It is rare that a sequel can equal, if not be better, than its successor. Blumhouse Productions' "Happy Death Day 2U" is one of those rare sequels.
Picking up at the exact same moment where the first "Happy Death Day" ended, this movie feels more like a continuation than a sequel. For those who didn't see the first movie, this series follows a college student named Tree -- played wonderfully by Jessica Rothe -- who has gotten stuck in a time loop on a day where a murderer is trying to kill her. Every time the killer succeeds in murdering Tree, she wakes up and the day has started over.
That movie ends -- spoiler alert -- with her solving her murder and breaking the loop. This movie opens with Tree learning that her boyfriend Carter's roommate, Ryan, has gotten stuck in a time loop that also resets every time he gets murdered. While the first film was a comedic horror/slasher film, at this point the sequel switches genres and goes science fiction.
Whereas the first movie was inspired by "Groundhog Day," a fact that Carter pointed out, this movie is inspired by "Back to the Future Part II," a fact that is also pointed out by Carter.
It turns out the time loops were created by a machine that Ryan and his friends Samar and Dre built for a science project. The three think they can use the machine to stop the loop, but the machine instead sends Tree to an alternate universe, where she is once again stuck in the loop from the previous movie.
I really enjoyed this movie. I was afraid that this movie wouldn't be good. This is because it has one of the best trailers I have ever seen. When you watch as many trailers as I do, you grow to hate trailers. Movie theaters show so many awful trailers that by the time the movie starts you are exhausted. When I watched "Creed" in November, I was amazed by how much I loved the trailer for "Happy Death Day 2U."
Because of this, I went into the movie expecting that all the good parts were put in the trailer. Thankfully, that was not the case.
What really made this movie stand out is how funny it is. While the first film had some funny moments in it, it was still a horror film at heart. This movie is just straight up a comedy.
Horror fans looking forward to seeing grizzly murders will likely be disappointed by this one. This time, Tree spends the looping day memorizing how the machine works so that Ryan and his friends can, by trial and error, figure out how to send Tree home and break the loop. As this will require Tree to die many times, she decides to kill herself in many weird and funny ways rather than wait for a murderer to shoot or stab her to death.
As a result, the baby-face-mask wearing killer has a much-reduced screen time in this one.
Sequels usually feel like more of the same to diminished returns. This movie adding the science fiction element of Tree being sent to a different universe, however, makes this one not feel like a retread. While the entire cast of the first movie returns, they are all playing slightly different characters. This changes Trees dynamic with almost every character.
While Rothe's leading performance is the standout of the movie, the entire cast does a great job. Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Ruby Modine all give solid and funny performances, and Rachel Matthews -- niece of director Christopher Landon and granddaughter of Michael Landon -- gives a very funny performance as a stuck up sorority house member.
These two movies are a lot of fun and are both very creative and funny. The director has already announced that he intends to make a third movie. I hope that he can keep the momentum going with the next one.
Entertainment on 02/15/2019