how would you describe the sibling relationship between Grace and Faith and where it stands when the movie starts?

KN: They’re on the rocks. They’ve got things to talk about and they’re not talking, they’re running. There’s no time to be talking. I keep trying to talk and it’s just causing issues. She’s like, “Stop it,” and I’m like, “No.” It’s a little bit of that. There’s a bit of drama, some life and death situations, and we still talk about boys.

MF: Elijah, can you talk about collaborating with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on set?

EW: I mean, these guys are so lovely. They are such film fans, such fans of the creation of cinema, and have such enthusiasm that really extends to everybody on set, the cast included, and it is sort of an infectious feeling of we’re all in this thing creating together. It’s very collaborative. I love those guys. They’re lovely and it makes it fun. Listen, they’re very articulate as well, and very clear about what it is that they want. They barely looked stressed.

(L to R) Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the set of ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Sarah Michelle, what was your experience like working with Matt and Tyler?

SMG: They treated everyone with the same dignity from number one on the call sheet to every PA that was on the show. I think that it just makes for a really great experience. I mean, I don’t know how to describe it any better than that. There’s no guessing with them. They can always tell you what they want. You don’t have to drag it out of them. But more than anything, I would say that this was a hard shoot. We had very few days. It was a lot of nights. The weather was not cooperative. They never raised their voice, not once in the entire shoot, and that says a lot. Occasionally, at the end of the night, you could see them pacing, trying to figure out what shots they had to cut, but it was more their creative thought process.

MF: Samara, what was it like for you to work with Matt and Tyler again?

SM: They’re the greatest. They’ve become close friends of mine, so it was just any excuse to hang out with them. I’d take a bullet for them. They’re the best.

(L to R) Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the set of ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, Kathryn, you worked with Matt and Tyler on ‘Abigail’, but what do you love about working with them as filmmakers?

KN: I think Matt and Tyler are the best audience. They love what they do, and I think they don’t ask much of you. Then when you give them something, they really see it and they really elevate it. I felt like on this movie, they really protected my performance because I did a lot of weird things that I didn’t know would work. Then the other thing they do, Matt specifically, I think because it was the second movie together, he knew things I was capable of that I didn’t. It was important to get the horror and the stakes of the movie. He had to make sure I was doing enough. He had to make sure I was being scared enough, or whatever it called for. So, he elevated my performance, and then they kept it together in the edit.

(L to R) Juan Pablo Romero, Nestor Carbonell, Varun Saranga, Maša Lizdek, Shawn Hatosy, Samara Weaving, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Daniel Beirne, Kathryn Newton, Antony Hall, and Olivia Cheng in ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

What is the plot of ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’?

Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving), the sole survivor of a brutal “game” that resulted in the deaths of her husband and in-laws, learns that her victory comes with a price. Now, the wealthiest and most influential families on Earth must kill her in a new game – or risk losing their power and fortunes. Grace refuses to participate at first but is left with no choice when she learns that her younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), has also been marked for death and must protect her at all costs.

Who is in the cast of ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’?
- Samara Weaving as Grace MacCaullay
- Kathryn Newton as Faith MacCaullay
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Ursula Danforth
- Shawn Hatosy as Titus Danforth
- David Cronenberg as Chester Danforth
- Elijah Wood as The Lawyer
- Néstor Carbonell as Ignacio El Caido
- Kevin Durand as Bill Wilkinson
- Olivia Cheng as Wan Chen Xing
- Varun Saranga as Madhu Rajan
- Nadeem Umar-Khitab as Viraj Rajan
- Juan Pablo Romero as Felipe El Caido
- Masa Lizdek as Martina Rajan
- Maia Jae as Francesca El Caido
- Daniel Beirne as Kip Danforth
- Antony Hall as Wan Cheng Fu
‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ opens in theaters on March 20th.

List of Movies Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett:
- ‘V/H/S‘ (2012)
- ‘Devil’s Due‘ (2014)
- ‘Southbound‘ (2016)
- ‘Ready or Not‘ (2019)
- ‘Scream‘ (2022)
- ‘Scream VI‘ (2023)
- ‘Abigail‘ (2024)
- ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come‘ (2026)
Buy Tickets: ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Movies on Amazon
March 18, 2026
First Images from ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ Online
(L to R) Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:
- The first images from ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ are online.
- Samara Weaving returns, with Kathryn Newton playing her estranged sister.
- Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are once again in the director’s chair.
When the first sequel to magician heist movie ‘Now You See Me’ came out, there was widespread dismay that it wasn’t called ‘Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.’ While this year’s threequel has finally employed that title, the filmmakers behind 2019’s horror comedy thriller ‘Ready or Not’ are not wasting their own opportunity for a title pun.

