Happy Death Day 2U

What the fuck, just shoot yourself right now. If the plot itself is trying to transfer the heroine's fluster at finding herself day after day in a horribly lit world full of completely inept, unfunny assholes (the Dean!) who constantly have to drink, eat, and spout utterly terrible nonsense while doing so, my applause couldn't be slower. It's not, of course, because we're just talking about a morbidly stupid pretense of fun that's shot like a sitcom for people who find Big Bang Theory funny. For example, three-quarters of the film is medium close-ups on faces in such narrow focus that if the actor moved his head back 5cm he'd become a fuzzy pink flush. It's painfully unentertaining, overacted, unfunny, and off-kilter even in terms of its internal universe. The Czech title ("All the Worst") is also a review. (29/05/2019)

Tree is in a time loop again and someone is after her. When she dies, she wakes up again and gets a second chance, but this time it's more complicated, because she's in a world where the rules are a little different. Happy Death Day 2U deserves praise for not just being a classic sequel, but for trying to inject more sci-fi or dramatic elements into the story. Sadly, the problem is the execution. Christopher Landon may have had enough ideas, but as a director he doesn't have the chops to mix them into an entertaining film. (27/02/2019)

Christopher Landon and sexy Jessica Rothe are back together in a time loop, but this time it's much more complicated. The effect of the first film is sadly gone, and the lack of gore hurts the sequel, as there was a lot of potential to spawn a new slasher series in the vein of Scream, but that's not going to happen. The second film made twice as much as the first and we probably won't see a third. Fortunately, the film is still entertaining, Jessica Rothe is fun (the suicide scene a clear highlight), the supporting characters are likable, Baby Face appears a little less than in the first installment, and the final twist is again surprising, though not as shocking as the first. Creative, entertaining and at times nicely suspenseful, and as a horror film for youngsters, it's enough. 65% (19/02/2019)

The creators stepped into the same river for the second time (which wasn’t a problem thanks to a time loop) and I thought I knew exactly what to expect of the film this time, but the opposite was true. Based on my experience with the first installment, I knew it definitely wouldn’t be a horror film, so I expected another student comedy with traces of romance. Instead, I stared in disbelief at this weird film with a blonde Asian playing Jar Jar Binks. About halfway through, I actually started having fun (especially the suicides were inventive), but then came the last third which brought a lot of annoying moralizing and lame melodrama, which caused a sharp decline in my mood and a corresponding rating. (07/08/2019)

The second encounter with Tree, who once again finds herself in a time loop in which she keeps dying, is more daring script-wise than the first installment, which has both its advantages and disadvantages. The beginning of the film is a bit awkward, but then the merry-go-round of suicides in search of the truth kicks in and the plot picks up. I liked that they didn't mechanically copy the first film and tried to go a little further, though at times it may have been a little over the lineit. The identity of Baby Face and his motivations weren't as shocking as in the first one, but that is compensated by the many black-humored moments. I didn't even mind that they played on emotions at times ("what if"). It's also worth waiting for the post-credit scene. (06/03/2019)