Movie Review: Happy Death Day 2U (English)

In 2017's Happy Death Day, Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) wakes up in her soon-to-be-boyfriend's dorm room, goes about her day — her birthday in fact — and then dies at the hands of a masked killer. Except when she dies, she doesn't really die. She is back in the same dorm room, only to wake up and find herself stuck in a time loop, the events repeating themselves ad nauseam, before she winds up getting killed again, and again, and again, giving her just about a day to find out who is behind it all. The sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, stretches this already thin premise by depositing the protagonist back in Bayfield University, making her relive the nightmarish experience a second time when her boyfriend's nerdy roommate reveals he's trapped in a killer time loop of his own.

It's passably fun and entertaining as the predecessor was refreshing and thrilling, not to mention a smart, subversive take on the final girl trope. But it's also unsure of what it wants to be — a slasher flick? horror comedy? sci-fi thriller? emotional drama? — while offering a half-hearted pseudo-science rationale to the goings-on and content to repeat itself over and over again without actually going anywhere, stuck like a broken record, the plot, or whatever is left of it, reduced to a convoluted, illogical mess that plays out in ways cloyingly sweet and unoriginal. Too much of it feels like the makers created a sequel for the sake of having one. Short on thrills and high on drama, Happy Death Day 2U is half-baked and lacks the original's spark and wit, but Rothe's charismatic return as the exasperated Tree helps tide over the déjà vu.