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Ready Or Not 2

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come

By Cinema

In the 2019 a horror film landed that had fans of the genre in raptures. While it wasn’t expected to be one of the big hits of the year the arrival of Ready Or Not had people raving. Finally there was a horror film that had everything – twists, turns, action, gore and a few laughs along the way.

What is surprising is the fact that it has taken 7 years for the next film in the franchise to hit cinemas. But thankfully directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Abigail) and Tyler Gillett (Scream VI) have returned back to the franchise that everybody wants to see them working in and delivered a film that is certainly not going to disappoint those that loved the first film.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come literally begins where the last film finished. Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving – Guns Akimbo) collapses onto the ground having just survived the ‘game’ that saw her new in-laws try to kill her to appease their Dark Lord.

However, when she wakes up in hospital she finds out that things are not exactly how she expected them to be. First of all her sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton – Freaky), is there ready to remind Grace how much she hates her and then she finds herself being hunted by a man she has never met before.

After a short burst of freedom Grace finds herself captured once again. This time she and Faith find themselves trapped on a luxurious estate run by the Danforth family. Here they are told by a mysterious lawyer (Elija Wood – Lord Of The Rings) that are once again prey. This time the game is a little different – the family that kills them will take control of a powerful Order that pretty much gives them all the power in the world.

Desperate to take the mantle that once belonged to their father are twins Titus (Shawn Hatosy – The Faculty) and Ursula Danforth (Sarah Michelle Gellar – I Know What You Did Last Summer) but in order to do so they are going to have to beat all the other families to killing Grace and she certainly is not going to go down without a fight.

The fact that the game in Here I Come mirrors the one in the first one so much leaves me in two minds. On one hand I would have liked to have seen the screenwriters come up with something new and original but on the other hand at least they manage to find new ways to kill characters while still being able to mix horror, comedy and action all together brilliantly well.

One of the most intriguing parts of Here I Come are the characters themselves. No two characters are the same and the writers have even managed to avoid cliches by giving them actual characterisation outside of the particular sets of skills that they may possess as part of the game. Sure some of the characters have been purposefully made annoying, which makes you as an audience member want to see them bumped off by Grace, but at least they are different enough so they don’t all bled in together.

The two most interesting characters when it comes to the villains are certainly Titus and Ursula. While Ursula is conniving and calculating Titus is a pure psychopath. As soon as it is established that Titus will kill anyone that gets in his way that adds to the suspense of the film. Some of his dealings with Faith are particularly violent which not only adds to his character but also has you praying for the moment that he finally comes up against Grace.

Likewise, some of the most memorable scenes here are between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Samara Weaving. The witty lines written for Gellar are reminiscent of what she got to play with during her Buffy The Vampire Slayer days and she absolutely shines when she gets to deliver them.

Of course, what most are wanting to see here though is the horror element of the film. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett certainly deliver there. The horror aspect of the film is intense and lifted to a whole new level as the pair device new and gory ways to kill off most of the players in the game. The only thing that perhaps lets the film down a little is the over-the-top ending that seems to be mainly played for laughs. It works but true horror fans maybe expecting something very different.

If you enjoyed the first Ready Or Not film then there is a good chance that you are going to love Here I Come. Once again the film mixes genres amazingly well while the acting performances of Weaving, Gellar and Wood are priceless. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea this is a sequel for the ages.

Synopsis

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come picks up immediately after the original film, with Grace once again dragged into a deadly satanic game after surviving the massacre of the Le Domas family. This time, rival elite bloodlines hunt her and her estranged sister Faith in a brutal battle for power, forcing Grace into another night of violence, betrayal, and blood-soaked survival.

April 24, 2026

Whistle

By Cinema

Do you remember back in the 90s and the early 2000s where there were a bunch of horror movies hitting cinemas that were made for teenagers and younger horror fans? Even if you were older they were still enjoyable films.

