Here’s a look at a pair of oddly similar horror thrillers from this year, now available in home theater disc formats.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 104 minutes, $32.98) — After a seven-year wait, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett finally bring back survivor Gracie MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) to once again do battle with Satan’s minions in a comedy-horror thriller now available in the Blu-ray format.
The movie picks up right after Gracie leaves the Le Domas mansion in flames, beating her new family’s game and witnessing the death of her husband and his clan with help from the dark forces.
While she recovers in a hospital, she and estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) are kidnapped by members of a secret council of five elite families (no longer six with the Le Domas family gone) that come together to fight for the high seat of the organization.
Gracie is once again back in a familiar position where she, with her sister handcuffed to her, must play a twisted game of hide and seek in the prestigious Danforth Resort and Country Club.
The heroine must stay alive until dawn as members try to kill her and Faith for the prize of dominating the council and gaining a ring that allows the wearer to control the world.
Obviously not as fresh as the first film’s plot, the sequel still diabolically shines, thanks to again Ms. Weaving’s fierce performance, the dynamic relationship of the sisters, an ensemble cast featuring icon Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Elijah Wood (“The Lord of the Rings”) and Shawn Hatosy (“The Pitt”) and the chance to watch more humans explode.
Best extras: A generous supply of digital goodies greets viewers for a film that underperformed at the box office but tempts home theater owners with its extra riches.
Start with a pair, yes two, optional commentary tracks. In the first, Ms. Weaving, Ms. Newton and the directors — all having a great time — talk about the film and often focus on the actresses with plenty of laughs.
The second track features the directors, writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, producers James Vanderbilt and Tripp Vinson, and editor Jay Prichidny covering the production in far more detail and is way more informative than entertaining.
Follow that up with a five-part, 14-minute mini documentary covering the film, the cast and effects.
It’s most notable for the lack of anything informative from the directors (the pair simply promoting more than enlightening). But it’s worth watching for an explanation on shooting 100 gallons of fake blood in the air with air cannons and the creators’ obsession with blood continuity in respect to exploding humans.
They Will Kill You (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated R, 2.20:1 aspect ratio, 94 minutes, $32.98) — A funny thing happened a week after the release of “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” back in March of this year.
A movie with nearly the same vibe (i.e., an empowered female stuck in an inescapable location helping an estranged sister and surviving against a group of rich and entitled Satan worshippers) hit theaters.
Director Kirill Sokolov’s comedy-horror thriller now gets a 4K release that relishes a much darker comedic tone, gorier and a Quentin Tarantino-style level of visceral violence, making viewers forget about the unfortunately similar plot.
It finds ex-convict Asia Reaves (guilty of shooting her abusive father) posing as a maid at an exclusive co-op high-rise in Manhattan named The Virgil and in search of her sibling, Maria (Myha’la).
The building happens to be a temple for the Dark Lord, and the tenants have immortality in exchange for their regular human sacrifices.
Asia (Zazie Beetz) is the next sacrifice, and her training in prison leads to some gruesome encounters as she solves what happened to Maria.
Ms. Beetz carries the gritty and frantic load as Asia, while an ensemble cast richly supports her.
It features more pop culture icons, including Tom Felton (“Harry Potter” films) and Heather Graham (“Boogie Nights” and “Austin Powers”) as homicidal tenants and Patricia Arquette (“A Nightmare on Elm Street 3” and “Severance”) as the building manager.
Mr. Sokolov’s underappreciated ode to 1980s horror revels in the use of throwback, practical gore effects and embraces the grind-house genre of filmmaking to offer a pointed evening of entertainment worthy of some screams.
The detailed 4K presentation spotlights the ornate art deco building and interior hallways and apartments while showcasing some incredible close-quarters combat scenes.
Most disturbing in ultrahigh definition are closeups revealing moments such as a tongue licking a toe, a reanimated eyeball in a mound of bloody flesh, a flaming ax splitting a human in half and a single teardrop fluttering in the air as a body plummets into an elevator shaft.
Best extras: Four featurettes (averaging 7 minutes each) look at the overall production; designing The Virgil (based on the levels in “Dante’s Inferno”); Ms. Beetz’s extreme action sequences (including the flaming ax); and the gory, bloody practical effects (blowing a head with a shotgun).
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