Movie · 2026 · Thriller, Horror, Comedy · 1h 48m · R · English
Curator score: 3.8/10 (439.9K ratings)
Double or nothing.
Overview
Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.8/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.32/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 7.7/10
Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Production
Searchlight Pictures, Mythology Entertainment, Radio Silence, Big Indie Pictures, Vinson Films
Cast
Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Nestor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Varun Saranga, Dan Beirne, Antony Hall, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Masa Lizdek, Maia Jae, Juan Pablo Romero, Kara Wooten, Grant Nickalls, Kristel Fernandes, Nathan Lam
Curator Review
Verdict
A sequel built on escalation: more family betrayal, more game-like cruelty, and more darkly comic survival energy. The premise is strong and the cast is appealing, but it also risks feeling like a bigger, noisier remix of the first film rather than a fresh reinvention.
Best for
Viewers who want horror-comedy with sharp, violent set pieces
Fans of survival-thriller plots with rich-people power games
Audiences who liked the first film’s mix of satire and gore
People open to a sequel that leans into absurd escalation
Skip if
You want the original’s surprise and novelty
You dislike sequel-heavy mythologies and lore expansion
You prefer straight horror over irony and black comedy
You are tired of elite-family conspiracy stories
Overview
This looks designed as a bigger, meaner continuation of the first film’s social-satire bloodbath. The hook of Grace being forced into another deadly contest, now with her estranged sister in tow, gives the sequel a cleaner emotional spine than a simple repeat of the original setup. That family dynamic could be the smartest new ingredient here.
Worth noting
The appeal is obvious: a fast premise, a strong horror-comedy tone, and a cast that knows how to play panic, wit, and escalating absurdity. The downside is also obvious: once a concept is built on a single killer idea, sequels can start to feel like variations on a joke already told. The “High Seat of the Council” angle suggests a broader mythology, which may help or may dilute the tight, nasty fun.
Bottom line
If the film keeps its pace brisk and its violence inventive, it should satisfy fans of stylish, high-concept genre chaos. If it gets bogged down in lore or tries too hard to outdo the first film at every turn, it may lose some of the original’s snap. Still, this is the kind of sequel that has a clear audience and a very specific promise: blood, betrayal, and a game nobody wants to win.
2019 · Comedy, Crime, Mystery · 2h 11m · PG-13 · Curator 8.4/10 (4.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A wealthy-family pressure cooker with betrayal, inheritance games, and a playful tone that rewards viewers who like puzzle-box conflict.