The 2019 horror-comedy "Ready or Not" transformed "The Most Dangerous Game" into an aristocratic Victorian slasher, depicting a clan of homicidal elites attempting to murder their son's new bride, Grace (played by Samara Weaving).

The film has gained unexpected resonance by anticipating our current fascination with the hidden horrors of the powerful elite class.

Its sequel, "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come," which recently premiered to a screaming crowd at SXSW, is an even more timely and intensified exploration of these themes.

Co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known as Radio Silence, promised a "fucking loud, weird ride," and the film delivers a go-more-splattery-or-go-home experience.

"Ready or Not 2" opens by replaying the final scene of its predecessor, with Grace blood-drenched on the steps of the burning La Domas mansion. When a rescue worker asks what happened, her weary reply is simply, "In-laws."

At a Connecticut hospital, Grace is unexpectedly reunited with her younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), from whom she has been estranged for seven years.

After an attack by a coked-up goon, Grace dons her iconic bloody wedding dress and dirty yellow sneakers before both sisters are bound and brought before the Council.

The Council is a star chamber comprising representatives from six powerful families, with a new game dictated by the late Mr. Le Bail, founder of the La Domas fortune.

One member from each remaining clan must hunt and kill Grace by dawn, with the victor claiming the most powerful seat on Earth.

Legendary director David Cronenberg appears in a memorable cameo as the ailing Chester Danforth, the current occupant of the high seat.

Chester's adult twins, Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy), are theoretically aligned but privately vie for power.

Other Council families are represented by characters depicted as low-kitsch nitwits, prompting audiences to question whether they are laughing with or at them.

Elijah Wood plays the Council lawyer, who silently smirks at the unfolding chaos throughout.

While "Ready or Not" was contained within one mansion, "Ready or Not 2" sprawls across the Council compound, initially presenting as a scattershot slaughter fest.

Would-be assassins like the stoned club hound Viraj (Nadeem Umar-Khitab) prove bumbling and ineffective, providing dark comic relief between bursts of ultraviolence.

These interludes allow Grace and Faith to air their long-standing differences, though their relationship as written feels overdone and unconvincing. Faith resents Grace for reasons that the film continues to develop as the deadly game escalates toward its climax.