Happy Death Day 2U

Perfect sequel to an innovative horror comedy. Wonderfully balances comedy, slasher-horror, science-fiction & heart-filled drama Plus Jessica Rothe delivers a dedicated performance which makes the experience all the more richer. Stay during the mid-credits for a hilarious epilogue

(Quickie Review.) I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the first Happy Death Day and while I didn't think it needed a sequel at all, period, end of story, here we are. And it was surprisingly very good! I can see why it wasn't a hit: it changed from a self-aware horror-comedy to outright comedy-sci-fi. Not sure if that's part of the profitable sequel playbook, but it worked for me. I had a blast here. Now, it's not perfect and kept running in circles when ideas ran out, but the characters, direction and dialogue was so rich and fun for me, I was fully invested. That all said, I would highly recommend the original slasher comedy more than this one, but it's kind of a nice add-on to see this one and where it took the original story's Groundhog Day dilemma.

Unfortunately this movie is not as good as the first one. I really enjoyed the first one but this one is nowhere near as entertaining. I am shocked how its rating is almost the same as the first movie.

Sometimes it's better not knowing how the sausage is made. The first Happy Death Day was a fun little slasher flick that never took itself too seriously and was thoroughly entertaining for what it was. The sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, tried to provide explanation to the phenomenon that befell Tree in the first film. It all involves a science project gone wrong and a bunch of time-looping sci-fi mumbo jumbo that isn't nearly as smart as the movie thinks it is. This should be a franchise where you can just turn your brain off and have a good time. Instead, 2U wants the audience to think. That's the big mistake. Most of the "science" stuff makes little to no sense, and making us think about it only makes us realize how convoluted a mess this story is. I won't even get into the eye-roll worthy plot conveniences that have to exist for the film to even move forward in some spots.

Another issue is this isn't a horror movie. There may be a couple short scenes that lend themselves to horror, but this is much more so a sci-fi story, a far cry from what we started with in the first movie. Also, the movie reaches a satisfying ending place, but then decides to not end there and throws in a ridiculous "heist" movie at the end. Why not? We're already watching a horror-comedy-scifi-romcom?

Now, it's not all bad. The movie does keep moving at a steady pace and most of the characters are entertaining (even if they aren't particularly engaging). The sub-plot about Tree's mom feels genuinely heart-felt and gives the movie a little emotional weight. There's plenty of decent laughs throughout. And, as in the first film, Jessica Rothe seems to be having a ball in the lead role. There's also a mid-credits scene to suggest we're gonna expand this universe even more. And while I'll welcome a third movie in this fun franchise, I wish the writers would understand that more isn't necessarily better. Sometimes keeping it simple is best. 6/10

Looking back at the first film, I gave it a solid 7/10, and I stick to that, this follow up gets an 8/10, for my money it's better than the first.

This film is funny, exciting, imaginative, and packed full of surprises. The twists come thick and fast, as do the laughs, perhaps a few scares short of the first film, but overall it's better.

Danielle is hilarious here, the scene where she attempts to get the keys back is a moment of comedy joy, indeed some of the characters are a whole lot more likeable this time round.

A good twist with the killer, I didn't see that outcome.

Let's hope there's a third. 8/10.