‘Ready or Not 2’ vs ‘They Will Kill You’: A Head-to-Head Review of Ultraviolent Dark Horror Comedies With Two Sisters, Rich People, and the Devil

It’s pretty clear by now, thanks to what little we’ve learned from the (still incomplete and very much redacted) Epstein Files, that a secret cabal of billionaires runs the motherfucking world. The mind-boggling depravity and corruption touched upon in those documents is merely the tip of the iceberg, and the once fantastical movie plot of the ultra-rich hunting people for sport is apparently less than fiction. A 2022 documentary called Sarajevo Safari alleged that during the Siege of Sarajevo in the '90s, wealthy Italian tourists and others paid huge sums of money to snipe civilians in the conflict zones in Bosnia. The film led to the filing of criminal complaints and an investigation that has since — to absolutely no one’s surprise — stalled. So when a film, or in this case two, features rich people hunting down not-so-rich people, it’s inspired by our sordid reality and in a small way our only opportunity for payback or, at the very least, catharsis. 

In both Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You, the antagonists are coincidentally Satanic cults because, presumably, the writers couldn’t imagine audiences being convinced that people are just plain evil without prodding from some supernatural being. The irony of it all is that some of the most harmful things ever done and being done to man are actually committed by some of the most deeply religious figures in history. Satan would probably be embarrassed. That said, the two films differ in that Ready or Not 2 focuses more on the idea of the world being run by a handful of disgustingly rich (think the 1% of the 1%) families who happen to worship Satan, while They Will Kill You focuses more on the idea of a Satanic cult that happens to be composed of mostly rich people. So which of the two films should you see?

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a sequel to the 2019 horror comedy by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, starring Samara Weaving as the newlywed Grace, who finds out that she’s married into a family that does ritual sacrifice. The film picks up right where the first one left off, and we’re introduced to Grace’s estranged younger sister Faith (Kathryn Newton), who gets caught in the crossfire when the world’s secret elite converge to hunt down Grace in some sick, deadly game of high-stakes hide-and-seek. We learn that Grace’s in-laws, the Le Domases, have been wiped out thanks to the events of the first film, making her a default member of the secret cabal, and that its leadership is now up for grabs, provided they kill her before dawn. Meanwhile, They Will Kill You is written and directed by Kirill Sokolov, featuring Zazie Beets as an ex-convict who finds employment as help in an exclusive apartment complex called The Virgil that just so happens to be a secret Satanic condo where they make ritual sacrifices to the devil, and the residents are all rich. If you hate rich people who happen to worship the devil, Ready or Not 2 is your pick. If you hate devil worshippers who happen to be rich, go for They Will Kill You.

Are you a fan of Samara Weaving and/or Kathryn Newton? Grace and Faith are estranged sisters who haven’t seen each other in nearly a decade after the elder Grace left their oppressive home, but have been reunited through fate, and now Grace has to find a way to save herself and her long-lost sister. The two bicker as they work out their family issues in the midst of being chased by billionaire devil worshippers, but eventually make up as one makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the other. If you’re a fan of Zazie Beetz, she plays Asia Reaves, while Myha’la plays her sister Maria. Asia and Maria are estranged sisters who haven’t seen each other in nearly a decade after the elder Asia left their oppressive home, but have been reunited through fate, and now Asia has to find a way to save herself and her long-lost sister. The two bicker as they work out their family issues in the midst of being chased by devil-worshipping billionaires, but eventually make up as one makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the other. This one’s a wash as both sister pairs are equally cheer-worthy. Pick your flavor.

Ready or Not 2 is about a world controlled by billionaires through geopolitical influence, finance, and what is presumably some unexplained high-tech measures that do things like make people explode if they break certain rules. The highest-ranking member of the secret cabal watches the world through multiple television sets playing news from all over, making phone calls that dictate global policies from the comfort of a souped-up La-Z-Boy. There are drones, surveillance cameras, and the hunting ground is a sprawling luxury resort that shows you that this is a playground of the filthy rich. They Will Kill You has less by way of technology but leans in more to supernatural horror as Asia’s enemies have an infernal advantage that, when revealed, viewers will find as a most delightful surprise, making it something of a deadlier game. There’s a hint of the supernatural in Ready or Not 2, especially at the very end, but They Will Kill You is a fantastical trip through and through. If you want something slightly more realistic and grounded, Ready or Not 2 should fit the bill. If you prefer something with darker, demonic elements working its magic in the story, They Will Kill You is the ticket.

Both films are extremely violent. That’s part of the fun. The heroines get some creative kills and promotional images of Grace in a blood-soaked wedding dress, or Asia in her bloodied streetwear, don’t even begin to touch upon how gruesome and violent these films are. Heads and bodies explode, limbs are chopped off, people are stabbed, shot, hacked, boiled, frozen, and generally die in the most horrific ways. It’s guilt-free schadenfreude watching evil billionaires getting their just desserts — so yes, spoiler alert, the heroines do get to kill more than their fair share of rich bad guys, and it’s the good vibes we need. Both films have ballroom sequences that are bangers. They Will Kill You gets the edge in this category purely because Asia’s supernaturally-charged opponents have more to work with in terms of visual gags and creative deaths. Sokolov’s frenetic style is also reminiscent of Guy Ritchie, making it more fun in terms of camerawork and action sequences.

Tom Felton has swapped Voldemort for Satan as he goes after Asia as Kevin, one of The Virgil’s affluent occupants. He’s joined by the ageless Heather Graham as Sharon, beauty magnate by day, Satanic blood sacrificer by night. A blonde man and woman who worship Satan are on the hunt for sisters on the run. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Ursula Danforth while Shawn Hatosy takes time off from The Pitt to moonlight as her twin brother Titus, heirs to the Danforth fortune and odds-on favorites to win the high seat of the Council, aka the coterie of filthy rich douchebags who run the world. Also, a blonde man and woman who worship Satan are on the hunt for sisters on the run. Since both pairs of bad guys are even-steven, the point goes to Ready or Not 2 for having Elijah Wood as The Lawyer, a representative of the devil who oversees the deadly game of hide-and-seek and ensures that everyone follows the rules. He’s great.

Both Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and They Will Kill You are roller coaster rides of non-stop action featuring female heroines against vastly superior forces aligned with the devil. Both are fun, enjoyable, and give some catharsis in a time when we might feel more than a little powerless against the machinations of the powerful. If you can watch both, do so because we deserve whatever wins we can get, and Grace and Asia are the heroines we desperately need, if only for a few hours. It’s not necessary to have watched Ready or Not in order to enjoy its sequel, but if anyone wants to catch up with the story, it’s available on Disney+. Finally, as a sweet bonus, both films portray the ultra-rich as woefully incompetent, and one reason why the heroes manage to overcome the odds is because the rich are martially maladroit, buffoons given to their desire for depravity and cruelty. What better way to spend the Holy Week than watching some evil, Satanic rich people get killed in the most entertaining and violent ways?

ALSO READ:

The 10 Best Movies About Eating the Rich Are Disturbingly Satisfying

"Eat The Rich!" Is The Tide Really Turning On Hollywood's Elites?