I enjoyed “Happy Death Day” when I saw it in the theaters but when the sequel opened, I just didn’t have time (or money) to rush and see it despite the fact that the film looked intriguing. “Happy Death Day 2U” was a film I knew I was going to rent or buy shortly after it came out on DVD and Blu-ray. I decided to play it safe and just rent it at our local Family Video and I was surprised by the film as a whole.
The film starts off one day after the events of the first film, with college student Ryan waking up in his car to start his day. As Ryan experiences strange encounter after encounter, his day seemingly can’t get much worse until he is murdered. Right after his murder, Ryan wakes back up in his car only to seemingly live out the day again. After initially believing his experience to be deja vu, Ryan informs his roommate Carter and Carter’s girlfriend Tree of what happened. Tree quickly sums up what happened to her and how she was caught in a time loop yesterday. Tree and Carter agree to help Ryan find the new killer in order to end the time loops permanently. After catching the killer, the group unmasks the killer to find out it was Ryan...from the future. Ryan had invented a time displacement machine in school without realizing the effects of the machine and future Ryan was trying to prevent present Ryan from activating the machine and causing the time displacements. Ryan decides to activate the machine anyway (so the movie could happen) and Tree is not only caught back in her time loop, but she is also thrown into another dimension in which her killer isn’t the same and she must solve the mystery of who the baby face killer is once again.
Now, the film took a big risk by switching it’s primary genre from slasher to science fiction. I actually really liked how different yet similar the sequel felt. The first film had hints of science fiction throughout because it was essentially a slasher set in the “Groundhog Day” universe. This sequel sets out to explain what caused the time loop and also dives heavily into parallel universes. There is a killer but the slasher elements are more of the B plot of the film. Now, this obviously isn’t going to play well to everyone. I appreciated the world building the movie attempted however.
The film was once again directed by Christopher Landon, the son of the late “Bonanza” star Michael Landon. Landon managed to include little nods and call backs to the first movie that I really appreciated. It also greatly helped that the film managed to retain all of it’s principal cast without having to recast anyone. Jessica Rothe returns as Tree, the primary star of both films, and delivers a more nuanced performance this time around. Rothe’s character is more likable and humorous in this sequel which helps the movie a lot in my opinion. While I liked the first film, much of my complaints about that film was that Tree was such an unlikable character throughout a bulk of the film. I am glad Rothe had a better chance to shine in this movie.
Like a great deal of horror franchises, this sequel was more comedic and took itself less seriously than it’s predecessor. That isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea and some of the gags don’t land, but it remains typically fun. Between the more comedic tone and the shift to a more sci-fi feel, some audience members might feel the sequel’s changes are too jarring. I think it plays out very well however.
The sequel sets the stage for another possible sequel but since the film made less than it was projected to make, a sequel doesn’t seem likely (although the movie still made a ton of money so it’s definitely possible). I would like to see a “Happy Death Day 3D” followed by a “Happy Death Day 4Ever”. I think this is a franchise that might have legs if given the chance.
Grade: B
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