Yes, ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ is on the way next year and the first images are online.
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Returning from the original (since, er, she was pretty much the only one to survive), is Samara Weaving’s Grace, still fighting for her life (see more on the story below).

And the Radio Silence collective, including directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, are also all back.

Related Article: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood Board ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come’

What was the story of ‘Ready or Not’?

(L to R: Juan Pablo Romero, Nestor Carbonell, Varun Saranga, Maša Lizdek, Shawn Hatosy, Samara Weaving, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Daniel Beirne, Kathryn Newton, Antony Hall, and Olivia Cheng in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

The original movie followed a young bride (Weaving’s Grace) as she joined her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (which included Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turned into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

Writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy returned to craft the chaos, and we have an official synopsis: Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game –– and this time with her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) at her side.

Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.

New to the ensemble besides Newton for this one are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg and Kevin Durand.

‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’: the filmmakers speak

(L to R): Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are clearly happy to be back at it:

“We’re thrilled to be returning to the world of ‘Ready or Not’ with Samara, Brett, Avery and Andrew and so excited to work with this immensely talented cast and the incredible artists across every department joining the ‘Ready or Not’ family.”

When will ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ be in theaters?

(L to R): Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

The movie has already planted a flag –– let’s be honest, more likely a pickaxe –– in an April 10, 2026 release date.

(L to R): Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.’ Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

List of Elijah Wood Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘Back to the Future Part II‘ (1989)
- ‘Internal Affairs‘ (1990)
- ‘Avalon‘ (1990)
- ‘Radio Flyer‘ (1992)
- ‘Forever Young‘ (1992)
- ‘The Good Son‘ (1993)
- ‘Flipper‘ (1996)
- ‘The Ice Storm‘ (1997)
- ‘Deep Impact‘ (1998)
- ‘The Faculty‘ (1998)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘ (2001)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers‘ (2002)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King‘ (2003)
- ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind‘ (2004)
- ‘Sin City‘ (2005)
- ‘Everything Is Illuminated‘ (2005)
- ‘Green Street Hooligans‘ (2006)
- ‘Happy Feet‘ (2006)
- ‘Wilfred‘ (2007 – 2011)
- ‘Happy Feet Two‘ (2011)
- ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ (2012)
- ‘The Last Witch Hunter‘ (2015)
- ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency‘ (2016 – 2017)
- ‘Come to Daddy‘ (2020)
- ‘Yellowjackets‘ (2021 – 2023)
- ‘Bookworm‘ (2024)
- ‘The Monkey‘ (2025)
Buy Elijah Wood Movies On Amazon
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December 3, 2025
Sarah Michelle Gellar & Elijah Wood Join ‘Ready or Not’ Sequel
(Left) Sarah Michelle Gellar in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television. (Right) Elijah Wood in ‘Bookworm’. Photo: Rialto Distribution.

Preview:
- Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood have boarded the ‘Ready or Not’ sequel.
- Samara Weaving is returning to star.
- The movie is about to start shooting.
The cameras are about to roll on the follow-up to 2019 horror hit ‘Ready or Not,’ which means that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett –– part of the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence alongside producers Justin Martinez and Chad Villella –– are getting ready to unleash the chaos of games-turned-deadly once again.
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Following the success of the original –– $6 million budget with more than $57 million at the box office worldwide, the sequel, which we now know is rather wonderfully titled ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come,’ is adding some cast members to join the established Samara Weaving (who will reprise the role of Grace from the original) and more recent addition Kathryn Newton.

And the new recruits should be familiar to anyone who enjoys genre titles: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood.

They’re not the only fresh faces signing up to work on the new movie: Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand (who, like Newton, worked with the directors on vampire romp ‘Abigail’) and directing legend/occasional actor David Cronenberg are rounding out the cast.

Related Article: Samara Weaving and Radio Silence Team Reuniting for ‘Ready or Not’ Sequel

What was the story of ‘Ready or Not’?

The cast of ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The original movie followed a young bride (Weaving’s Grace) as she joined her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (which included Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turned into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

Spoiler alert in case you didn’t see the film: Weaving’s character was just about the only person to make it out of the game alive.

Which means it’s hard to predict what will happen in the follow-up. Could there be previously unseen family members who come out of the woodwork to threaten Grace? Will she find herself in a different but equally dangerous weird life-threatening situation?

