Happy Death Day 2U

I'll admit, I was skeptical and slightly pessimistic about this film going in. The first one wasn't really anything special (Sure, the premise was creative, but it was still kind of generic at the end of the day), and the trailers made this look like it was the same as the first one, but making a very minor character the focus. "How dumb and lazy", I thought to myself. Even after everyone said this film was better than the first one, I still thought "Nonsense". But since I had a free pass, I decided to give it a shot. If I didn't like it, hey, it was free. I'm glad I did. This is even better than the first one. Better plot, higher stakes, more humor. It's not really accurate to call this a "horror" film, even though it does have some horror elements to it. It's more of a sci-fi film. If the first one was "Groundhog Day", this one is an episode of "The Flash" or "Black Mirror." The writing was more compelling this time around, and the "Who is the killer this time?" wasn't really the focus. That plot element is maybe 10% of the actual film. The main focus was "If an alternate timeline is better than my own, but in order to stay there, someone needs to be sacrificed, would I be willing to do that?" The stakes are higher, not just for Tree, but for her friends as well. They all have something to gain and lose in this one, and all have difficult choices to make. There were also a lot of unexpectedly funny moments. They were intentionally funny, not "It's funny because it's bad". The film doesn't take itself too seriously for the most part, and is a fun thrill ride.
Grade: A-    9/10    4/5 stars