Happy Death Day 2U Review

Happy Death Day 2U

Dir: Christopher Landon

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Shurma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, and Ruby Modine

Take a moment and think of every great movie sequel you have ever seen. Now that you are done listing all the subpar sequels, how many are left on the list that are excellent? The craft of constructing a sequel is a difficult undertaking, especially if the first film is something special. 

“Happy Death Day” was a surprise upon its release in 2017; a film that took the concept of the 1993 comedy “Groundhog Day” and turned it into a clever and unique horror film that delivered some really fun surprises. The turnaround for the sequel happened rather quickly, which is always a little concerning, but “Happy Death Day 2U” takes a route less travelled for movie sequels by twisting the narrative, including the genre, into something completely different. 

Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) lived the same day over and over, dying at the hands of a masked killer every day until she was able to solve her own murder. With the help of her boyfriend Carter (Israel Broussard), Tree thought she had escaped the time loop and could move on with her life. But things take a drastic reversal as a science experiment, conducted by Carter’s roommate Ryan (Phi Vu), creates another time jump that brings Tree back face-to-face with her baby-faced masked killer. But something has changed, things are different this time. 

Christopher Landon directed “Happy Death Day” with a clear understanding of tone for a horror film that offered a few frights, a creepy looking slasher, a charming hero, and some lighthearted humor. It felt like a PG-13 horror film from the 90’s mixed with the science fiction appeal of the 80’s. So, it’s not surprising that Mr. Landon brings the successful qualities back in different doses and combinations while making one interesting and tricky turn in the structure. 

The narrative, which leaned strongly in the horror genre with only a sprinkling of sci-fi for the first film, flips into a straight forward science fiction film with a spattering of horror here and there. It’s a bold move that is somehow surprisingly pulled off. Utilizing a science fiction storytelling theme that feels reminiscent of “The Outer Limits”, “Happy Death Day 2U” refreshingly twists and morphs into a different film. While it still struggles with some shoddy dialog and unusual side character performances, like a wacky college professor who bumbles into the excitement at the worst time, the film still merges its quality elements in an enjoyable way. 

A big part of why this film works so well is the exceptional screen appeal of Jessica Rothe who holds the film together with her tenacity and charisma. Ms. Rothe’s performance is convincing and entertaining throughout; whether she is wielding an axe or waking up with her hair frizzed from electricity, the actor entirely owns it. 

“Happy Death Day 2U” works really well up to a point that it becomes slightly unhinged with its time looping dilemma and wanting to push for expanding its universe beyond the primary character’s life, but it doesn’t derail the fun that this movie is clearly trying to produce. Rarely do sequels work as well as it does with “Happy Death Day 2U”. Blumhouse Productions continues to surprise with their brand of genre films. 

Monte’s Rating

 3.25 out of 5.00

Happy Death Day Review

Happy Death Day

Dir: Christopher Landon

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Rachel Matthews, Charles Aitken, and Jason Bayle

Remember that movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray? It’s the film where Murray relives the same day over and over again. It’s a simplistic, often goofy, premise that conveniently allowed the comedian the opportunity to do what he does best.

“Happy Death Day” is a new horror film that takes this idea, adds the element of a slasher wearing a creepy mask, and focuses the narrative on the self-referential aspect of other horror and time travel films. While this may not necessarily sound that promising, “Happy Death Day” is a surprisingly fun horror film that feels straight out of the 90’s. 

Tree (Jessica Rothe) wakes up in a stranger’s dorm room. Immediately realizing her bad decision she promptly leaves, pretentiously throwing verbal jabs at two college guys on her way out. It doesn’t stop there; Tree is a snob and, before she returns to her sorority house, she abuses numerous people along her path. It’s Tree’s birthday though she doesn’t seem too happy about it. As the day progresses Tree finds herself alone on a walk to a party. A masked assailant confronts her and, while trying to escape, Tree is killed but immediately wakes up to relive the day again. 

For a film that relies so heavily on a specific narrative device, a feature that becomes somewhat annoyingly implemented in the film “Groundhog Day”, “Happy Death Day” amusingly utilizes it well. Part of the reason it’s effective is because of the genre it is operated within. The horror genre allows the filmmakers opportunity to exploit one key element here, specifically that the main character must die in order for time to restart. Just like a slasher film, take for instance something like “Friday the 13^th”, it’s the continuous gruesome methods of violence that drives these particular subgenre of films. While “Happy Death Day” operates within the boundaries of its PG-13 rating, much of the violence is cut before the visual payoff some horror fans will be looking for, the film composes a quality that is reminiscent of the teenager-in-peril motifs of the 90’s. 

And, just like those same 90’s genre films, the narrative is structured to compliment the trick it is trying to execute. This makes for some pretty cringe-worthy moments of dialog and more than a few sloppy plugs for the plot holes. However, it also confidently understands how to use humor in a horror film and keenly plays the genre characteristics against type. The film understands the lengths to which the premise can go, pushing the silly nature of the key idea to its limitations without ever going to far.

This wouldn’t all work so nicely without the convincing performance from Jessica Rothe who takes the character of Tree on a full journey of self-discovery, at the hands of the masked killer who kills her repeatedly into some kind of understanding. Ms. Rothe is believable on numerous levels throughout the film while also having a charismatic quality that works so well here.

“Happy Death Day” does a lot with very little. Even with some of the glaring flaws it’s easy to get caught up in the carefree, appealing quality of this horror film. Having fun in horror doesn’t happen too often these days, which is much of the reason why “Happy Death Day” works. 

Monte’s Rating

3.25 out of 5.00