We can only guess at this point, but with writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy returning to craft the chaos, it’ll surely be just as lethal.

‘Ready or Not: Here I Come’: The filmmakers speak

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, left, and Director Tyler Gillett on the set of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are clearly happy to be back at it:

“We’re thrilled to be returning to the world of ‘Ready or Not’ with Samara, Brett, Avery and Andrew and so excited to work with this immensely talented cast and the incredible artists across every department joining the ‘Ready or Not’ family.”

And here’s what Searchlight Pictures president Matthew Greenfield had to say:

“We’re beyond excited to make another film with the phenomenal Radio Silence. With ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come,’ we get to go on another ride with the amazing Samara Weaving, mix in awesome new voices and bring audiences a fresh take that’s every bit as twisted and fun as the first one. This is for those who’ve been waiting, and those who didn’t see it coming.”

Where else have we seen Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah wood?

(L to R) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe in ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is no stranger to the world of sci-fi and fantasy, particularly on the small screen. She’s still best known for playing Buffy Summers, the main character of much-loved series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ and is an executive producer on the rebooted version of the show that is now in development.

Elsewhere on TV, she’s been seen in shows such as ‘Dexter: Original Sin,’ ‘Wolf Pack,’ ‘The Crazy Ones,’ ‘Ringer’ and ‘Buffy’ spin-off ‘Angel.’

Movie-wise, her credits include ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ ‘Scream 2,’ ‘Small Soldiers,’ ‘Simply Irresistible,’ ‘Cruel Intentions,’ the American version of ‘The Grudge’ and as Daphne in the two live-action ‘Scooby Doo’ movies.

She’s attached to star in and produce a new TV series called ‘Bad Summer People.’

(L to R) Laura Mennell, Elijah Wood and Theo James in ‘The Monkey’. Photo: Neon.

As for Wood, he got his start as a child actor, making his movie debut in ‘Back to the Future Part II.’

Since then, he’s been seen in the likes of ‘Forever Young,’ ‘Flipper,’ ‘The Ice Storm,’ ‘Deep Impact,’ ‘The Faculty,’ ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,’ ‘Sin City,’ ‘The Monkey‘ and voiced Mumble in the two ‘Happy Feet’ movies.

But far and away on his resume in terms of impact is his work on Peter Jackson’s three giant ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies, in which he played Frodo Baggins.

Since then, he’s also become something of a producer, helping filmmakers get their work on screens.

His TV credits include ‘Yellowjackets,’ ‘Star Wars: Resistance,’ ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,’ ‘Wilfred’ and ‘Frasier.’

When will ‘Ready or Not: Here I Come’ be in theaters?

Backers Searchlight Pictures haven’t yet announced when the sequel will be causing chaos on screens, but with production gearing up, a 2026 release surely isn’t out of the question.

Elijah Wood in ‘Bookworm’. Photo: Rialto Distribution.

List of Elijah Wood Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘Back to the Future Part II‘ (1989)
- ‘Internal Affairs‘ (1990)
- ‘Avalon‘ (1990)
- ‘Radio Flyer‘ (1992)
- ‘Forever Young‘ (1992)
- ‘The Good Son‘ (1993)
- ‘Flipper‘ (1996)
- ‘The Ice Storm‘ (1997)
- ‘Deep Impact‘ (1998)
- ‘The Faculty‘ (1998)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring‘ (2001)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers‘ (2002)
- ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King‘ (2003)
- ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind‘ (2004)
- ‘Sin City‘ (2005)
- ‘Everything Is Illuminated‘ (2005)
- ‘Green Street Hooligans‘ (2006)
- ‘Happy Feet‘ (2006)
- ‘Wilfred‘ (2007 – 2011)
- ‘Happy Feet Two‘ (2011)
- ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ (2012)
- ‘The Last Witch Hunter‘ (2015)
- ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency‘ (2016 – 2017)
- ‘Come to Daddy‘ (2020)
- ‘Yellowjackets‘ (2021 – 2023)
- ‘Bookworm‘ (2024)
- ‘The Monkey‘ (2025)
Buy Elijah Wood Movies On Amazon
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April 25, 2025
Kathryn Newton Joins ‘Ready or Not’ Sequel
Kathryn Newton stars as Lisa Swallows in ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Michele K. Short / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.

