Happy Death Day 2U (5 Stars)

Sometimes a film can surprise me. In this case it's more of a shock than a surprise. I didn't expect it to be so good. It's a sequel, but it's managed to make a step from one genre to another. "Happy Death Day" is a horror film, but "Happy Death Day 2U" is a science fiction film.

The way the first film ended it looked like a one-off film. Only a pseudo-sequel was possible, by making a similar sort of film with different actors. That would have sucked. I hate pseudo-sequels like that. When I heard (only a few weeks ago) that a sequel would be made I groaned, and I really didn't expect it to be good. I watched the trailer online, something I don't usually do, and I was curious. It looked like a gimmick to continue the story; an interesting gimmick, but maybe not too good. I wasn't prepared for what I saw today.

An explanation is offered for the groundhog day effect that we saw in the first film. It was caused by Ryan's quantum reactor that he's built for a science project. It doesn't explain the killer. That's just a random factor, if anything can be called random when quantum mechanics are involved. The film starts with Ryan being trapped in September 19th, but after a dimension leap Tree is pushed back into the September 18th loop.

Now that we've come so far it's theoretically possible to keep on making films in this series. The films can be continued until the writer, Christopher Landon, runs out of ideas, or until the actors get too old. This film was made two years after the first film, but the actors look identical, even wearing the same clothes. How many more films can they make that take place in the same week in 2017? A few more at least, I hope. The mid-credits scene has prepared the way for the third film. One advantage of the film is that it doesn't feature any box office superstars, so it shouldn't be difficult to persuade everyone to reunite for future sequels.

If you want to watch "Happy Death Day 2U" in the cinema, I have to give you a warning. Despite the short recap, you won't fully understand it unless you've already seen the first film.

This is the best film of 2019 so far. I emphasise the words "so far". The year is still young and anything can happen.