Spoilers for Ready or Not 2: Here I Come ahead.
I'm so, so incredibly pleased to report that Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is the rare horror movie sequel that exceeds expectations. In fact, I'd go as far as to as to say that it's even better the original — thanks to doubling down on the unhinged behaviour.
Just as she's survived her chaotic wedding ceremony, Grace (Samara Weaving) and her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) are kidnapped and taken to a mysterious estate. They learn that the Le Domas family were the head of a bigger nefarious network... and now there's a vacancy, the remaining members will hunt for the throne.
Cue the weirdest round of clay pigeon shooting you've ever seen in your life, only there's no guarantee of surviving. Of course, our final girls survive the entire 24 hours thanks to finding loopholes in the legislation, meaning Grace agrees to marry Titus (The Pitt's Shawn Hatosy).
As soon as she does, Grace kills him and essentially sacrifices her position, leaving everyone left to fight for the symbolic 'leader ring' in a literal satanic pit. There's guts, gore and a lot of impaling on stakes.
Not only was Hatosy "genuinely scared" while filming the unhinged ending, but it's not even the deathly scene that made me laugh the most.
'We did several versions of it in different styles'
"There was a crash mat in there," Hatosy tells me about the pit in the final scene. "There was one take we did where I was just sort of on my knees with my back to everyone, but when we practiced it, I just had to fall back. I pretended like I wasn't afraid, but I was."
I can see why. The Ready or Not movies have been brilliant at balancing drama and comedy, but when you're in the moment, I imagine that fear takes over. Meanwhile, I'm laughing my butt off in the audience, living my best life.
However, this isn't even the scene that got me the most. Just prior to the ending, Titus holds Faith hostage to try and lure Grace to her death. Faith kicks him in the groin, and Titus doesn't even flinched. Literally, balls of steel.
But how do you even pretend that doesn't hurt? "We did several versions of that," Hatosy continues. "We did ones where it was just sheer pain, and other ones where it was almost he enjoyed it. That was my favorite one.
"You're, you're finding what works enjoying the process. There's no bad idea. It's a great set. You feel free to take a risk."
I definitely think Titus' nonchalance was correct choice, but thank God Hatosy was able to play around with it. When else will I get to interview someone about a groin kick until Jackass comes back?
