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Happy Death Day 2 U, 2019
In this sequel to Happy Death Day, college student Ryan (Phi Vu) finds himself trapped in a time loop. He quickly connects with Tree (Jessica Rothe), who is outraged to find herself involved stuck in a loop again and to learn that a science experiment by Ryan is the source of it all. Jolted into an alternate dimension--one where she's no longer together with love interest Carter (Israel Broussard)--Tree must unravel a new dynamic of murder and mayhem.
I enjoyed the first Happy Death Day, and this sequel manages to reproduce the charms and easy humor of the original, albeit with more emphasis on the comedy and a bit less of the horror.
For the most part, the film does a good job of continuing Tree's story, something that seems like a major hurdle if you've seen the original film. The idea of introducing the alternate dimension allows the film to play off of familiar characters--like Tree's fellow sorority sisters Danielle (Rachel Matthews) and Lori (Ruby Modine) or the married professor (Charles Aitken) Tree was having an affair with--and leave us guessing whether things will be the same or different in this new reality.
The film does, like I said, lean strongly into the comedy aspect. In fact, I almost wouldn't call this a horror movie. I know we've talked about the futility of genre nitpicking, but even with what happened in the first film I was expecting a bit more on the horror front. The killer really, really takes a backseat here to the mechanics of this alternate reality and Tree's own personal drama in trying to decide whether to stay or leave. Most of the gore/horror content comes from the sequences of Tree killing herself to reset the day.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this film a lot. It was easy, breezy. Rothe is a very engaging lead, and the supporting cast is also very funny. Matthews gets to show off more of her dramatic chops as the insensitive Danielle. Sarah Yarkin and Suraj Sharma are also winning in their smaller turns as two of Ryan's fellow science students.
My only complaints were some plot points that I found confusing. Not plot holes, per se, but just elements that I didn't totally understand. For example, if you've seen the film,
If you enjoyed the first one, this is an easy recommendation.
Happy Death Day 2 U, 2019
In this sequel to Happy Death Day, college student Ryan (Phi Vu) finds himself trapped in a time loop. He quickly connects with Tree (Jessica Rothe), who is outraged to find herself involved stuck in a loop again and to learn that a science experiment by Ryan is the source of it all. Jolted into an alternate dimension--one where she's no longer together with love interest Carter (Israel Broussard)--Tree must unravel a new dynamic of murder and mayhem.
I enjoyed the first Happy Death Day, and this sequel manages to reproduce the charms and easy humor of the original, albeit with more emphasis on the comedy and a bit less of the horror.
For the most part, the film does a good job of continuing Tree's story, something that seems like a major hurdle if you've seen the original film. The idea of introducing the alternate dimension allows the film to play off of familiar characters--like Tree's fellow sorority sisters Danielle (Rachel Matthews) and Lori (Ruby Modine) or the married professor (Charles Aitken) Tree was having an affair with--and leave us guessing whether things will be the same or different in this new reality.
The film does, like I said, lean strongly into the comedy aspect. In fact, I almost wouldn't call this a horror movie. I know we've talked about the futility of genre nitpicking, but even with what happened in the first film I was expecting a bit more on the horror front. The killer really, really takes a backseat here to the mechanics of this alternate reality and Tree's own personal drama in trying to decide whether to stay or leave. Most of the gore/horror content comes from the sequences of Tree killing herself to reset the day.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this film a lot. It was easy, breezy. Rothe is a very engaging lead, and the supporting cast is also very funny. Matthews gets to show off more of her dramatic chops as the insensitive Danielle. Sarah Yarkin and Suraj Sharma are also winning in their smaller turns as two of Ryan's fellow science students.
My only complaints were some plot points that I found confusing. Not plot holes, per se, but just elements that I didn't totally understand. For example, if you've seen the film,
WARNING: spoilers below
why is it that Tree assumes that if she goes back to her reality, things will be okay in the other reality? All of a sudden she asserts that if she doesn't go back, Lori will be killed . . . but wouldn't Lori get killed anyway?
If you enjoyed the first one, this is an easy recommendation.