Wednesday, October 20, 2021

A Strange Halloween 4 - Happy Death Day 2U

A birthday is special, a magical time
But the forces of science have their own dark design
One push of a button from those with a brain
And you live this day again and again

A psycho in the shadows is in for the kill
But a slice of temptation will test your will
In many a dimension this day will be seen
As we do now on A Strange Halloween.


Happy Death Day is one of those films I’m still working out whether or not my original review was too harsh. Do I hate it more because it’s not what I wanted it to be as opposed to what it actually is? I’m not really sure I can answer that fully, but I’ll at least admit that maybe I was a little harsh in my original review.

So, let’s take a look at the sequel. Happy Death Day 2U, and Scott Lobdell is not really a name you want to associate with a brand anymore so he’s gone and director Christopher Landon is now also on writing duties.

The film had a tiny $9m budget, still an increase over the original budget and despite not being as successful as the original, it still made money, $64.2m and that’s enough to greenlight another sequel. The reception critically was pretty similar to the first film but a few people have marked it as a step down, which seeing as I wasn’t happy with the first film is disappointing. Still, going in with low expectations, let’s see what’s delivered

OK, so the day after Happy Death Day, Ryan, Carter’s room-mate from the last film ends up caught in his own time-loop complete with his own baby-face serial killer. Things happen and the killer as unmasked to be another Ryan

<OK Kids, this is where it gets complicated>

So the time-loop that Tree was stuck in came as a result of Ryan’s sciency thingamabob which did some sciency things and caused the time loop. They activate the machine again because of reasons and this time Tree is sent back into the time-loop, but in an alternate dimension where things play out a little differently. For one thing, her mother is now alive.

So, there’s a bit of a bait and switch, the opening implies that it’s going to be Ryan’s movie, but no, it’s definitely Tree’s story. So, Tree’s in a parallel universe where her mother is still alive and she wants to stay but they do kinda need to close the time-loop which requires her dying again and again so she can remember the algorithm required to use the science thingamabob.

This film drifts even further away from the murder mystery that intrigued me so about the original premise, with the reveal of the serial killer being there just to be an element of the climax, without much real build-up or dread as there had been in the previous film. In universe, the target of the serial killer isn’t even among the main cast.

And yes, it once again has to do with the victim sleeping with the teacher and… pass me a bucket. I know the student is college age so technically above the usual age of consent which honestly makes it better than most but if I never see this cliché again, it’ll be many years too soon.

The film does have moments that very derivative of the first film, a lot of it very much intentionally. As it’s attempting to provide on the narrative of the first film. The montage of deaths is an example of this, and this time they go all out with the method of death, are you sure you don’t want the serial killer to catch, some of these deaths seem more painful. My favourite though is the bikini skydive because a) why in the bikini and b) the awfully super-imposed shot of Tree falling right between a conversation between Carter and Danielle, whilst giving the finger with both hands.

The one place where this movie rather delivers for me is its comedy. It’s pretty self-aware this time around too, par for the course of Tree already having been through it. And everything is elevated by Jessica Rothe’s performance as Tree.

Tree is not the unlikeable character with the arc she had in the first movie. When she’s doing less than good things in this film, it’s because she’s angry and that anger is justified given the circumstances. She does have a habit of judging some of her former friends based on how they acted in her dimension and Lori is actually the victim rather than the murderer in this dimension, (she also advises that it’s not worth having a relationship with the teacher so, well done there) The arc with her mother is a strong one and an interesting counter-point to the first movie where a lot of her crueller actions were motivated in resentment over her mother’s death.

OK, a few quickfire issues: They say that every death is impacting Tree’s health again, this was stupid in the first movie and doesn’t work here either. The mid-credits ending is kinda stupid. Does Tree have a photographic memory that I wasn’t aware of otherwise how does she remember these algorithms? The opening being from a completely different perspective means it takes a good while to get to the point, the pacing for the first act is a little off. Carter is pretty bland in this, in both dimensions. Did the two Ryan’s thing ever get an explanation?

Maybe it’s the benefit of low expectations but I actually enjoyed Happy Death Day 2u more than I did the first one. It’s not exactly a great but it worked for me, what can I say?

Rating 65/100

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