Preview:
- Kathryn Newton will be part of the cast for ‘Ready or Not 2.’
- Samara Weaving is returning to star.
- Newton previously worked with the ‘Ready’ directing duo on ‘Abigail.’
As they prepare to make the follow-up to 2019 horror hit ‘Ready or Not’ (following a detour into cranking out a couple of ‘Scream’ entries and last year’s vamp-tastic ‘Abigail’) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett –– part of the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence alongside producers Justin Martinez and Chad Villella –– are drawing from the cast of one of their previous outings to appear alongside returning star Samara Weaving.
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In this case, their choice per Deadline is Kathryn Newton, who played Sammy, one of the crooks employed to kidnap a young girl in ‘Abigail,’ unaware that their charge is in, fact, a bloodsucker looking to stalk and snack on them all as her next meal.

Given that this marks a reunion for the directors and two of their previous stars, should ‘Scream’ alumni start clearing their schedule? We’ll have to wait and see on that front.

Related Article: Samara Weaving and Radio Silence Team Reuniting for ‘Ready or Not’ Sequel

What was the story of ‘Ready or Not’?

The cast of ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The original movie followed a young bride (Weaving) as she joined her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (which included Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turned into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

Spoiler alert in case you didn’t see the film: Weaving’s Grace was just about the only person to make it out of the game alive.

Which means it’s hard to predict what will happen in the follow-up. Could there be previously unseen family members who come out of the woodwork to threaten Grace? Will she find herself in a different but equally dangerous weird life-threatening situation?

We can only guess at this point, but with writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy returning to craft the chaos, it’ll surely be just as lethal.

Where else have we seen Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton?

Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Weaving, in addition to her star-making turn in the first ‘Ready’ movie, has also been seen in the big screen likes of ‘Mystery Road,’ ‘Mayhem,’ ‘Monster Trucks,’ ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,’ ‘Guns Akimbo’ and ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music.’

She also had a quick cameo in the ‘Ready’ directors ‘Scream VI’ as one of the early victims of that movie’s Ghostface killer.

On TV, she’s appeared in shows such as ‘Ash vs Evil Dead,’ ‘SMILF,’ ‘No Activity’ and ‘Nine Perfect Strangers.’

She’ll next be seen in stalker thriller comedy ‘Borderline’ opposite Ray Nicholson, playing a 1990s pop star who receives some unwanted attention from an obsessed fan. Along with that, she’s also worked on TV series ‘Little Sky’ and action comedy movie ‘Eenie Meanie.’

(L to R) Kathryn Newton as Cassandra “Cassie” Lang and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man in Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’ Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2022 Marvel.

As for Newton, she got her start on soap opera ‘All My Children’ and has movies including ‘Bad Teacher,’ ‘Lady Bird,’ ‘Blockers,’ ‘Pokémon: Detective Pikachu,’ ‘Freaky’ and taking over the role of Cassie Lang, Scott Lang’s daughter, in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’

More recently, she scored the lead in ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ and, as previously mentioned, appeared in ‘Abigail.’ Her other TV credits include ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Halt and Catch Fire.’

Coming up is horror thriller movie ‘DeamQuil’ and crime drama ‘Lips Like Sugar.’

And coincidentally, this isn’t the first time the pair will appear in the same movie as Newton was also part of the cast for ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.’

When will ‘Ready or Not 2’ be in theaters?

Searchlight has yet to confirm a release date for the movie, but with filming clearly set for this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if it emerged early in 2026.

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, left, and Director Tyler Gillett on the set of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

List of Movies Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett:
- ‘V/H/S‘ (2012)
- ‘Devil’s Due‘ (2014)
- ‘Southbound‘ (2016)
- ‘Ready or Not‘ (2019)
- ‘Scream‘ (2022)
- ‘Scream VI‘ (2023)
- ‘Abigail‘ (2024)
Buy Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Movies on Amazon
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March 7, 2025
Samara Weaving to Return for ‘Ready or Not’ Sequel
Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Preview:
- Samara Weaving will return for a sequel to 2019’s ‘Ready or Not.’
- Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are also back.
- The script will be by the original’s Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Since their first collaboration with ‘Ready or Not,’ directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and their star, Samara Weaving, have all seen their careers skyrocket.

The filmmakers in particular have been busy, making the leap from the 2019 effort to the two most recent ‘Scream’ installments and this year’s vampire thriller ‘Abigail.’

Now, though, at a screening of ‘Ready or Not’, the directors announced that a sequel is in the works, with Weaving once again starring.
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What was the story of ‘Ready or Not’?

(L to R) Mark O’Brien and Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The horror comedy thriller followed a young bride (Weaving) as she joined her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition: Pulling a card from a puzzle game.

