Movie Review: "Happy Death Day 2U" Is Double the Fun

No, you're not experiencing déjà vu. They really made a sequel to Happy Death Day.

Horror franchises are rarely bettered by becoming more convoluted. Oh, except for this one.

It helps that 2017’s Happy Death Day and its sequel, with its predestined title Happy Death Day 2U, are basically teen comedies that just happen to have a serial killer wandering around inside them.

And sure, its hero, Tree (played by Jessica Rothe), does indeed spend some of her time running from a baby-masked killer before getting murdered and waking up that same day to live, die, repeat (a’la Edge of Tomorrow (or Groundhog Day (or Russian Doll))).

Yet this new instalment, again directed by Christopher Landon, is in a far more fascinating and thrilling race: to outwit and outstep the audience at every turn with its goofy twists.

It was a pleasure to be continually outfoxed.

If you’re coming to this series fresh, the good news is Tree gives you a recap of events early on. The bad news is you missed the original, which was a fun and breezy 'starter flick' for would-be horror connoisseurs; the kind of slasher movie that’s basically fine for 13-year-olds and above.

Anyway, Happy Death Day 2U opens on Ryan (Phi Vu), the nosy college roommate who kept barging into the dorm where Tree would be telling Carter (Israel Broussard) all about her seemingly eternal spiral every morning. After learning the identity of her killer and killing them right back, Tree appeared to break her curse. However, what we discover is that the loop simply transferred to Ryan, who’s now the one being hunted, killed and resurrected over and over again. The difference: he can explain the sci-fi shenanigans.

Turns out Ryan and his college buddies Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Dre (Sarah Yarkin) have made a… science… thingy… that, long story short, traps unwitting participants in these unending cycles. Without giving away any of the feature’s multitudinous surprises, let’s just say Tree uses her time-spanning expertise to help Ryan identify his killer, and, a bit later on, ahem, bring order to the multiverse.

Sound confusing? Try not to think about it. Besides, nothing in this saga will be more confounding than the lead character’s decision to go by 'Tree', and for everyone to casually refer to her as such, despite it not even almost being a human name. (It’s apparently short for Theresa, in the same way that 'Chin' is short for Christine.) Taking Happy Death Day 2U too seriously would be a fatal mistake, equal to dismissing it outright.

Happy Death Day 2U is a step-up from its predecessor, precisely because it doubles down on the absurdity. This thing has a giddy, gleeful, semi-gory comic spirit, capped by a montage set to Paramore’s "Hard Times" involving a series of cartoonish deaths.

It helps that Rothe is a gifted comic performer who trades 'scream queen' clichés for exasperation. On the sidelines are plenty of other funny actors, like Rachel Matthews as Tree's ridiculously cruel sorority sister Danielle, and Steve Zissis as the crusty college Dean who’s there to yell at everyone. Landon, who also wrote the script, peppers the picture with winking (and explicit) nods to his influences, Back to the Future in particular (with a subtle shout-out to its score at a key epiphany). Stuff like that almost puts it in the category of film parody, though, that’s underselling it too.

At 100 minutes, Happy Death Day 2U remembers to utilise the original’s smartest weapon: brevity. When the credits roll—to a cover of "Stayin’ Alive" by Lizzo!—they tease an even crazier third entry. I thought to myself, "Yeah, there’s still gas in this tank." It can't be a coincidence that the natural title for a third part would be Happy Death Day 2U... and Many More.

3.5/5

In Australian cinemas 14 February 2019. Rated M for mature themes, violence and coarse language.