Films like The Faculty, Disturbing Behavior and Valentine – they were simple horrors with some great mystery and no political agendas. Now you flash forward to 2026 and most horror films either see directors trying to be all artistic and different which often gets in the way of the plot and tripping up the film badly. They throw in a supernatural horror that makes no sense in the end and worse still the characters are so unlikable you don’t really care when the killing starts.

Sometimes that’s all you really need from a horror film – relatable characters that you don’t want to see fall victim to the killer next. That is exactly what director Corin Hardy (The Nun) and screenwriter Owen Egerton (Mercy Black) have achieved with Whistle – a basic horror but with characters you actually care about.

Whistle centres around a High School student named Chrysanthemum (Dafne Keen – Deadpool & Wolverine). After the death of her father, who was her only parent, she has to move to another town and live with her cousin, Rel (Sky Yang – Last Days)l who is a bit of a misfit like her.

On her first day at the new school she finds an Aztec Death Whistle in her locker and quickly discovers that it belonged to a student who recently died in a horrific way.  She also learns that his best friend, jock Dean (Jhaleil Swaby – White Dog), is not happy that she has been given the locker. The resulting fight results in teacher Mr Craven (Nick Frost – Paul) giving Chrys, Rel, Dean, Dean’s girlfriend – Grace (Ali Skovbye – Breakthrough) and her friend Ellie Gains (Sophie Nelisse – The Book Thief).

During the detention Mr Craven confiscates the whistle and makes the mistake of blowing it. Later in the night the teens steal the whistle back and Grace blows it where all can hear. That sets the wheels in motion and soon all ‘their deaths’ are coming for them.

The plot for Whistle sounds pretty basic but to the credit of Hardy and Egerton have found a way to bring some pretty intense horror and suspense to the film. Some of the teen’s death are creative and have been brought to the screen with the same amazing special effects that Hardy got to work with on The Nun. One of the deaths is actually so creative that it is likely to stay etched in the audience’s mind for a long time.

Egerton’s screenplay is also something special. It feels like he is constantly a few scenes ahead of the audience and nothing has been placed in this film to be filler. For awhile I was wondering about why they had introduced a drug dealing Youth Pastor, named Noah Haggerty (Percy Hynes White – My Old Ass), had been introduced into the mix. But as the plot plays out he becomes an important part of Egerton’s jigsaw puzzle – and when all those pieces fall into place you realise that nothing in this film happens by chance.

While the characters of this film do remain relatable to anyone that has been through High School it also delves into some deep topics and themes. Chrys is actually a recovering drug addict who is proud of the fact that she has got herself sober so when she sees her ‘death’ coming for her is depicted with a syringe in her arm the screenplay explores what it is like for a recovering addict to face the fear of relapsing. At the same time she is battling her feelings for Ellie which sees her exploring her sexuality – something many teens find themselves facing these days.

That’s why this film is so relatable. As I watched Whistle I found myself thinking things like – I had friends like that at High School or I’ve found myself in that situation. That relatability is what makes this film such a great watch – you love the characters and you don’t want anything to happen to them.

Whistle is one of the best horror films to surface over the past few years. It reveals Corin Hardy as a director to watch while transporting its audience back to the good old days of 90s horror – it is a must see for all horror fans.

Whistle is currently screening in cinemas.

Synopsis

Whistle follows a group of high school students who discover an ancient Aztec Death Whistle hidden inside a locker. After blowing it, they become cursed and are hunted by terrifying manifestations of their own future deaths. As the body count rises, the group races to uncover the whistle’s dark origins before their gruesome fates catch up with them.

April 14, 2026

They Will Kill You

By Cinema

They Will Kill You

Every now and then a movie comes along that is so difficult to write about that I actually find myself procrastinating about it when I sit down to write about it. I have certainly found that that is the case for the brand new film from director Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die) – They Will Kill You.

