Happy Death Day 2U Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

3. The "Emotional" Elements Feel Forced

The first film had a relatively unnecessary subplot where Tree decries the death of her mother years prior, but it thankfully wasn't laid on too thickly.

Unfortunately the sequel doubles down on the emotional turmoil of Tree's past, and the result is an excessively sentimental through-line that really doesn't work at all.

There are several scenes in this film where Tree reminisces about her mother set to saccharine piano music, and in a film that's supposed to be a horror-comedy, it just comes off as contrived and pointless, if not tonally jarring.

There are fitful moments where Landon almost makes it work, but for the most part this syrupy pining for the past just reeks of cornball melodrama. It is not something this movie - or this series, even - needs to indulge in.