In Ready or Not 2, there’s the hunted, the hunters, and the sinister host outlining the rules of this warped new round of hide-and-seek. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lord of the Rings’ Elijah Wood fall into the two latter categories.
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The second chapter once again finds Grace (Samara Weaving) forced into a sadistic game orchestrated by elite families that have made Faustian deals with the devilish Mr. Le Bail. This time around, Grace and her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) have been handcuffed together to ensure their participation.
Ursula (Gellar), a member of the Danforth family, shares an antagonistic relationship with sibling Titus (Shawn Hatosy). The duo is constantly moving in for the kill throughout the film. Meanwhile, the mysterious Lawyer (Wood) facilitates the proceedings, enforces the rules and defines what’s at stake.
Gellar and Wood spoke to ComicBook about the evolution of horror, acting alongside David Cronenberg, game play and the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. (The interview was conducted before Gellar revealed that the Buffy revival had been cancelled.)
Both of you are genre royalty. Sarah, your credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, and The Grudge. Elijah, you’ve starred in such fright flicks as The Faculty, Maniac, The Toxic Avenger, and The Monkey. In what ways has the horror climate changed since those early days?
Elijah Wood: It has evolved since the ’90s. My first genre film, I think, was The Faculty. There was that resurgence of teen horror films.
Sarah Michelle Gellar: That was right around the time of I Know What You Did… and Scream.
Wood: So, yeah, it seems a lot since then. It’s taken more seriously. The fact that Sinners has been nominated and winning so many awards… That’s a vampire movie at the highest level. It’s a genre, now, that I feel like it’s being appreciated and taken seriously for the artform it is, and not regarded for this maligned B-movie status. It always goes through cycles, but it feels like we are in this healthy cycle where all kinds of horror can co-exist and be appreciated at a high level.
Gellar: We were saying earlier today, too, I want it to have a rebrand. There is this connotation that horror is shlocky and it’s like, “No.” Earlier today, somebody called it “Trojan Horse films.” That’s really smart because it is. You are watching something entertaining, but you realize a lot of the time there is a very deep message within it. Also, as an actor, it provides you the best roles. A lot of times, especially in this world Radio Silence has created, it’s horror, drama and action. You get all of it.
Your characters make memorable entrances. How was it sharing screen time with the legendary David Cronenberg?
Gellar: How lucky are we? What a lovely gracious human. We were all so genuinely excited. Any nerves any of us had of being intimidated, he just put everybody at ease, including the crew. He just wanted to be an actor in this film. He is a fan of Radio Silence. There I was, my hotel was right by the Toronto Walk of Fame. Every morning, as I got my coffee, I would walk past his star. And then, he was just there.
Wood: It was awesome. It was a real treat and everyone on set felt that. There were a couple of crew members that had t-shirts from his films. It was rad. He was so receptive to it and very open to talking about his life and career. It was really lovely. And he’s still such a vital filmmaker.
For a moment, it seemed as if Ursula and the Lawyer were conflicted about Grace and Faith’s plight. Do you feel they were all in for this deadly game?
Gellar: So, when I play a character that’s on the other side of morality, I always try to find a humanity. If they are just evil, it’s like, “OK, I hope they get killed in the end.” Like when you look at a Bond villain that’s just bad, you don’t understand why they are that way. There’s usually a trauma behind somebody’s choices like that or their upbringing. I think we both try to find that for the characters, so the audience knows how to connect to them and go through their story in a way that is not obvious.
Wood: Yeah, and I think as far as the Lawyer is concerned, I totally agree with everything Sarah just said. As far as it pertains to his feelings about Grace and Faith, it sort of doesn’t matter. When we see him slightly amused by things that happen in the third act, he’s probably seen this many many times play out, with many rich wealthy families fumbling over themselves for this seat of power. Pretty morally reprehensible human beings that he has to witness. When someone makes a move that is unexpected, there is something gleeful about it. That’s where he is in the third act of the film.
Elijah, how was it reuniting with Shawn Hatosy? And did the two of you bring up a sequel for The Faculty?
Wood: It was great to see Shawn. I hadn’t seen Shawn since those days. I think it had been promotions for The Faculty back in 1997 or 98. It was a joy to see him again and work together again. And, yeah, we talked about The Faculty. There was an announcement for a reboot, and it didn’t go anywhere. I have no idea what the plans are. There were plans for a sequel at one stage. I think it would be rad. I would certainly love to see somebody do something with that and bring some of those characters back.
Speaking of reboots Sarah, when we spoke for Wolf Pack, you were vehemently opposed to becoming involved in any kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer project.
Gellar: Let me guess. I said never.
Yet here we are on the doorsteps of a Buffy reboot. What about this new take on the Slayerverse and where we meet Buffy changed your mind?
Gellar: I actually like when people bring up that I said never because I really felt that way. So, lesson learned, first of all, young children… Never say never. Say, “I don’t see it happening,” but don’t say never because then you have egg on your face.
But I truly thought that’s where I was at. I never heard a take or a reason to do it. Then Chloe Zhao came to me and she had the reasons and she had the take. Also, I was in a different place. The world was in a different place. With that being said, it’s still taken us four years to get to this place because I would say, “Yes,” and then I would call a month later and say, “No. No, no, no. I can’t.” I’m Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller. “Again, again, again…” I just asked people to give me the time and understand that it took us six years to get a sequel to Ready or Not. When you want to do things right, it takes time. Mind you, I also said no to Chloe many times in the beginning, as well. Her passion, and her reasoning for wanting to do it and why now and why it is necessary…
Wood: It is so important when revisiting something that has legacy is not to just do it for the sake of doing it.
Gellar: This is not a cash grab to have a job.
Wood: You can feel that. It permeates. It’s the product and I feel it needs to be for a genuine reason. Otherwise, don’t do it.
Gellar: It’s funny. I said that during Wolf Pack, which means… Was I already talking to Chloe and it was probably one of those months where I was like, “No, I am not doing it.” I am trying to do the math on how many years Chloe and I have been working on this. I’m guessing that’s what that was.
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Courtesy of Bones Film
