On the second night of the 2026 SXSW Film & TV festival, the programmers scheduled and screened the highly anticipated sequel to Ready or Not, directed by the respected Radio Silence collective (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett). The movie delivers more of what fans of the first film enjoyed, along with some expansion of the world’s lore and surprises of its own. Now, granted, this is a sequel, so this new chapter does not offer its audiences the same level of creativity, but it does succeed in making sure its fans have a great time.
Picking up exactly where the first movie ends, Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) finds herself in a hospital recovering from the trying and crazy events she has just experienced. Grace’s estranged younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), arrives to check on her sibling but soon finds herself drawn into an insane, unimaginable situation her sister endured all too recently. Recently. With barely any time to recover, Grace and Faith get abducted from the hospital and taken to another estate where they are forced to survive, yet another hunt for their lives. The lives. The two sisters must put aside their differences and face their problems as they discover that the conspiracy in which they are inadvertently involved is far larger than they know.
I had an absolute blast with this sequel. Though not as memorable as the first, Ready or Not 2 delivers inventive, sly thrills. It also intensifies the violence and carnage. Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton excel at depicting their characters’ fraught dynamic. They also radiate undeniable survival instincts.
The movie features more entertaining characters than the previous film. The cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Nestor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, and other talented performers. I don’t know if Radio Silence plans another installment, but if they do, I’ll definitely be there to see what they have in store.