Happy Death Day 2U Review
PG-13: Violence, language, sexual material and thematic elements
Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions
1 Hr and 40 Minutes
Writer/Dir: Christopher Landon
Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Ruby Modine
Jessica Rothe leads the returning cast of Happy Death Day 2U, the follow-up to Blumhouse’s (Split, Get Out, The Purge series) surprise 2017 smash hit of riveting, repeating twists and comic turns. This time, our hero Tree (Rothe) discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.
What I appreciate about Happy Death Day 2U early on is how much more it recaps than repeats. For a sequel about repeating the same day over and over again, the film doesn’t fall into many tropes of the predecessor. This is an entirely different story and it never dives into sequelitis. Instead of playing with the horror genre, Happy Death Day 2U plays with sci-fi themes. If you haven’t seen Happy Death Day in a while, or at all, no worries because the film does a quick recap for you and it contextually works with the narrative. Even the callbacks are utilized well to point out how different the day Tree is living in this time around.
Instead of dealing with Tree being thrown back into the same day again, she’s in an alternate dimension where she must close a time loop made by her boyfriend Carter’s friend Ryan and his group of science nerds. So, now she’s dealing with:
The Babyface killer mystery is put on the backseat to focus on a new character-driven lesson Tree must learn. When Tree is blown back to an alternate dimension there are new elements to her day that work for both comedic purposes and enticing narrative effects. The stakes are raised higher, the choices she must make are drastic, and you’re with Tree for the whole ride.
We don’t deserve Jessica Rothe, who might become the Michael J. Fox of our time (we’ll get to that comparison later). The predecessor played as her breakout role and this solidifies how much of a superstar she is. In the first film, Rothe showcases her comedic chops and, while she does have perfect timing and delivery, this focuses more on displaying her dramatic side where she has to emote sympathy. The film runs rampant on sentimentality later on but Rothe still keeps it elevated. There were moments where I got chills from her. I will STAN(d) upon this hill for Jessica Rothe who deserves to be in more movies, more TV, more everything. This actress is hella talented and this franchise is her sole showcase. She deserves to be a superstar!
For a PG-13 film, the deaths in this are creative, even more so than some other films in the horror genre. Since there is a bit more money in its budget (by “more” I mean just $4 million more than the original $4 million budget. This is Blumhouse. Gotta keep things cheap) director/writer Christopher Landon provides really stylish transitions of Tree dying and falling back into the same morning. There is a hilarious comedic montage of Tree committing various acts of suicide and it’s impressively creative, which is nothing new for this franchise. While it deviates from the horror this time around, Landon still maintains the original’s campy and goofy comedic tone. Deadpool 2 had a sequence of gruesome deaths, but this does it more stylishly with a montage. Both have the same laugh-out-loud result though.
While the sequel is entertaining and adds a bunch of new ideas into the mix that are playful, it doesn’t amount to anything great. The arc Tree journeys through is well-executed but at the same time it feels like a retread. A Tree-tread if you will.
Carter makes a meta joke comparing this story’s narrative to Back to the Future II and, while Tree is this generation’s Marty McFly in a way, the film falls into some of the negative criticisms of that, most notably the script. The nature of the predecessor, which worked, was how well screenwriter Scott Lobdell balanced the genres. Because Landon takes over the script, he replaces the horror with sci-fi and the mysterious atmosphere is gone. While it is intentional how the Babyface killer isn’t that much of a major adversary but more of a checklist off a sheet of tasks Tree must complete before closing her time loop, I wish the film maintained its mysterious atmosphere instead of making it ever so obvious.
Whereas the original was intentionally funny and provided a good amount of jokes which landed, the jokes present here are weaker and some of the dialogue is pretty bad. The cast still seems to be having fun with the material but, while it's entertaining, it soon becomes goofier for the worst. Some of the silly humor is effective, but when they don’t land awkward silences would occur and linger on for reactionary shots. Even towards the climax the goofiness goes full throttle where it bears the same tone as a Back to the Future film, which I guess was purposeful for it is the major inspiration for this.
As I said, this is more of a character-driven tale and it provides a good amount of drama and the sense of urgency is present, but HDD2U lacks a major aspect, which is thrill. For a film titled Happy Death Day 2U, you would expect some intensity and you never get that edge-of-your-seat moment. The film sets its tone early on, being lighter and more playful, and as I appreciate it going into new territory, some actual thrills would’ve added another layer of entertainment. As the film progresses they crank the sentimentality to a ten to the point where the film gets way too sentimental for its own good.
I’ve been trying so hard throughout this review to not compare Happy Death Day 2U to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, for both films play with the multiple dimensions narrative, but there are so many elements in that made it too hard to not do so. This is a huge coincidental inkling in the story later on in the film that made me unintentionally cackle, and you definitely will too if you’ve seen Spider-Verse.
I hope this doesn’t become a trope in sci-fi multiverse movies where a parental figure telling the lead that to make a huge decision is a leap of faith. While that is specific, I’m still astounded about how coincidental that element is.
Happy Death Day 2U is bolder as far as sequels go while being entertaining, campy, and another showcase of Jessica Rothe’s talents, but it lacks the thrills and balance of elements which made the original special.
Rating: 2.5/5 58%
Super Scene: Tree’s Suicide Montage
