The 2017 film Happy Death Day had such an original perspective for a horror film with a plot twist ending no one saw coming. After the success of that first film, Happy Death Day 2U was an extremely anticipated sequel, but it completely did not live up to the hype.
Overall, Happy Death Day 2U was not a bad movie. There were some great elements that made it enjoyable. A big part of the appeal of the first film was the idea that Tree (Jessica Rothe) had been chosen by the universe to be stuck in this loop so she could make things right with her dad, grieve over her mother’s death and end up with Carter (Israel Broussard). In the sequel however, that entire idea is thrown out the window and explained away with Ryan (Phi Vu)’s science experiment, claiming that it caused a loop and Tree was chosen to relive it.
The film left many questions unanswered, but the biggest one was the reason why Tree was chosen by the science experiment. Ryan gets sucked into the time loop and lives the same day over and over again at the beginning of the film, and that makes sense because the science experiment was his and he was continuously around it. There’s even a logical explanation behind why Tree is stuck reliving the same day a second time after she tries to help Ryan. But even Tree is saddened by the realization that she thought she was chosen to relive the day has nothing to do with her, but only revolves around a glitch in a science project.
By far the best part about the film was the dynamite actress Jessica Rothe. Rothe portrayed Tree in both the first and second Happy Death Day films, and she brings the same spunky and fierce attitude with a heart-of-gold energy to the role that no one else could. Every second Rothe is on the screen is captivating, and her performance is certainly the main appeal. Rothe is truly a treasure to watch.
Another great quality of the film was the fluctuation of screen time for certain characters. Ryan certainly had a lot more screen time because he was the initial subject of the time loop and he created the science project. In addition, Danielle (Rachel Matthews) had a lot of good screen time as well, between lecturing Tree in the normal universe and being a big part of the alternate universe where Tree finds herself trapped. Matthews’ performance was amusing. She does a great job at making you hate her character. A sad part about the fluctuation of screen time was definitely seeing less of Carter. Israel Broussard is adorable and fun to watch, especially in his on-screen scenes with Tree, where their chemistry is electric.
The worst part about the film was the disconnect in reasoning between the two films. Happy Death Day 2U tried to explain away a lot of the truly great parts about the first film. Another part that seemed tacky was when Tree recapped for Ryan everything that had happened to her in the first Happy Death Day through using a voice-over with footage from the first film. The exposition felt awkward, and the writers could’ve found a better way to catch up audiences who didn’t see the first film. However, it begs the question of why people would see the sequel without watching the first film?
All in all, Happy Death Day 2U lacked a lot of the aspects that made the first film so enjoyable. If you’re a fan of the first film, still see the sequel, but don’t get your hopes up too high for it.
