Happy Death Day 2U Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs
4. There's No Suspense At All
As mentioned, the horror elements of the first movie are massively scaled back for the sequel, to the extent that the baby-faced murderer ends up feeling like an afterthought for huge chunks of the film (especially later on).
But writer-director Christopher Landon still insists on having Tree and other characters repeatedly walk down dark hallways and peer around corners, even though the film's live-die-repeat premise completely undermines any sense of stakes or tension this might otherwise imply.
More to the point, these set-pieces just feel incredibly unimaginative and drawn from any number of also-ran horror films released over the last few decades.
Even though death has a scarce amount of import for most of the film, at least Landon could've turned the screws by forcing the characters into some more unique locales and changing-up the formula.