After escaping death (by dying multiple times), Tree (Jessica Rothe) seems to have her life back on track – that is until she discovers who and what has caused this time loop and once again gets thrown into the fire of reliving the same day – this time in a different dimension.
Ever since its announcement – and quick turnaround from the first film – audiences have had one question on their mind – “How are they going to do a sequel?” Well, the answer is simply this – they’ve added a multitude of new genres into the pot and created a wonderfully unique and solid second instalment in this crazy concept. From its roots of campy horror-comedy in Happy Death Day to adding dimension shifting sci-fi and strong emotional arcs in this follow-up, this series has it all – and we can only hope they’ll be more to come in the future (Happy Death Day: The Musical anyone?).
Writer/director Christopher Landon continues to prove that taking risks can reap great rewards. This particular story has Tree and her new boyfriend Carter (Israel Broussard) have their life turned upside down once again when Ryan’s (Phi Vu) science project is at the root of all of their problems. With our heroes jumping between different planes of existence, the mixture of tones works absolute wonders and there are plenty of Easter eggs for avid fans to scour the film for. No matter what Landon throws at the cast, every single person looks as though they are having a fantastic time and that really translates to the screen.
You can go from laughing at one particular scene to having the pace slowed right down with an emotional gut-punch and it just feels right. That in part is down to Rothe’s brilliant performance. She truly embraces the insanity that Tree is having to endure and here she has grown even more as a character. In the first film, Tree is under the scrutiny of the killer whereas in this film, she takes complete control of her life and destiny. This leads to some truly creative and brutal death scenes including the terrific skydiving scene you may have seen in the trailers.
From the outset, it’s plain to see that Landon had a killer idea and ran full throttle with it and never held back. This, in turn, has created a unique, funny, thrilling, and highly entertaining film that goes from strength to strength in this sequel. Happy Death Day 2U is a rip-roaring success and will easily please and delight fans of the original but may alienate those who don’t grasp its zany concept.
