By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Director
Christopher Landon and screenwriter
Scott Lobdell hit pay dirt in 2017 with their Groundhog Day formula slasher pic
?Happy Death Day.? The surprise, box office hit--which was released a couple of weeks before Halloween--was produced for less than $5 million. It went on to make $55 million domestically and nearly $69 million overseas.
So, you can?t really blame the filmmakers for wanting to duplicate that success with their new sequel,
?Happy Death Day 2 U.?
This time around, the film is opening during the Valentine?s Day weekend which could also work to its box office advantage.
But, honestly, ?Happy Death Day 2 U? is merely a reheated version of the original film with a few minor twists thrown in for good measure.
The cheekiness and cleverness of the original plays out here but wears out its welcome quickly too. As Yogi Berra would say, it?s like D?j? vu all over again.
The movie starts with Ryan Phan (Phi Vu, ?Happy Death Day?), the insufferable Bayfield University student who always seemed to barge in at the worst times on his roommate Carter (Israel Broussard, ?Happy Death Day?) and Carter?s girlfriend Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe, ?La La Land?).
Ryan has been diligently working on a special science project with his nerdy classmates Samar Ghosh, (Suraj Sharma TV?s ?God Friended Me?) and Anna Pech (Sarah Bennani, upcoming ?Charlie?s Angels?).
This thing has extraordinary powers and emits ton of energy. So much in fact, that it causes regular blackouts on campus. When the school?s dean Rodger Bronson (Steve Zissis, TV?s ?I?m Sorry?) discovers it, he immediately wants it shut down and out the science lab.
This leads Ryan and the rest of the gang to try and retrieve it. Before he does, Ryan is attacked and nearly murdered by a masked baby-faced killer, but not really because he awakens from this dream and starts the entire day and process all over again.
Who is the masked baby killer this time?
The story gets loopier as it goes along and it even snags Tree (Rothe) back into its alternate timeline. There are some scores and issues from her past she must settle to move on with her future.
The first movie wasn?t scary, but it was a bit creepier. ?Happy Death Day 2 U? isn?t much of either.
It scales back the blood-soaked mayhem and creepiness in exchange for predictable and very familiar jump scares and sight gags.
If the producers plan to make this into a big series/franchise, they?ll need to find some new angles because this well is running dry.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Take A Look At This Trailer For
"HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
