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DokBrowne [ 9.0 ]
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From an already clever part-one concept (slasher "Groundhog Day") that zapped together teen horror tropes, slapstick comedy, college campus hijinks, romance, action, self-awareness, an ensemble murder mystery performed fetchingly by an unfamiliar cast, and even some time-outs for an emotional father-daughter character arc, we now get all that again plus sci-fi madness! This sequels transcends its source material with sharper writing, more ambitious plot design, and a true heart that beats even louder than it did before. It follows Randy's old rule about slasher sequels going bigger, but does so with magnificent enthusiasm and efficiency, taking time to make sure all of its half-dozen spare genre parts are satisfyingly nurtured, bouncing from morbidly funny to zany and breathless to benevolently sweet. Unlike most sequels throughout history, it pays off matters between characters that were unsaid from the first movie, and even turns a one-joke bit player from part 1 into a core protagonist. One minute it will hilariously subvert a major climax like the reveal and final attack of a killer into an abruptly completed task, and the next it will have you sobbing over the existential compromises of choosing between alternate dimensions. Early on in the movie there's a showstopping slow-motion explosion scene whose operatic composition of its victims hurtling away in mid-air earns this thing 4.5 stars all on its own.
It's frankly a bit stunning how many plates the movie spins, how many little and big details are so enjoyable, how fast-paced and atypical the narrative flow is from beginning to end, how it embraces go-for-broke goofiness while still getting you to care about the fates of a bunch of likable characters. As movies that technically belong in the slasher universe go (this movie reduces that focus quite a bit but it's still a member of this genre), and particularly in regards to slasher sequels, "Happy Death Day 2U" is in a league of its own.
In allegorical terms, if the first movie was "Groundhog Day" mixed with "Scream 2", this time around it's "Real Genius" mixed with "Russian Doll".
And yes, Jessica Rothe's performance once again is like a rainbow - it's full spectrum and cascades gloriously over the canvas of this film. I'm ever grateful that slasher movies have become more performance-based in the past 20 years (thanks to the late '90s revival that chose to start relying more on the actors' charisma), compared to how stiff the casts tended be back during the genre's '80s heyday.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.6 |
| No. Ratings | : 2 | |
| No. Reviews | : 1 | |
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