Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

Director: Christopher Landon

Genre: Horror, Comedy, Drama

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Main Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine, Steve Zissis, Charles Aitken

Plot: Tree thought she had finally escaped living the same Monday over and over again, but thanks to a scientific experiment ran by Ryan, she finds herself trapped in the loop again – only this time in a parallel universe.

My Thoughts: I don’t think it’s possible to try and explain Happy Death Day or the sequel to anyone without sounding a bit crazy. It’s like Groundhog Day, but with a girl called Tree…and someone in a baby mask keeps killing her…and in the sequel she’s in a parallel universe. It’s so dumb and yet it works! The element of surprise might be gone in the sequel but I actually think I preferred it slightly to the original.

Firstly, the characters are great. I can so relate to Tree and how pissed off she must feel being stuck living in the same day. She reacts just like any of us would. This time around we don’t need any introductions, we know who we’re watching so the movie just jumps right into the action. The biggest difference is there’s a very moving moral dilemma that Tree must face which throws the tone off throughout the movie. I’d rather they just brush upon it and focus on the comedy, to be honest, but it was interesting nonetheless.

I don’t think I paid much attention to it in the first movie but the soundtrack for this one was great. The song choices were spot on and I’ll never be able to listen to Paramore’s Hard Times now without thinking of the movie!

Best Bit: When Tree first realises she’s stuck in the loop again and goes absolutely nuts, it was brilliant. I was laughing out loud when she screams ‘YOU’RE GAYYYYYYYYYY’ to her friend that always bumps into her!

Worst Bit: Apart from the soppy moments feeling a little out of place, there wasn’t anything specific I didn’t like. I think the pace just slowed down towards the end and the laughs came less often. It’s still a solid sequel though, which we all know is rare.

Fun Trivia: The wood chipper seen midway through the movie belongs to ‘Biff’s Tree Removal’ service. This is a reference to the character Biff Tannen from the ‘Back to the Future’ (1985) trilogy, and his famous line “Why don’t you make like a tree and get out of here!”

My Rating: 3 and a half phones out of 5, which will embarrassingly play James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful when your girlfriend calls you.