Death's comeback

Considering how things wrapped up in the first Happy Death Day, it felt weird knowing a sequel made its' way through. Whether fans of the first film clamored for one or not, here we are with Happy Death Day 2U. Picking up where the first film left off, Tree (Jessica Rothe) inadvertently finds herself looped back into the same day she was trapped in from the previous film after discovering what caused her time loop. Tree now has to figure out how to break the loop but also contend with a new baby-face killer coming for her. The term "more of the same" gets thrown around a lot especially when it comes to sequels but in this case it works to great effect in Happy Death Day 2U where a simple tweak to the formula creates a surprising improvement to the first film. More humor, some surprisingly effective themes of letting go and self-sacrifice and more character growth, the sequel tops the first film in every way. Although the slasher horror aspects have been dialed down a little, the other aspects of the film have been strengthened as a result. It may not have been a sequel we were expecting but Happy Death Day 2U surprisingly nails its' sophomore attempt.