One Of 2026’s Most Anticipated Horror Movies Made A Huge Mistake

One of Screen Rant's most-anticipated movies of 2026 is a sequel to a hit horror-comedy seven years in the making. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come reunites filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett with star Samara Weaving and returns them to the eat-the-rich thriller that helped level up their careers, picking up right after the events of the first film, which saw Weaving's Grace forced to survive a deadly game of hide-and-seek against her new in-laws. Unfortunately, winning only triggered a new game against a group of wealthy families, with her younger sister's life now also on the line.

Here I Come looks to be a big expansion of the original, with the likes of Elijah Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and David Cronenberg set to pursue Weaving's final girl, and the studio seems to believe in it. Searchlight recently moved up its release date from April 10 to March 27, a sign of confidence that it can play alongside some hefty pre-Easter titles.

But, as a result of the shift, Ready or Not 2 now opens directly against fellow 2026 horror movie They Will Kill You – which now looks like a huge mistake.

They Will Kill You Is Competition That Ready Or Not 2 Doesn't Need

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come released its trailer in December, and it suggests a movie in line with what you'd expect. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have shown a knack for fun, character-driven horror stories that often lean heavily into comedy, and they seem to have found a compelling way to continue Grace's story. The additions of Wood, Gellar, and Kathryn Newton as Grace's sister, all actors who can nail the necessary tone, give them plenty of firepower. All signs point to this being a good time at the movies this spring.

But They Will Kill You's trailer released on January 5, and it proved these two movies will make for more than your standard box-office showdown. There's some striking overlap in their premises: They Will Kill You stars Zazie Beetz as the new housekeeper of a historic Manhattan high-rise, only to learn it's full of Satanic rich people who've marked her for sacrifice. Joke's on them, though – their sacrifice knows her way around a fight. So, not only are these both horror films, but the same type of horror film, which isn't particularly good news for either of them​​​​​.

Unfortunately for Ready or Not 2, though, They Will Kill You stands out in some exciting ways. Like its competition, it appears to blend humor with its scares, but director Kirill Sokolov is doing it by cranking up the madness. The trailer is richly colored, visually stylized, and very violent. Patricia Arquette is doing a weird little accent. Beetz, going full action heroine against the building's army of inhabitants, punches a child in the face and looks pretty cool doing it.

Right now, the sequel has the awareness advantage, and it has plenty going for it besides. But much like the villains in both of these films, Ready or Not 2 picked on the wrong horror movie. As a fan of the genre myself, if I had to choose between a continuation of a story I've seen before and what appears to be an enticing new take on the same idea that pushes the envelope much further, I'm going for the latter. If enough of the audience makes the same decision, Searchlight could end up wishing they'd left their film in April.

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  Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

  Release Date April 10, 2026

  Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

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    Samara Weaving

    Grace MacCaulley

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    Kathryn Newton

    Faith MacCaulley

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    Shawn Hatosy

    Titus Danforth

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  They Will Kill You

  Release Date March 27, 2026

  Director Kirill Sokolov

  Cast

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    Paterson Joseph

    Short Steve

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