“We hope you enjoy this super loud and weird ride,” the directors known as Radio Silence said in a parting message before the world premiere of “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.”
The comedy-horror sequel, starring Samara Weaving as a bride trapped in a murder game, brought blood, blood, and more blood to SXSW, with the crowd screaming and laughing at every gruesome murder.
Cast members Kathryn Newton, Elijah Wood, Sean Hatosy, and Sarah Michelle Gellar took to the stage at Austin’s Paramount Theater to introduce the film alongside directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillette. Weaving was unable to attend, but welcomed the audience on FaceTime with a wave, a blowing kiss and a video showing off her pregnant belly.
“We made this movie for you, the fans,” she said, wishing everyone a fun and “bloody adventure.”
“Ready or Not 2” takes place immediately after the first film, with Weaving’s Grace caught up in a twisted hide-and-seek game run by global, devil-worshiping elitists. David Cronenberg makes an unforgettable cameo early in the film as he watches a violent conflict unfold on the news.
“Please approve the ceasefire,” he says into the phone, and the news instantly changes and the war is over.
Wood plays a lawyer who sets the rules of the game. Representatives from each family hunt down Weaving and her sister (played by Newton), and whoever kills her inherits the seat on the High Council. Essentially, it means they rule the world. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star is gifting golden symbols of power to his family, yet again with powerful hand jewellery.
Ready or Not 2 is a hilarious serial murder (and attempted murder) story. In one scene, a child brandishes a pistol on his hip. In another photo, a woman with a bazooka proclaims, “Hello Auntie. Goodbye Auntie.” Bodies often spontaneously combust, blood splattering everywhere.
Hatoshi told the crowd that he first saw the film on the small screen and couldn’t wait to see it again at SXSW.
“I was very disappointed that I couldn’t sit in the audience,” he said. “You guys endured it.”
