Happy Death Day was one of the most pleasant surprises of last year. A fusion of comedy and horror, it worked remarkably well, thanks largely to the excellent Jessica Roath in the central role of college student Tree Gelbman who is forced to live the same day over and over.
Roath reprises her role here and once again brings the same combination of comic timing and determination to survive. Through a convuluted set of events, Tree finds herself waking up in her college mate Carter’s (Israel Broussard) bed again, back in her Goundhog Day style routine. However, not all is the same as before, with the killer from the first film (Lori, Ruby Modine) possibly innocent this time.
The emphasis is on the humour again, but with more of a science fiction tinge this time, rather than horror. The parallels to the Back to the Future series are pretty obvious, and it has to be said needlessly spelt out by Ryan (Phi Vu) who has a much more prominent part this time. Pretty much of all of the major cast members return, with Sarah Yarkin as one of the group of science geeks who try to help Tree the most welcome addition.
Completely implausible maybe, but the film rattles along in a very entertaining way, and it is, at times strangely touching as Tree’s relationship with her late Mum comes much more to the fore. Ultimately, Happy Death Day 2 U is pulled along by Roath’s charisma and some very funny lines.
A third and final instalment is on the way, and I’m looking forward to it already.
Rating 7.5 out of 10