One the surface this isn’t such a bad film – in fact if you like violent action films with a tinge of horror you will probably quite enjoy watching it. The issue here is that while you are watching it you begin to release that there is nothing new or different about the film. In fact it feels like nearly every scene is playing homage to another film or a famous director. Even the entire premise of the film feels like he has taken two Keanu Reeves films – Constantine and John Wick – and blended them together.

The film itself begins with Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz – Deadpool 2) trying to escape the clutches of her abusive father alongside her sister Maria (Myha’la – Dead Man’s Wire). As the pair are confronted by their father and his friend Asia opens fire shooting her father. The result of that is Maria being forced to go back to her father while Asia goes on the run. 

Years later Asia turns up to work at an exclusive high-rise apartment building known at The Virgil. When she arrives she is welcomed by building manager, Lily Woodhouse (Patricia Arquette – Stigmata), but soon she begins to realise that things aren’t as they seem.

First of all the staff seem to be acting weird, then when she steps out of the shower someone has left a cryptic message on her bathroom mirror – “THEY WILL KILL YOU!” Then while she sleeps a group of The Virgil’s residents, led by Sharon (Heather Graham – Boogie Nights) and Kevin (Tom Felton – Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows), break into her room and attack her.

As she fights for her life Asia asks them a serious question – where is her sister Maria? That is when the fight really starts. Asia fights for her life while scouring The Virgil for her sister while trying to outrun those who want her dead.

So far in his career Sokolov has famously emulated his filmmaking heroes with his work but with They Will Kill You it feels like he has gone too far or possibly flown too close to the sun with this one. No matter how much I was enjoying the great battle sequences and creative deaths during the film I just couldn’t get Kill Bill out of my head. As if to cement my suspicions about this being a Quentin Tarantino homage the film even contains a ‘women’s foot close-up shot’ – something that has become somewhat of a trademark with Tarantino’s films over the years.

What Sokolov does have working in his favour though is the skills of Zazie Beetz. With so many similarities to other films Beetz is what makes They Will Kill You memorable. Whether it be the deeply emotional sequences of her begging for the life of her sister or her brilliant ‘combat’ sequences as she goes to war with whatever The Virgil throws at her Beetz (excuse the pun) never misses a beat. Long after you left the cinema it is Beetz’s performance that you will remember whenever someone mentions the film.

Sadly, though she is let down by the screenplay (or lack of) here. Written by Alex Litvak (Predators) the screenplay itself is one of the reasons why They Will Kill You is reminiscent of so many other films. The supernatural element is very similar to Constantine while it feels like some important elements of the ‘realm’ itself are never fully explained. 

Then there is the ridiculously over-the-top pig’s head finale which just takes the film into a new level of craziness. When you compare that to how the Satanic worship storyline was  resolved in Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come you see just how badly Litvak’s screenplay handled things here.

While there is some creativity with the fight sequences of They Will Kill You largely this feels like a film you have seen many times in the past. While the one-person army revenge flick is the in-thing in Hollywood at the moment they only work if the filmmaker and screenwriter involved have an idea that separates their film from the rest.

Synopsis

They Will Kill You follows Asia Reaves, an ex-convict who takes a housekeeping job inside a mysterious New York high-rise while searching for her missing sister. Once inside the building known as The Virgil, she discovers its wealthy residents are part of a violent satanic cult that uses human sacrifice to maintain its dark power, forcing her into a brutal fight for survival.

April 9, 2026

The Bride

By Cinema

The Bride

Here is a little bit of a cinematic receipt. Take a little bit of Gothic literature and then blend in some musical and dance sequences that would make Baz Luhrmann extremely proud, Then add a Bonnie & Clyde storyline and for good measure introduce one of the world’s most talented actresses, Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) into the mix. What do you get?

You get director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s (The Lost Daughter) brand new film The Bride! – which is pretty much a re-telling of the 1935 film Bride Of Frankenstein with her own slant on it.

