McCoy on Movies: Happy Death Day 2U

THE BACK STORY: Did you happen to catch 2017’s Happy Death Day? If not, you might have missed what happened when young college student Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) got murdered on her birthday, only to wake up in the bed of fellow college student Carter (Israel Broussard) … Who was nice enough to try to bring her home before she got killed … And then go through the rest of her day, only to get murdered again. Then she found out who was her killer – SPOILER ALERT: It was her jealous roomie Lori (Ruby Modine) – and then she was able to break the loop and begin living her life again without the threat of a baby-masked assassin coming to kill her. 


Or so she thought.


For you see, Happy Death Day 2U begins with Ryan (Phi Vu) dying at the hands of a baby-faced killer. And then he wakes up in his garbage-filled car, only to get back to his room where he catches Tree and Carter about to … embrace. And once he starts describing what happened to him, Tree quickly realizes much to her horror what is happening: The loop has started all over again, only this time it’s affecting Ryan. Thus, you can imagine her shock, horror and anger when she discovers both loops were inadvertently created by Ryan and his fellow science students Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Dre (Sarah Yarkin) due to a time-altering device they’ve nicknamed “Sissy.” 


And that’s when things get REALLY weird – I’d say more, but it would ruin all the surprises. But if there’s one last thing Tree is looking for, it’s surprises; unfortunately for her, there are plenty of surprises on the way that is going to alter her reality in ways she never, ever envisioned in this dimension – or any others for that matter. 

THE REVIEW: Are you in search of a film this Valentine’s Day that (1) will make you laugh at the most unexpected, surreal scenario possible while (2) delivering a few cheap scares while still somehow (3) being self-deprecating to the point it might be one of the smarter films of its genre-bending ilk which in turn (4) makes it inexplicably entertaining and dare one suggest one of the most genuine-in-an-extremely-absurd-way romantic comedies in quite some time? If the answer to all of those winding enough to drive the average editor nuts questions is “yes,” look no further.For Happy Death Day 2U is a must-see that deserves praise not seen since Scream made people say the name “Skeet Ulrich” with reverence.

Boasting a keen sense of self-awareness and a wicked-funny yet strong performance by Rothe, Happy Death Day 2U does the thing that is extremely rare with movies rooted in a horror/thriller mold: Not only live up to the original, but surpass it. Whereas the original Happy Death Day felt like a silly-yet-enjoyable one-off, 2U provides a back story that expands its characters growth without losing any of its predecessor’s charm. Of course, that is due largely to Rothe’s ability to make her Groundhog Day-like existence consistently intriguing while making you root for her as her quest continues. It’s almost like writer/director Christopher Landon and the rest of the Blumhouse team (the production company responsible for hits like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Get Out and the most recent Halloween remake/sequel/way to keep making money off that franchise) found out about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and said “How could we make a movie like that with a killer and keep all the humor?”

To her credit, Rothe does something rarely seen in horror-esque movies: Act. Like really, really act. She makes Tree equal parts crazy yet determined, hilarious yet not a caricature while at the same time using her skills to help make fun of and show reverence for the very genre that may make her a star. Playing well off of her co-stars Vu and Broussard, 2U is Rothe’s show the way the Golden State Warriors are Seth Curry’s team (at least, pre-Kevin Durant). And while the movie – which does have its fair share of “Ok, that’s corny even for this movie” moments and it is kinda easy to figure out who’s behind the mask if you pay a lick of attention – isn’t perfect, it’s got a great mix of comedy, thrills and irreverence to prove itself worthy of being a sequel.

In fact, given that it’s releasing just in time for Valentine’s Day, Happy Death Day 2U might just be the most romantic way to show your significant other you really love them … By watching a film breathe new life into a genre that can always use some.

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):