Found myself enjoying the first 'Happy Death Day' quite a bit, though it did have its flaws. It had a very interesting concept which it made the most of but could have done even more with it. This sequel when hearing of it intrigued me with what it would do with its concept and it looked pretty cool but part of me felt nervous, questioning its neccesity, how it would hold its own, whether it would do anything new or be too much more of the same.

'Happy Death Day 2 U' to me was a watchable sequel that doesn't exactly disgrace the first film, while with room for quite a fair bit of improvement. It is not too more of the same and tries to build upon what we saw before, but also could have been fresher and not tried too hard in the story execution. It is not amateurish, is appealingly played and has enough amusement and atmosphere, at the same time it is not near as focused as the previous film.

Will start with the good. The photography is stylish rather than slapdash, the editing has suitably unnerving moments and the lighting is atmospheric. Christopher Landon never lets it get too heavy while not diluting the fun or scares, and the at times haunting and at others times funky soundtrack adds a lot.

There is a lot of humour, more so than scares actually, and again generally it's knowing and firmly tongue in cheek. There could have been more scares and suspense but when they were there there was some creepiness, or so to me. The acting is solid, but Jessica Rothe is great and one of the main reasons to see 'Happy Death Day 2 U'. The character chemistry is appealing and not forced.

As aforementioned however, although seldom dull the story was much more focused before and slicker. The second half especially, thought the film started off great actually and held my attention, tries to do too much and can get over-complicated. The time dimensions stuff, focused on a little too heavily, could have had more clarity. Neither the comedy or horror feel as fresh. Some staleness in some of the gags and as said the scares and suspense are not enough.

Despite the solid acting, the character writing is superficial. It was in the previous film too but before it felt more self-aware and acknowledgable of that, didn't get as much of that sense here. 'Happy Death Day 2 U' does get increasingly silly in the plotting on top of lack of sense and logic towards the killer reveal. Once again the killer reveal underwhelms, hugely underdeveloped, rushed and confusingly head-scratching.

In conclusion, enjoyed the first but this sequel left me conflicted. 5/10

Ryan Phan finds himself starting his day anew after getting murdered. Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) realizes that her Groundhog Death Day is starting again. Apparently, Phan's experiment has caused a time loop in the multiverse and Tree has jumped into another dimension.

The first movie is perfectly good. It doesn't make complete sense but it doesn't have to. It's supernatural. It's not clearly defined and that saves its logic from being pulled apart. More importantly, the first movie is a showcase for Rothe who has a great frustrated anger. This sequel tries to explain the world and starts the movie with Phan. It's bad on both counts. By trying to explain it scientifically, the premise falls into a set of mumble jumble physics that is nothing more than filler. The mother is a good side to her character but the franchise seems intent on continuing with this non-sense. I don't think turning it into Time Tunnel is a good option for the franchise. Secondly, starting the movie with Phan is an attempt to expand the leading circle. Again, that's not the best move. It's Rothe's franchise. This is still her movie but the start misdirects. Overall, there is still plenty of fun in this franchise but it's becoming a mess. The more it explains, the bigger the mess.

I have mixed feelings on this one. A lot of is just as fun as the original. Like it was definitely an entertaining watch for me, but I think the setup for the film is what brings it down. It starts off with Ryan now experiencing the same day, so the movie makes you think he is going to be the focus of the film. He is not. Even when the Sissy (his time manipulator machine thing) breaks and they all get zapped, I thought maybe they will all be thrown into a loop together...they dont. It just happens to Tree. Also, during this setup Ryan comes across another version of himself and that never gets explained. Where did he come from, how did he cross dimensions (I mean when Tree gets stuck in another dimension time loop, she doesnt come across herself). It just gets completely dropped and forgotten about. So I feel like they could have taken the chance to do something different with the film, but instead it quickly becomes the same as the first again. Which again, isnt horrible. It is fun. Just could have been different. Also, Tree gets to a point where she comes to the conclusion that she "cant have it all" and makes the decision to go back to her dimension. But once she *SPOILER* realizes that the killer isnt actually after her in this world....why cant she stay, have her mother back and still get Carter? I mean, she knows Danielle is cheating on him. Its not like thats a relationship that is going to last. She could have it all. Maybe it would have been better if the killer was going after Carter or her mom, so she really had to make that decision of one or the other. But oh well.