ReviewHappy Death Day 2U film review: horror comedy sequel brings sci-fi twist to slasher formula
- Jessica Rothe reprises her role in this Groundhog Day style horror
- The multiverse angle makes for an entertaining plot, but you have to have seen the first film for it to make sense
4/5 stars
The 2017 film Happy Death Day was a superior teenage horror comedy which mixed a Nightmare on Elm Street-style plot with Groundhog Day. The follow-up Happy Death Day 2U brings science fiction into the storyline, and proves equally clever and entertaining.
Those who enjoyed the first film will find this one brilliant fun. But viewers should be warned that 2U is actually a continuation of number one rather than a sequel, and those who haven’t seen the original won’t have a clue what’s going on.
Most of the key characters return for the second outing, and the story takes place in the same setting, with a twist – the school and its environs are located in a parallel universe which has some slight differences.
The oddly named Tree (Jessica Rothe), who had to relive the same day and over in the first part until she discovered the identity of her killer, is transported to a parallel dimension when a school science experiment goes wrong. Unfortunately for Tree, she wakes up in exactly the same place and time as before – with that masked killer still out to get her.
Although everything initially seems the same, Tree gradually realises that the world she has arrived in is not quite her own – her deceased mother is alive, her boyfriend is dating her best friend, and the identity of the masked killer may be different.