Review:
"Happy Death Day 2U"
Release Date: Feb. 13, 2019
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 100 minutes Modeling Happy Death Day 2U on Back to the Future Part II brings with it all the flaws and complications of Robert Zemeckis’ unsatisfying 1989 sequel. This follow-up to Blumhouse’s 2017 Groundhog Day of horror films does not hide the fact that it borrows heavily from Back to the Future Part II. Writer/director Christopher Landon even goes so far as to namecheck Back to the Future Part II when it becomes glaringly obvious that Jessica Rothe’s Tree is stuck in a similar time loop to the one she experienced in Happy Death Day. Which means more montages of Tree dying in either gory, funny or imaginative fashion in a bid to outsmart her killer. What made Happy Death Day work so well was its simple premise. A university student relives her birthday over and over again when her death triggers the resetting of a time loop. The only way to end the time loop is for Tree to identify, track down, and kill her killer. Happy Death Day 2U is more of the same despite an early narrative misdirect and the presence of a different killer. Like Back to the Future Part II, Happy Death Day 2U so overcomplicates matters that it strips away most of the fun from the cat-and-mouse game that plays out after time and time again between Tree and her killer. If it did not matter to us why Tree was stuck in a time loop in Happy Death Day, why does it matter now? Writer/director Christopher Landon gets too bogged down in explaining the origin of the time loop, the science behind it, and the efforts to which Tree must now close the time loop. For Landon, the explanation behind the premise becomes more important than the premise. And it often proves to be both laborious and a distraction. But there are two benefits of taking Happy Death Day 2U in this direction: the first is that this becomes a group effort, with Landon making effective use of Tree’s inner circle and her frenemies. The second benefit is that it does place Tree in an intriguing position: given that her personal circumstances have changed for the better in this new time loop, Tree is forced to decide whether she actually wants to go back to the life she knew before being stuck in this time loop. It is a moral dilemma that Landon exploits to the fullest, and it results in many authentically heartfelt moments that is unexpected of a slasher yarn. This allows Jessica Rothe to build upon the sardonic wit and cunning resourcefulness that she previously brought to Tree; Rothe confidently delve deeps into and persuasively expresses the emotionality that Tree experiences throughout Happy Death Day 2U. Rothe holds Happy Death Day 2U together with poise and self-reliance that it begs this question: why hasn’t Hollywood taken notice of Rothe? It’s not that Rothe has outgrown this franchise, or that it does not deserve her. It’s that this is a horror franchise, and it’s shameful that horror films often do not get the respect or the attention that deserve. What is certain, though, is that Rothe will be back for another Happy Death Day if this sequel is a hit. Happy Death Day 2U sets up the next installment in this franchise—but one that threatens to be somewhat impersonal and uncharacteristically vindictive, if the stinger is to be taken at face value. Let’s hope, though, that Landon returns to the straightforwardness of Happy Death Day’s premise, just as Robert Zemeckis did with Back to the Future Part III. Robert Sims Aired: Feb. 14, 2019 Web site: https://www.happydeathday.com/ |
|