My Review of Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

 

Written by Christopher Landon And Scott Lobdell

Directed by Christopher Landon

Ryan: "You sure you want to go back?"

Tree: "Can't spend my life living in the past. Gotta take a leap of faith."

It was only a few months ago that I watched the first movie and I have been meaning to catch up with this sequel. Like most sequels, there's a sense of not being as good as the first one but for me, personally, I think this actually is on a par with the first one.

At first you're lead to believe that it's actually Carter's (Israel Broussard) roommate Ryan (Phi Vu) who will lead the movie as the first few minutes see him fall victim to the same loop that got Tree (Jessica Rothe) last time as he relives the same day, only for another version of himself gets revealed as the killer and things get more confusing.

It seems Ryan and his friends - Samar (Surah Sharma) and Andrea (Sarah Yarkin) are responsible for inventing a machine nicknamed Sissy that has opened up parallel dimensions and low and behold, the story then shifts from Ryan back to Tree who finds herself not only reliving her murderous birthday but she's reliving it in a different dimension.

Yup, it's a dimension where Carter is dating Danielle (Rachel Matthews), Lori (Ruby Modine) isn't a killer, Tree never had an affair with Gregory (Charles Aitken) and Tree's mother (Missy Yager) is also alive. Needless to say, this puts Tree in a tricky position as she keeps killing herself to figure out the right way to get back to her own world all the while falling in love with Carter all over again.

There's amusement to be had in Tree's various methods of bumping herself off while the movie deals with the emotional conflict of the life she could have if she remained in the other universe. It's amusing, clever and heartfelt stuff in places.

The only real let down is that Gregory and his wife as a murdering duo, rehashing Lori's old playbook isn't as compelling this time around and too often feels like the weakest element of the entire film. There's also Dean Bronson (Steve Zissis), who constantly seems to be screwing up Tree's initial attempts to fix the problem but there's something delightful in the way Danielle is used to foil him during a crucial moment. I also have to give this movie points for giving Tree a gang instead of just trying to solve the problem with only Carter, which made for a good change of tack.

- While this may be the horror version of Groundhog Day, I'm not surprised they got a Back To The Future reference in there. Tree might want to watch that trilogy for next time.

- The idea of Stephanie as a killer was originally going to happen in the first movie.

- Standout music: Paramore's Hard Times during Tree's various deaths moments.

- Chronology: September 19th to begin with, then September 18th, before going back to September 19th.

Happy Death Day 2U surprisingly delivers big time on the sequel front. The time travels are still rather strong, though this movie pushes the sci-fi elements harder than the original but a part of me does think the upcoming third movie might be where this particular franchise should bow out as well. Still though, I enjoyed this as much as the first movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Happy Death Day (2017)

 

Written by Scott Lobdell

Directed by Christopher Landon

Lori: "What I really want to know is, how did you figure it out?"

Tree: "Because you've killed me before."

Lori: "Then I guess I'm just gonna have to do it again."

Anyone want a female led horror version of Groundhog Day? Even if you didn't, that's exactly what you'll get when watching this movie and truthfully, it's a lot of fun to watch with an unusually named protagonist Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe).

The movie starts off with a surprise birthday party for Tree, which involves her ignoring her father, David (Jason Bayle), blowing off a date with closeted gay guy Tim (Caleb Spillyards) as well as a previous hook up with fellow college student, Carter Davis (Israel Broussard), who also becomes her love interest as the movie progresses.

Each time throughout the movie, Tree relieves the same events on her birthday with each time altering the outcome but the result also being the same - getting killed by a mystery stranger wearing a creepy looking baby mask. Each and every time.

Of course while we're going through the movie, it's fun watching events getting rewritten and it's also fun seeing the blossoming relationship between Tree and Carter develop as the latter finds himself becoming aware of the antics in a way or at the very least believing that Tree is telling the truth about her would be killer.

As for the killer in question - it turns out the supposedly nice roommate Lori Spengler (Ruby Modine) turned out to have it for Tree, due to the fact that both women were sleeping with their college professor, Dr Butler (Charles Aitken) and the would be method of murder came in the sweet variety that I definitely would've succumbed to had I been in this movie.

Jessica Rothe is quite a find and when it comes to horror, I can't think of the last time we've had a really interesting final girl. I'm not saying that Tree Gelbman would give the likes of Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson or Sidney Prescott a run for their money, but she certainly has similar qualities to those particular final girls.

Also Ruby Modine is definitely no slouch as Lori, adding a quite menace to the character during the big reveal while at the same time remaining quietly in the background until the big reveal. Israel Broussard makes for a charming love interest in Carter and the most of the supporting characters are decent enough to watch as well. I haven't seen the sequel yet but I'm also hoping that Tim followed Tree's advice. 

- The killer is called Babyface. Tree's proper name is Teresa but she's largely referred to as Tree throughout the movie.

- This film holds a record of being the third movie after both Prom Night (2008 version) and The Final Girls to have a PG-13 rating. That rating doesn't hurt the overall content of the movie.

- The original title for this movie was going to be Half to Death.

- Chronology:Tree's birthday is September 18th so you have the idea as to when this movie is set during.

Happy Death Day is definitely one of those horror films that blends a sci-fi element, riffs off a classic movie from a different genre and absolutely delivers on it's premise. I had so much fun watching this movie and from what I've read about the sequel, there's more fun to be had and with a final girl like Tree Gelbman, that's a good thing.

Rating: 8 out of 10