Ranking the Films of Radio Silence: A Comprehensive Review

With the release of Ready or Not: Here I Come, I decided to watch through all of the films by Radio Silence and share my thoughts and ranking. Radio Silence consists of directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The directing duo makes horror movies that, with one exception, have a dark comedy side to them. They took off with their film Ready or Not, which got them tapped to direct a couple of films in the new set of Scream movies, which I think are two of the best movies in the franchise. This is a directing duo that I am very interested in seeing what they do next. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 6 films from Radio Silence.

6. Devil's Due

I have not actually seen this movie and never had any intention of watching it for this ranking. The premise of this movie is about a woman who is impregnated with the Devil's baby and involves possession and exorcism stuff. I will watch almost anything, but I draw the line at this kind of stuff. Based on the ratings, it probably would have ended up in the bottom spot anyway, but I am not going to watch it to find out.

5. Ready or Not: Here I Come

Ready or Not: Here I Come is the newest film from Radio Silence, and while it is towards the bottom of the list, I am still very positive about how good a filmmaking duo this team is. This movie takes the fun of the original Ready or Not and goes bigger with the characters and action, as well as expands the lore introduced in the original film. I liked all of the new characters that this movie introduces from families all around the world, as they bring more unique fighting styles to the story. The movie also has a lot of fun kills, with the washing machine kill being a rather unique one. I also liked how the movie added a new character for Grace to work with in her sister, as it gives a new relationship to explore. The movie was also very well paced, with not many slow points or lulls in the action. However, I did think that the whole relationship between the two sisters was poorly executed. It's just all over the place with whether their issues are resolved. Every time it stops to work through their issues just feels extremely forced and is the weakest part of the movie. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this film, and while certain aspects didn't land, a bad movie from this directing team is still a good movie from anyone else.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

4. Abigail

Abigail follows a group of criminals who are hired to kidnap a little girl, when they soon learn that they are trapped in a house with a vampire. This movie was surprisingly fun. This is a very self-contained monster film that manages to have all the gore and scares you want from a monster movie. The characters are all likable enough. They each have their own defining character trait that adds to the story. All of the fight scenes are so much fun. There is just a novelty to seeing a ballerina vampire attacking a bunch of criminals. The story itself is extremely simple as it just revolves around our characters trying to survive the night. There are also a few vampire vs vampire fight scenes at the end of the movie that are just so much fun to watch. Obviously, this is not a top-tier movie or anything. It is goofy with limited character growth and plot depth. However, nobody is watching this for a complex horror story. They just want to see a ballerina vampire kill some people. In the end, this was a very fun horror film that isn't trying to swing for the fences and just wants to make for a good time.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

3. Scream (2022)

Scream (2022) returns to the franchise after 10 years and brings some new life and a new direction to the story. I really liked that they decided to use new characters as the center of the story while still utilizing the legacy characters as side characters. The addition of Sam as the center was a great change to the franchise. While she is a new character, the story still manages to tie Sam back to the original franchise in a unique way. I also thought the handling of the legacy characters was very well done. They play a significant role in the story, but they don't take the spotlight from the new cast. As is typical of the Scream movies, this film also takes on the meta-commentary of the requel (Reboot Sequel) style of Hollywood. The story manages to make fun of some of the tropes of requels while also acknowledging that they are in one. Finally, I thought the Ghostface action was really well done with some very exciting and suspenseful moments. The only thing keeping this out of the top 2 is that I felt that the killer's motivation was a bit too meta and corny. Had it been a bit more grounded, this film may have been number 2.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

2. Ready or Not

Ready or Not is the real first movie for Radio Silence. I know they made Devil's Due first, but this is the movie where they found their unique style. The movie does a great job of taking such a simple idea and turning it into something fun and scary. The movie does a great job of being a gory horror film while also sprinkling in a lot of humor. It still maintains a horror tone, but definitely has some comedy to it. One of the strengths of this directing team is taking a bunch of unique characters and sticking them into an isolated setting together, and this film is really what took that off. You get this feeling of isolation from Grace while also having this large, empty setting to play around in. All of the characters in this movie are a lot of fun, but are also just unlikable enough that it is fun to see them die. Much like Abigail, Ready or Not isn't a top-tier film or anything, but it is just a good time at the movies. If you want to watch a movie about a killer game of Hide and Seek, this film delivers that. Overall, this movie is a lot of fun and does a great job of maintaining a horror tone while also including some dark comedy. This was a great start for this directing team.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

1. Scream VI

I really enjoyed the story they told here and how they had the killers tied to all of the previous killers in the franchise. I really enjoyed all of the characters in the film, especially the "core 4". They have a great dynamic together and are a lot of fun on screen. I really enjoyed the direction they took Sam and Tara's characters. It was different than in previous films as we really get to see how the last film had an impact not only on their mental states but also on how everyone sees them, as well as their relationship with each other. I felt that this film has the best kills in the franchise, with Ghostface getting some really gnarly action in. Finally, I really liked how they decided to distance themselves from Woodsboro and Sidney as they moved the story to NYC. I thought this was a great direction to go and really allowed the story to go in new directions. There are only a couple of issues that keep this from being number one. The first issue is that the characters are just too invincible. You see multiple characters get serious injuries but still manage to walk away like it's nothing. I also felt that having the movie set in NYC wasn't used to its fullest potential. There aren't any scenes that really show you that they are in the city. Overall, aside from those issues, this is a great film and one of my favorite horror movies.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-