Seen the first film? Of course you have, but if it's not fresh in your mind there could well be moments in this follow up that'll seem a mite confusing. The whole new scientific explanation for the Groundhog Day phenomenon certainly takes a bit of following and a lot of swallowing: the convoluted time travel exposition covered in the first half of the film travels at breakneck speed and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And let's not forget about the overall uneven tone, the film frequently veering from its horror roots into sci-fi and absurd comedy territory. It's quite a departure from the original, and to be quite frank I don't think that it was very successful.
A hot mess of a movie for the most part, the chaos that unfolds is reasonably fun for a while despite the preposterous story developments. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the plot eventually takes its toll, and the final act really labours the point, taking its merry time to wrap up proceedings in a not too tidy fashion. The cast are fine and do what they can with the material, but the slapdash script and seemingly random approach taken by director Christopher Landon ultimately makes for a disappointing sequel.
Still, Happy Death Day 2 U is so silly at times that I can see it gathering a cult following, even though, if truth be told, it's not all that good.
