**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U, AS WELL AS SPOILERS FOR HAPPY DEATH DAY. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED EITHER MOVIE AND YOU WANT TO REMAIN SPOILER FREE THEN DON’T KEEP READING THIS POST.**

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U, AS WELL AS SPOILERS FOR HAPPY DEATH DAY. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED EITHER MOVIE AND YOU WANT TO REMAIN SPOILER FREE THEN DON’T KEEP READING THIS POST.**

Sorry… I couldn’t resist a little time loop humour. Which of course you’ll understand if you’ve watched Happy Death Day – the 2017 slasher movie that mixed Final Destination and Scream with Groundhog Day!

Happy Death Day was a surprisingly fun movie which took a simple premise – a college student repeats the same day over and over again (with dire consequences) – and turned it into a neat black comedy. The film proved to be a substantial hit for Universal Pictures and that’s why we now have a sequel on our hands in the shape of Happy Death Day 2U.

‘But hang on’, I hear you say – ‘didn’t the time loop get resolved in the original movie?’

Why yes, it did; but if you recall there was never an explanation as to why the day kept repeating itself. Happy Death Day 2U steps in to answer that question, while offering a new wrinkle to the story.

Image: ©Universal Pictures

The answer is a machine (i.e. some science-y wizardry) that can mess with time. It’s a Macguffin, but one which serves a purpose.

The new wrinkle is the creation of a Happy Death Day multiverse – multiple universes all existing at the same time, but presenting variations within each universe.

So in this movie we get to explore a similar premise to the original story, only now from the point of view of a skewed world. A world in which dead characters are resurrected, where events play out slightly differently than they did before and where there is a new ‘killer’.

Image: ©Universal Pictures

The multiverse angle is a very refreshing premise for a horror sequel and Happy Death Day 2U should be commended for taking this path. It could have easily repeated the exact same premise for movie No. 2, yet it didn’t.

A bold move and one that largely pays off for fans of the series.

All good then?

Well, no. Unfortunately, with such ambitions (there is a lot going on here) Happy Death Day 2U stumbles under the weight of its ideas.

Some situations are dragged out a little too long; some scenes feel a little unnecessary; and the story doesn’t flow as well as it should. The opening 20 minutes – which establish a new time loop – run far longer than they need to and should have been cut completely.

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This is also not much of a horror. In fact, Happy Death Day 2U is a sci-fi comedy, with dark undertones – it’s not a horror film.

Those expecting a slasher film like the original may be disappointed. This is not that movie.

Overall, I like Happy Death Day 2U and I appreciate what it tries to do, I just don’t like it in the same way I liked the original. It should be the Godfather II of the Happy Death Day series, but sadly it’s not and this is largely to do with perhaps one too many ideas in the mix.

Enjoyable and certainly a must-watch for fans of the original, but not quite hitting the bar. Perhaps a third entry will do the trick?

I’d certainly be up for more. Just with some careful editing along the way.

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