• Happy Death Day 2U (2019) - Making a terrible franchise out of an excellent movie - 6/10 (27/02/19)

    Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

    Happy Death Day was the most positive cinematic surprise of the year when it was released about one and a half years ago. The characters were quirky, the plot was surprising, the thrills were gripping, the jokes were humorous and the acting was emotional.

    Sadly, this unique movie was so commercially successful that it has been made into a franchise. This sequel could normally be described as an above average comedy horror mixture. But since it follows a flawless film, it can only be described as a disappointment.

    The first ten minutes of the film are promising. Instead of following the story of the first film's lead actress, we see how a side character of the first installment lives a time loop. However, the film's perspective soon shifts and we see the previous film's lead actress living a time loop over and over again.

    The sequel tries to add a few misplaced fresh elements which take away from the predecessor's free-spirited vibe. The time loop is explained with the help of forced science-fiction elements which are unintentionally ridiculous. The new time loop also takes place in a different dimension where characters behave randomly differently from the first movie which is simply lazy scrip writing. The film tries to be more dramatic as the lead actress must choose between living in a dimension where she is single but her mother is still alive or a dimension where she has a boyfriend but her mother has died. Instead of adding an emotional tone, the film is overtly sentimental which doesn't work because the actors and actresses involved don't have the talent to transmit such feelings. The fact that the lead actress choses her new boyfriend over her deceased mother is also baffling to say the least.

    To make matters worse, this sequel includes an additional scene midway through the credits that indicates that there will be a third film focused on sending the lead actress' sister back in time. Happy Death Day risks suffering a similar fate to other comedy horror franchises from Scary Movie to Scream that repeated themselves endlessly while constantly losing quality.

    There are a few elements that save this movie from being a complete failure. The characters from the predecessor have all come back and are still quite sympathetic. New additional characters add some spice here and there. The movie includes a few hilarious scenes such as the lead actress' sister playing a blind French exchange student seducing a grumpy professor. One can't deny that this movie is generally quite entertaining except for a repetitive third quarter that consists of a series of random setbacks that prevent the lead actress from going back to her original dimension.

    In the end, I wish Happy Death Day 2U didn't exist because it spoils the unique perfection of its memorable predecessor. Objectively speaking however, this sequel is entertaining, funny and quirky as it offers one hundred minutes of popcorn cinema that is quite easy to digest. If I had to give you one advice, I would ask you to watch the first movie and forget that this sequel or any other movie of this franchise even exists.

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