Director Christopher Landon
Genre Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Cast Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Suraj Sharma
Rating PG-13
Release Date February 13th, 2019
“A young woman learns that dying over and over again was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.”
Written and directed by Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Happy Death Day), Happy Death Day 2U is the sequel to the 2017 horror film about a college student who is forced to relive the day she is killed by a maniac over and over again. In the sequel she learns that what she went through before was nothing compared to what lies ahead. The “Groundhog Day” type theme worked well with the original film thanks to some creative writing and directing as well as a good balance between comedy and slasher style horror so I was very much looking forward to seeing this.
Happy Death Day 2U literally picks up right where the original left off, and I can confidently say that is not a bad thing. Finding ways to keep viewers engaged with the intentional use of repetition can be a difficult task, but Happy Death Day 2U sticks with the tried and true formula used by the original film and again finds ways to keep the much needed element of surprise alive and well. The sequel digs deeper into the “why is this happening” element of the story and adds some interesting wrinkles along the way (don’t worry, I will not spoil anything). Giving the writers a bit more to work with was easily my favorite part of Happy Death Day 2U - plus it’s also the perfect length at just over an hour and a half. It is clear from the beginning that everyone involved from the director, to the writers, to the cast, had a genuinely good time working on this film and it shows. Now even though this is “technically” a horror movie, just like the original, it’s far from scary - but that’s okay. When talking to people about this franchise I compare it to the Scream films and the similarities are obvious - a creepy yet sort of comical mask, and a full-fledged infusion of humor throughout. If you have a difficult time with horror movies in general because you are too much of a how should I say this, ahem wuss, rest assured when I say you could see these movies and sleep like a baby that very night.
Overall, Happy Death Day 2U is entertaining and well worth a trip to the theater especially if you’re a fan of the original. If you have yet to see Happy Death Day you absolutely want to see it before checking out the sequel - that should be obvious but sometimes it’s best to point these things out. Also, director Christopher Landon has confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he already has a 3rd movie in mind and has already pitched the idea to Blumhouse (the production studio behind the films). He says everyone is on board and as long as Happy Death Day 2U is a success we will in fact get another movie - also he says it will be absolutely bonkers compared to the first two films. Considering a solid Box Office turnout so far combined with a relatively meager budget, I think a 3rd film is likely.
Although it may not have the “new car smell” of the original, Happy Death Day 2U still comes recommended by your good friends at Ted Takes…