It seems innocent enough, but if someone draws the Hide and Seek card, as she does, then a murderous game is played, all in order to appease an ancient family deal with the devil. And so begins a fight for survival…

Spoiler alert at this point for anyone who has yet to see the movie: Weaving’s Grace makes it out, while mostly everyone else either ends up dead from a weapon or exploding in a geyser of blood when the curse inherent in the deal is carried out.

The movie, made for only $6 million, grossed over $28 million domestically and was the widest release for Searchlight at the time.

What has been happening with a ‘Ready or Not’ sequel?

Samara Weaving in ‘Ready or Not’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

All involved have said they want to come back for more, but it’s been a question of timing: the directors have been off doing their other movies, while Weaving has been in demand for the likes of ‘Chevalier,’ ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins,’ ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ and ‘Babylon‘.

She also found time to squeeze in a cameo as –– again, spoiler alert –– the initial victim in last year’s ‘Scream VI.’

Weaving had previously told Comicbook.com that she was committed to returning:

“I’m all in. I think we’re all in, I don’t know. I think we’re all in…I don’t know if we’ve had our blood handshake, but pretty much. We’ve done the spit handshake, but we haven’t cut each other’s hands and rubbed our blood together.”

Looks like that has now happened –– or, you know, they’ve just made deals in the regular way.

As to what will happen in the movie itself, that’s anyone’s guess at this point. Given Weaving’s return, a prequel about the family appears unlikely, more her Grace getting into another tricky and potentially bloody situation.

Whatever it turns out to be, the script will come from original writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Abigail’

When will ‘Ready or Not 2’ be in theaters?

Searchlight has yet to confirm when the movie will be shooting, let alone when it’ll be released.

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, left, and Director Tyler Gillett on the set of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

Other Movies Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett:
- ‘V/H/S‘ (2012)
- ‘Devil’s Due‘ (2014)
- ‘Southbound‘ (2016)
- ‘Ready or Not‘ (2019)
- ‘Scream‘ (2022)
- ‘Scream VI‘ (2023)
- ‘Abigail‘ (2024)
Buy Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Movies on Amazon
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October 15, 2024
Movie Review: ‘Abigail’
Alisha Weir as Abigail in ‘Abigail,’ directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Photo: Universal Pictures.

In theaters on Friday, April 19th, ‘Abigail’ finds Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, directors of ‘Ready or Not’ and the two most recent ‘Scream’ movies.

Here, freed from the constrictions of working within a franchise framework, they get back to their roots for a funny, bloody tale of kidnappers who target the wrong person with violent results.

Related Article: Corey Hawkins Talks ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ and Director André Øvredal

Does ‘Abigail’ Draw Entertaining Blood?

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Are you a hemophobe? In that case, you should probably avoid ‘Abigail’, since it features more blood on screen than the original ‘Carrie’. There are buckets of the red stuff, whether from someone vomiting it up, a pit of bodies floating in it, or… well, the last one would be a spoiler.

Truth be told, though, we doubt anyone with that condition would be happily sitting down for a horror movie anyway, since they usually tend to include plenty of blood. And there is much more to recommend ‘Abigail’ beyond all of that, plenty of positives rather than just the B-positive.

Because this latest offering from the Radio Silence team is a funny, violent, crazy and occasionally audacious terror offering.

Script and Direction

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

While the script originated with Stephen Shields, who came up with the basic concept and many of the fun ideas littering the story, it has since been through the hands of regular Radio Silence scriptwriter Guy Busick, who has worked with the directors on movies such as ‘Ready or Not’ and the two ‘Scream’ entries they made.

It’s the latter to which ‘Abigail’ feels more closely aligned –– like that thriller, which sees a young woman marrying into a wealthy family who discovers that new additions are challenged to a lethal game that finds her running for her life through a creepy mansion with the armed, privileged spawn tracking her down.

Here, the focus is on a group of criminals who kidnap a young girl, looking to squeeze her rich father for a ransom, only to discover that she is most definitely not what she appears. It’s given away in all the marketing and the trailer, so we’re really not spoiling anything here: she’s a vampire, and the criminals have all been lured to the creepy mansion she shares with her father to serve as her latest playthings/snack food.

(From left) Dan Stevens, director Tyler Gillett, Melissa Barrera and director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin on the set of ‘Abigail.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

The script is light on its feet, completely understanding that this is a fun, pulpy B-movie with the scares and the laughs perfectly calibrated. The criminal crew, all brought to life by an engaging gang of accomplished actors (more on them below), bicker and spar amusingly, and when they started to be picked off one by one, you’re actually engaged in their fate (even if you’re happy for most of them to meet a bloody end).

