It’s More Of The Same With Happy Death Day 2 U
Happy Death Day 2 U uses the same formula as the first film. Blumhouse has once again delivered a fun, enjoyable picture to the movie-going masses. It’s not the greatest piece of work by the studio, though. There are some issues that plague the film.
Let’s start with the obvious. The plot is laid out very similar to the first installment. The story is twisted around a bit, making it a tad less redundant. If you liked Happy Death Day, you’ll like the sequel. Just don’t expect anything too different.
While it’s loosely the same premise as the first film, it’s simply not as good. The first installment in this franchise was a bit stale at certain points. That was an fresh new idea to horror films. The sequel feels like more of the same, as it loses that originality of the first. Atleast, Happy Death Day 2 U tries and adds more of a backstory.
One of my major gripes with Happy Death Day (the first one) was the lack of explanation to some major plot points. At no time did the film address how Tree (Jessica Routhe) had these experiences of going back to the same day over and over. That was a major detail the original left out.
Happy Death Day 2 U give us some insight as to why these things were happening to Tree. As you might expect, this reason was rather ridiculous. Blumhouse wanted to at least give some explanation after it wasn’t addressed in the original. Its nice they tried to explain things and didn’t brush it aside once again.
With that being said about the attempt to explain the events of the first film, there will be a lot of questions that arise from the new installment. It’s almost as if Blumhouse and Universal are expecting a sequel. While that may be the case, I’d at least have like a a bit more time for the movie to explain certain scenarios and plot-holes.
All plot scenarios and issues aside, Happy Death Day 2 U doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. There are a lot of comedic elements to the film. Unfortunately, for a film marketed in the horror genre, it’s not scary at all. I’d reckon to say there are more laughs than scares. That’s not good for a “horror” film.
The acting, that’s nothing to write home about. The main characters are basically the same, no changes there. Some of the lesser known faces of the first, such as Ryan (Phi Vu), Danielle (Rachel Matthews), Lori (Ruby Modine), were given bigger roles. Giving these individuals more screen time gave the sequel a little more separation from the first.
You’re going to see worse movies in 2019 than Happy Death Day 2 U. In no way is it a bad film, but it’s also not the best. We’ve come to expect a lot more from Blumhouse. It’s worth the price of admission, just don’t go see it more than once.
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