The concept of a bride for Frankenstein’s monster is not a new one. Even the 1935 film didn’t create it. Author Mary Shelley actually briefly mentioned the character in her original Frankenstein novel,. It was a brief idea mentioned by the monster himself but quickly squashed by Dr. Frankenstein himself. Just as director James Whale did in the 30s Maggie Gyllenhaal takes that original concept and lets her mind run wild. And that is something that she does magically well.

Gyllenhaal’s story begins with the monster himself, now known as Frank (Christian Bale – Batman Begins), finding himself alive in the 1930s after over a century of being ‘alive.’ Overcome with loneliness he tracks down a doctor in America, named Dr Euphronius (Annette Bening – American Beauty), who has made a name for herself for re-animating animals. He tells her his woes and after some convincing she agrees to re-animate a ‘bride’ for him in return for being allowed to study his body.

They soon find the perfect body for the procedure. It is that of Ida (Jessie Buckley), a woman who was killed after making allegations against a mobster during an outburst in a crowded restaurant.

After her re-animation Ida has no memory of her past and is lied to by Frank who tells her that they were previously engaged. To celebrate her recovery from her ‘accident’ they head out to a nightclub where the two of them are hassled by two men. In a fit of rage Frank kills them both and it soon becomes public knowledge that two monsters are on the loose.

As they begin a journey across America, following in the footsteps of Frank’s favourite actor Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler) they are pursued by two Detectives. One is Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard – September 5) who has a connection to Ida’s murder while the other is Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona) who due to being female has to introduce herself as his assistant.

To describe The Bride! is actually quite difficult. As I mentioned before it is part Bonnie & Clyde crime story, part musical and dance (which are scenes that Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley and Jake Gyllenhaal seem to lap up but on the other hand it is an ode to 1930s cinema. There are nods to many classic films throughout the film while Gyllenhaal’s screenplay places the monster into the 1930s exceptionally well. Some how taking him out of 1800s Europe and placing him amongst Rat Pack parties and jazz music works exceptionally well. Even a scene with the ‘monsters’ being chased by men with torches and pitchforks doesn’t seem out of place in the 1930s setting.

Gyllenhaal places her creativity throughout the film. While the idea of using Mary Shelley as a character who frames the story is not new (it was also in the 1935 version) Gyllenhaal lets Buckley run with the idea to the extreme of where at times Ida and Shelley almost seem like the same character. Likewise that creativity re-surfaces when she lets some very modern ideas seep into the film.

As Ida stands up for herself and the prostitutes that have been killed by the mobster the revolution that starts is very reminiscent of both the feminism and #MeToo movements which become picturesque centrepieces as the film goes on. The cinematography of these scenes is so powerful that it really stays with you.

Even the topic of depression and loneliness in men is explored thoroughly and to his credit Christian Bale’s performance is one of the reasons why it works so well on the screen. Bale plays pained and tortured exceptionally well and this is one of the best performances that we have ever seen him deliver.

Likewise, Jessie Buckley’s performance here is remarkable. I thought her work on Hamnet was the best of her career but she manages to even eclipse that here. It is a shame this film didn’t come out during the Awards season because she would have found herself being nominated for The Bride! as well.

The Bride! is an absolute masterpiece. At times it feels chaotic but that just makes it a beautiful mess that you want to watch over and over. Bale and Buckley are sensational while Maggie Gyllenhaal has delivered the most Tim Burtonesque film that Burton himself has not directed. This is something magical and special about this film and every lover of serious cinema needs to see it.

Synopsis

The Bride! (2026), written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a Gothic romance loosely inspired by Bride of Frankenstein and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Set in 1930s Chicago, the story follows Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale), who goes by Frank, as he asks scientist Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create him a companion. A young woman named Ida (Jessie Buckley) is murdered by criminals, reanimated, and becomes the Bride — and the two fall into a combustible romance.

 

March 5, 2026