Spoilers have done this before.

It’s actually very strange… Oh wait, that’s the review for Happy Death Day. This time around, I’m going to recommend you watch that movie first. It will be relevant and you’ll actually see why you’ll get more out of this film after re-watching the original. Now for this sequel the film is actually going to break the time loop niche and try to explain why its protagonist is caught in a loop. That’s going to come with both hits and misses but I have to commend the filmmakers for taking a risk here. It would have been too safe to just repeat the film without adding a new spin.

(Credit: Blumhouse Productions)

Happy Death Day 2U (2019) was written and directed by Christopher Landon, based on characters originally written by Scott Lobdell for the first film. This time around “Tree” (Jessica Rothe) has broken out of the loop and got together with Carter (Israel Broussard), only to learn that his roommate Ryan (Phi Vu) who was a minor character on the first film is reliving this day again. The twist here is that Ryan and his classmates Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Dre (Sarah Yarkin) might have an explanation on why the time loops even exists.

Unfortunately, this means Tree suddenly gets stuck back on her original time loop – with a new development. This show adds the concept of multiverses, something that is not apparent until she sees a kiss scene. It also features the more creative use of Carl Orff’s song O Fortuna from Carmina Burana. It also adds more sentimental value bringing back an unused angle from the first movie that took me by surprise. I hate to say it, but the whole pseudo-science subplot falls a bit flat and the sentimental angle does get overused as we get close to the last act.

That being said, this movie works best when watched back to back with the first one. The horror elements are now severely downplayed with the focus completely turned to comedy, which it was a risky decision. That being said, the director took risks instead of just remaking the first film. Perhaps the changes are not enough to make it a standalone watch, but odds are if you enjoyed the first one this one should be a nice companion.

Recommended as a fun popcorn watch with reservations. However, only if you watch it back to back after the original film. The horror has been downsized and although I give kudos to the director on taking risks, the added science angle to try to give the time loop an explanation didn’t payed out. On the other hand, the expanded cast and the comedy have been amped up and it should at least be an enjoyable popcorn, although it does drag a bit and suffers from the endless symptom where the movie just keeps ending. There’s even a post-credit scene. Worth a watch if you like the original and it works better when you watch right after the first.

That will do for now.