Movie Review: Happy Death Day 2U

Happy Death Day 2U

Director: Christopher Landon

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 100 minutes

A lot of people point to Happy Death Day as a terrible attempt at a horror movie that is stealing all of its elements from Groundhog Day. Yes, it was one of many to borrow the loop archetype from Groundhog Day, but it was fun. More fun than it should have been. Tree and Carter proved to be a couple that was actually worth watching. Seeing Tree live the same day over and over while dosing the audience with comedy was worthwhile. That said, none of us thought they would attempt a sequel because there was nowhere to go. Spoilers: Tree ended her loop on the first movie and lived happily ever after. So how does this sequel that no one asked for perform in the eyes of a fan? I’ve got the answer.

Happy Death Day 2U starts out just like the original, except with Carter’s roommate, Ryan, waking up and walking through a series of carefully placed obstacles that we already know we are going to see again. It was at this point that I was kind of disappointed with the movie. It was going to be the first movie, but with a different character? Fortunately, the movie quickly took a turn for the better, and then another turn for the better. Basically, there is a science project in the university lab that might be altering time. There are quite a few surprises so I am avoiding the plot of the film. Instead, let me talk about where Happy Death Day 2U hit homeruns and where it fell short.

This film could have failed early on, but some of its choices bailed it out and managed to make this movie one of the few where the sequel bests the original. When you think you know the story, they change gears and it all works. Tree is still the same person from the first movie with all of her memories, but no one else knows what she went through. Once she shows up in this movie she becomes the main character, and still the only person who is reliving each day. Tree was changed after the events of the first movie and had a real character arc. A lot of the characters make a return, especially Danielle and the cheating Professor among others.

The moments come as callbacks to the first film. Tree getting tired of the same clothes everyday and even asking Carter why he is always under the desk when she wakes up. The movie gives an unnecessary recap of the first film, but in truth, this movie is best watched in succession of the first. So little time has passed, and I mean VERY little time has passed, that the first movie is a must. The biggest miss of this film, is that the entire story is based on an extremely flimsy and unrealistic science experiment. Apparently, a group of college students have stumbled upon a huge breakthrough that no one else has ever thought of or discovered.

I need to wrap this up, but I need to mention the best part of the film before I go. The heart. The last movie had little to no emotional elements, but this one decided to try for it pretty hard and is successful. Movies like this just don’t exercise that muscle, but the moments in this film worked for me. If you didn’t like Happy Death Day, then you won’t find anything here to change your mind. However, if Happy Death Day worked for you, then Happy Death Day 2U is sure to keep you entertained. It was about 20 minutes too long, but that shouldn’t stop fans from checking it out. It was a genuinely fun experience. Highly recommend for the fan base.