Hollywood star Elijah Wood has said working on Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the sequel to 2019's horror hit, "was a blast", and despite the on-screen gore, it was a "joyful" experience behind the scenes.
The sequel sees directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett returning to helm the horror romp, with Samara Weaving reprising her role as Grace, the bride who survived her murderous in-laws in the first film. Along with Wood, a host of genre favourites join the horror mayhem, including Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, and Olivia Cheng.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, the Lord of the Rings alum called the set "a lot of fun" and said the cast couldn't get enough of hanging out together.
"We all hung out on set. That primary nine-, ten-page scene where the rules are described and the lawyers are introduced, the sisters revealed to the families, that whole scene, we shot it over the course of nearly three days. That was the only time all of us were together for the length of the film and then everyone was splintered off. It was just so joyful," Wood said.
He added: "We just had a blast. We all hung out on set. Normally, between set-ups on movies, various people would go off to their own splintered areas and read or whatever, but we all hung out because we just liked each other's company and we were excited to be there. It was a really joyful set and a lot of fun."
Wood also reflected on why horror sets often have that "party" energy. "I think that's often the case with horror films. I mean, unless they are so serious and there's real trauma at the core of a horror film, oftentimes, especially with something like this, it's just a party because you know what you're making is fun."
The Sin City star gushed about the patient craftsmanship behind the film, praising the co-creators for resisting the urge to rush a sequel.
"I've been following Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] of Radio Silence (production company) for years, and I've always admired what they were doing in the genre space," he said. "We got to know each other a bit, and through my production company, SpectreVision, we'd been waiting for the right project to collaborate on. Then they sent me the script for this - and it was such a surprise."
What made it even sweeter? "It was a sequel some six years down the line, which is wonderful in the sense that they didn't just immediately jump on trying to make a sequel. They really waited for there to be a story or an idea that was befitting the original concept, and the script really delivered."
Wood couldn’t hide his excitement about joining forces. "I was thrilled to be invited to the table with two people I really admire, to work on a sequel to a movie I already love," he said.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come hits cinemas on Friday, 20 March.
