Review: Happy Death Day 2U

College student Tree (Jessica Rothe) thought she was done with being murdered. But it turns out the Groundhog Day-like time loop she was trapped in on her birthday – one that forced her to relive being murdered over and over again until she figured out how to survive – wasn’t some supernatural coincidence, but a science experiment gone wrong. And now? How do parallel timelines sound? And this time there's a whole new killer; guess we're doing the time warp again.

The first Happy Death Day did a decent job of combining slasher thrills with a murder mystery, but it was Rothe's charming and increasingly quirky performance that made it work. After an opening that threatens an ensemble approach - and it's legitimately impressive the way they managed to get everyone from the first film to return - the focus returns to Tree, and it's clear this consistently entertaining sequel is steering into her strong points.

That means the slasher side of things is kept to a bare minimum (which is probably a good thing - writer-director Christopher Landon doesn't have much of a flair for stalk-and-slash) in favour of a wacky campus comedy feel complete with crusty Dean and a bunch of straight-out slapstick scenes. It's a mix that works well, with each element playing off the other to keep things moving fast.

The first film was surprisingly compassionate towards Tree - her initial bad behaviour wasn't because she was a bitchy bad girl who needed to be taught a lesson, but her struggling to cope with the recent death of her mother. This opens to door for a fairly obvious twist this time around, but it's handled well; the film's heart now even extends to a couple of characters who were given a raw deal the first time around.

If you haven't seen Happy Death Day it definitely wouldn't hurt to check it out. This film flows pretty much seamlessly from the first with a whole lot of callbacks and at least one very smart tie-in to something that wasn't even a mystery the first time around (though we never do find out what set off the car alarm in the first film... I smell a trilogy). But there's enough of a built-in explanation here to get you up to speed; prior knowledge is not essential.

While the rest of the cast are fine, and the minor characters given bigger roles this time out handle their workload well, Rothe is easily the standout star of this franchise. She’s perfect for the film’s silly side, handles the horror moments effortlessly, and sells the surprisingly strong emotional moments well. Why she didn't become a bigger star after the first film is something of a mystery: whatever the reason, it’s good to have her back.

- Anthony Morris