It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since Radio Silence-team Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett broke onto the scene with their wildly fun comedy-thriller Ready or Not, the story of a newly wed meeting her groom’s family for the first time only to end up in their deadly game of hide-and-seek. That film affectionately honored the intensity of board gaming while reveling in raucous, bloody fun, all set in a Clue-esque mansion, the Le Domas Manor, and led by Samara Weaving a ferocious breakthrough performance as the unfortunate bride. Off of that film, Bettinelli-Oplin, Gillett, and their screenwriting partner Guy Busick, moved on to two entries of Scream (as well as vampire flick Abigail). While their time with the famed slasher franchise was a success, the group ditched a seventh Scream to work on a new project that would re-team them with Weaving and Abigail-star Kathryn Newton. With returning screenwriting team Busick and R. Christopher Murphy back on board, that project inevitably morphed into a sequel to the film that made them a household name in modern horror cinema.

The second Ready or Not (subtitled “Here I Come“, a relief), picks up literally the moment the first movie ended, with Weaving’s Grace (still in her blood-soaked wedding dress) enjoying a cigarette after her villainous in-laws have spontaneously combusted, having lost the game they gambled with the literal devil. While the story could have ended here on it’s simple, yet perfect button, the consequences of the first film do need to be dealt with: mainly, there’s no way Grace can explain what happened and will likely go to jail for murder, which is basically how this sequel starts. Having suffered incredible wounds (particularly on her left side), Grace is stuck in the hospital being questioned by the police. Her only emergency contact is her estranged sister Faith (Newton). Grace doesn’t lie about what happened to her, but of course, Faith isn’t buying it. Grace knows she’s inevitably going to be charged with murder, but hell, she’s still better off than she was the night before.

Meanwhile, it is revealed that the throne the Le Domas’ held has now been vacated and the satanic cult they were involved with now must fill the void and finish the game. The family most likely to take the mantle, the Danforth’s, must gather other members and their families who also made a pact with Satan to kidnap Grace (and also now Faith), and force her back into the game. Conducting the rules to make sure everyone is staying in line is their lawyer, only known as The Lawyer (Elijah Wood). In order to guarantee a larger chance of winning, the Danforth’s patriarch Chester (David Cronenberg. Yep! David Cronenberg!) forfeits his position as the representative member of the family to his twin heirs Ursula and Titus (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy). Other “Seekers” include the raging Bill Wilkinson (Kevin Durant), the rich Wan Chen Xing (Olivia Cheng), the lazy Madhu Rajan (Varun Saranga), and the pompous Ignacio El Caido (Néstor Carbonell).

The largest positive with this sequel, beyond it’s still-effective and entertaining premise, is its cast. No, there’s no one quite as memorable as Aunt Helene from the original, but there is a comforting 90’s flair with Gellar and Hatosy in large roles and Newton and Weaving have perfectly-matched chemistry as sisters (the actresses even have the same teeth!) Newton is an actress that has spent the bulk of her young career adding winsome pep to many of her roles and here is no exception. Weaving hurls herself back into the violent anarchy of her situation with excellent comic timing and dorky likability. Gellar gets to sink cozily back into her old ice-queen persona she nailed in Cruel Intentions and Shawn Hatosy (in a The Faculty reunion with Elijah Wood!) gets to shed his recent turn as good-natured Dr. Jack Abbott from The Pitt for a tough and intimidating antagonist role.

It has all the ingredients to be just as enjoyable as its predecessor, but unfortunately, it just isn’t as sharp or clever. For instance, in the original, Grace became one of our more memorable horror film final girls in recent memory, mostly due to her own capability and survivalist genius. Here, she and her sister simply get out of situations because, well, all of the villains are stupid and truly terrible hunters, which starts to lessen the suspense in the story with every passing minute. Grace and Faith’s plot armor starts to become a bit too ridiculous and as much wild fun as the ensemble is having, and as much as they are to watch, their characters are paper thin imbeciles. The strong board game influence also is sadly missing here, leaving this film feeling like its personality has been a bit diluted in the process.

By its finale, a lot of the air is already out of its balloon and where the story finishes, you’re just relieved that all the loose ends have been tied up and that they probably won’t drag this narrative out any longer (hopefully). Yes, it seems as though Radio Silence isn’t that interested in taking this series into any other wild directions (maybe another board game?), and that’s okay. Perhaps the original film didn’t need this extended epilogue anyway, but it’s fleetingly fun, if just a bit underwhelming. A totally watchable chase film, with some delightful gore and silly gags. One to see on a Friday night that will leave your brain by Saturday morning.