On the directing front, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett know exactly how to pull of something like this –– ‘Ready or Not’ certainly proved it. They pitch the tone perfectly, dialing up the madness when needed and slowing things down to let the movie breathe. There are moments when it starts to lull, and those are issues (such as one or two moments where the survival of one of the characters stretches credulity), but those are few and far between.

‘Abigail’: Performances

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

The Radio Silence team has a knack for casting, and ‘Abigail’ is no exception.

First off, we have the title character herself. Alisha Weir is best known (so far –– this young actor surely has a bright future ahead) as the main character in ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’, but here she throws herself into the unhinged, creepy character of an ancient, undead creature who just happens to look like an innocent young girl. She’s a delight, able to pivot on a whim between seeming scared and cunningly tracking down her prey.

It doesn’t hurt that Abigail loves to dance, channeling Weir’s own dance training for funny/scary sequences where she’s on the hunt for a victim. There are shades of M3GAN’s dance stylings here.

Melissa Barrera, one of the stars of the most recent two ‘Scream’ movies, is similarly superb as “Joey” (the criminal crew adopts the names of the Sinatra Rat Pack so as not to learn each other’s real monikers in case they are nabbed by the authorities, which turns out to be the least of their worries). She’s the heart of the film, and the emotional core you actually want to have survive.

As for the rest? They’re different levels of cannon (or vampire) fodder, though all are well developed and well played.

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Dan Stevens (Frank) gives off great grubby charm as a former cop who has turned to crime, all sarcastic asides and impatient attitude. Stevens is always watchable whether he’s being an absolute asshole or running for his life.

Kathryn Newton, as Sammy, is all kooky former-rich-girl-turned-hacker bubbliness, which soon turns to terror (and then something else). She really delivers on all those levels.

Kevin Durand is the hulking, less-than-smart Peter, who is the brawn of the group. He works perfectly in the role, the ideal balance of tough and vulnerable.

William Catlett is studied intensity as the former military man who is given the name “Rickles” (there’s a reason for that we won’t spoil) and doesn’t trust the others. Catlett brings energy and verve to the role even given the character’s gruff demeanor.

Finally, we have ‘Euphoria’s Angus Cloud as Dean, the actor (who died after filming the movie, and is memorialized in the end credits) making his slacker character his own, even if it’s a smaller role.

‘Abigail’: Final Thoughts

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

‘Abigail’ is a finely-tuned horror comedy that manages to do both well. The bickering team dynamic works and the vampire element is fantastic.

And, as we mentioned before, it’s a bloody good time at the movies.

‘Abigail’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Abigail’?

After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight.

In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.

Who is in ‘Abigail’?
- Melissa Barrera as Joey
- Dan Stevens as Frank
- Kathryn Newton as Sammy
- William Catlett as Rickles
- Kevin Durand as Peter
- Angus Cloud as Dean
- Alisha Weir as Abigail
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Abigail’. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Other Movies Similar to ‘Abigail:’
- ‘Dracula‘ (1931)
- ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula‘ (1992)
- ‘Interview with the Vampire‘ (1994)
- ‘Blade II‘ (2002)
- ‘Twilight‘ (2008)
- ‘Let Me In‘ (2010)
- ‘Dracula Untold‘ (2014)
- ‘Bones and All‘ (2022)
- ‘Morbius‘ (2022)
- ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter‘ (2023)
- ‘Renfield‘ (2023)
Buy Vampire Movies on Amazon
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April 20, 2024
Box Office: ‘Angel Has Fallen’ Surprises With $21 Million Debut

Lionsgate

“Angel Has Fallen,” the third chapter in the action franchise starring Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent, had a stronger opening weekend than expected, collecting $21.25 million during its first three days of release.
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It’s Lionsgate’s second biggest film this year after “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.”

The film, in which Butler’s character must clear his name after being blamed for an attack on the President, nearly matched the $21.6 million debut of its predecessor, 2016’s “London Has Fallen.” The first film “Olympus Has Fallen,”debuted with $30.4 million in 2013.

Audiences gave “Angel Has Fallen” a glowing “A-” CinemaScore compared to its 40% average from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Universal

Last weekend’s champ, the comedy “Good Boys,” ended up in second place. It earned $11.75 million in its sophomore outing, boosting its domestic total to $41.4 million.

Sony/Affirm

Faith-based sports drama “Overcomer” debuted in third with $8.2 million from 1,723 theaters. It earned an “A+” CinemaScore from audiences, but a dismal 38% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s already earned back its production budget of $5 million.
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Fox Searchlight

The new film with the best reviews, the black comedy “Ready or Not,” opened at No. 6, with $7.6 million for the weekend and a five-day take of $10.6 million. Samara Weaving (“Mayhem”) stars as a bride whose wedding night becomes a fight to the death with her new in-laws. It scored an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score. Audiences gave it a “B+” CinemaScore.

Amazon Studios

In limited release, crowd-pleasing comedy “Brittany Runs a Marathon” had the best per-screen average of the weekend with a $35,194 average from five theaters for a total of $175,969. Jillian Bell of “Workaholics” and “Eastbound & Down” portrays an out-of-shape woman who decides to run the New York City Marathon. It will expand nationwide after four or five weeks.

Here are the top 10 estimates for August 23-25 2019:

1. “Angel has Fallen,” $21,250,000
2. “Good Boys,” $11,750,000
3. “Overcomer,” $8,200,000
4.”The Lion King” (2019), $8,150,000
5. “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” $8,140,000
6. “Ready or Not,” $7,550,000
7. “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” $6,365,000
8. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” $6,000,000
9. “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” $5,200,000
10. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,“$5,000,000

[Via Variety]

August 25, 2019
‘Ready or Not’ Filmmakers Radio Silence Talk Major Spoilers

Fox Searchlight

By now you have (hopefully) rushed out to see “Ready or Not,” one of the very best horror movies of the year and a much-needed end-of-summer blast that doesn’t feature a single, solitary superhero. And if you have, well, this is the article for you. If you haven’t seen “Ready or Not,” turn back now, because we’re going to get spoiler-y.

LAST (SPOILER) WARNING.

Still there?

Great! When we sat down with the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence (“Ready or Not” directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Opin and producer Chad Villella) and talked about all the things that we really couldn’t talk about before the movie was released, including the movie’s surprise supernatural elements, why Grace got the “Hide and Seek” card, and what they’d originally planned for a post-credits reveal.

How did you manage the integration of the supernatural elements?

Matt: We discussed it endlessly and for us it felt like if we’re going to go there and be able to say the things we’re saying, we should go there and say the things we’re saying right. And not hide behind the I don’t know. And it just felt to us like at the end of the day that there was only one way to do that. And that’s what you see in the movie.

Tyler: And the conceit of the game is there’s only one winner. And so delivering on the promise of that, we felt like we had to go there.

There’s some doubt there.

Chad: That’s something new that you get to live in for a little bit. You have to have that conflict and the characters actually get to look it up and you know, Fitch even Googles it on his phone to see if it’s really right. But it’s fun to have to explore the conversation of whether or not something is supernatural in the movie.

Tyler: That is a big conversation that all the characters are having, they’re all at different levels of belief about the ritual of what the game is.

Matt: A big part of the engine or like the second and third act is, Is this real? Does this matter?

Did you talk about why she got the card?

Tyler: The way that we framed it, Charles in the teaser meets his demise via the game, so he presumably drew the hide and seek card. And Grace drew the same card. And the idea is that both of those characters are too good to marry into this family. They don’t belong in the ugliness.

Do you have ideas for a sequel?

Matt: Guy and Ryan wrote a end tag for the movie to play after the credits that took place at some nice hotel convention center thing where you follow these two like rich dudes into this convention hall where you realize it’s like a Le Bail foundation and that here are all the titans of industry gathering to tell their tales of Le Bail and it’s like, “Oh shit, there’s 150 of these f*cking families.”

“Ready or Not” is in theaters now.

August 23, 2019
‘Ready or Not’ Filmmakers Radio Silence Didn’t Want to Step on ‘Get Out’s’ Toes

Fox Searchlight

You are not ready for “Ready or Not.”

The original horror film from Fox Searchlight, opening this Wednesday, is fun, smart, and incredibly scary. It concerns Grace (the wonderful Samara Weaving) as a young woman who is marrying into a wealthy family whose money comes from the sale of board games. On the night of her wedding, her new husband (Mark O’Brien) tells her that it’s tradition to play a game. (The game is decided by a mysterious wooden box.) She pulls the card marked “Hide and Seek” and for the rest of the night is hunted by members of the family, who hope to use her in something nefarious. (We’re treading lightly on purpose.) Soon, the most magical night of her life turns into the most hellish. It’s awesome.

We were thrilled, as you can imagine, to talk to Radio Silence, the filmmaking collective behind the film that consists of producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. In a wide-ranging interview we talked about the genesis of the project, what went into developing the movie, not stepping on “Get Out’s” toes and whether or not they’ve thought about a sequel. And come back after the movie opens for spoiler-y parts of our conversation!

Moviefone: You guys have been on this project for a long time. What was development like?

Chad: We got involved with it in 2016 through the producers. And we worked on it with them for over a year. Then we brought it to Fox Searchlight in 2017. Then we worked on it with Fox Searchlight for the better part of a year, year and a half. It was a great development process though. You know, it took a lot of different forms and then ended up with you see.

What was the biggest change?

Chad: Well it used to be called “Family Ritual.” You’ll see the opening and there’s all the board games and we have Family Ritual as one of the board games.

Tyler: The original draft took place over a series of days and in a lead up to this wedding and for us, what we really wanted to do and what I think we ultimately ended up doing with Searchlight’s involvement, was shorten the timeline of all it. But we’ve always loved these survive the night thrillers where the volume gets turned up on everything cause the tension is put on this ticking clock.

And ultimately, I think also just loved the image of this, this bride carrying a shotgun, supposed to be having the best day of her life but ends up walking through this horrific nightmare. Everything else, I think tonally and character-wise were the same. And we preserved the weirdness. I think the fear with a script that’s so weird and is doing this very specific tonal dance from drama to horror to satire to comedy, that through development that all gets homogenized. And then you have to choose a lane and make one movie. But to the producers’ credit to Searchlight’s credit, they were on board for what was weird about it from the start. It’s not just about preserving all of that weird shit and even amplifying it when we could.

How essential was the cast in terms of getting this tone right?

Matt: Everything.

Tyler: When you’re doing tonal dance, you live or die by the performances. And because it is so specific, everyone has to approach it from the most emotionally grounded way possible. The horror and the humor is more born out of the situation and the collision of these two different worlds — Grace’s world and then this wealthy and this impossibly wealthy family. That’s where the humor lives. That’s where the thrills live. That’s where the genre stuff lives. It’s not about winking or punchlines. It’s more about real people experiencing the insanity of this situation.

So how did you find Samara?

Matt: She was suggested to us by Fox Searchlight, who had worked with her on “Three Billboards …” And we watched herself and met with her and loved her. She understood everything we were going for, had great ideas to add to that. And she just embodied what we wanted from Grace, the vulnerability but also the real firm, badass strength. And she had both of those simultaneously.

And I think in addition to that, the thing that is one of her like most amazing features as an actress and, as a human being is a sense of honesty. So even in the littlest moments in a movie like this where you need that honesty to be genuine, she’s able to capture that in a way that makes like the humor more funny or scares more perilous, more real. And it’s, it’s what Tyler was saying earlier is that you need that grounded sense of reality to be able to do these wacky things right.

Are you excited to be poking fun at rich white people?

Chad: The day we went into Searchlight with the project was November 9th, 2016. It was the day after the election, so we knew it was going to be a hot topic moving forward. So we were like, let’s get into this now and really own it.

Universal/Blumhouse

Was there ever talk of Grace being a person of color?

Tyler: There was. We were developing this when “Get Out” was just crushing it. And we are such huge fans of that movie. It’s just a one of a kind genre film. And I think that we wanted that film to really exist on its own and we wanted to make something that was in the lineage of it, but we didn’t want to draw too many comparisons to it because it’s just such a classic, such a great movie. What we’re hoping to do is add to the conversation in that lineage instead of plagiarize it in ways that would have been particularly troublesome, had we gone down that path. And we wanted to have a different conversation, in some ways.

We did a lot of development when “Get Out” was coming out. The earlier drafts of the script had some similar structural stuff. We’re actually very grateful that we got to dig in – our characters and story got more specific and we got to compress the timeline, which makes things more scary and fun.

Considering you’re making a horror movie in 2019, have you thought about the sequel possibilities?

Matt: One of our favorite things about this movie is that in an era of sequels and IP-based movies, to make a studio movie that’s releasing in theaters that has no existing IP and is not a sequel for us was like, oh my God, this is just like a movie. It’s just a regular old movie. And for us it was just like, let’s put everything we can into this, let’s make this as exciting and thrilling and everything we want. To the sequel thing, we did talk about it but I don’t think any of us are there.

“Read or Not” is in theaters everywhere on Wednesday. It is amazing.

August 19, 2019