Back in 2017, Blumhouse released a Groundhog Day take on the slasher genre. Happy Death Day was unexpectedly funny, smart and boasted some fun PG-13 kills (read Bloody‘s original review here). Two years later, Tree (Jessica Rothe) and the gang are back for round two with Happy Death Day 2U, a sequel that leans into the series’ comedic and dramatic potential, introduces some light sci-fi and, unfortunately, completely forgets about its horror elements.

The film opens with Ryan Phan (Phi Vu), Carter (Israel Broussard)’s roommate, waking up in his car. Writer/director Christopher Landon tracks Ryan’s walk down the street and back to the dorm room, training the audience to make note of incidents that could recur should the day repeat. After being booted out of the room by Tree and Carter, Ryan is sequestered in his lab with his scientific thesis project before he is lured into an empty room and stabbed by Baby Face, the franchise’s cherub-masked killer. He immediately reawakens back in the car, retraces his steps and confesses his déjà vu to the lovers. Upon hearing about his experience, Tree and Carter snap into detective mode, aiming to keep Ryan safe and uncover the identity of his assailant. In no time the culprit is revealed to be…a double of Ryan.

In these early scenes, Landon’s screenplay is ripe with potential. The opening attack initially makes it seem as though Ryan has replaced Tree as the new repeat survivor of the film, a concept that is then upended when the sci-fi doubling concept is introduced. Landon has opened up the possibilities of where to take a previously straight-forward concept and it’s initially quite exciting.

In frustration at the presence of a doppelganger, Ryan ignores the warnings of the others and activates his thesis project – aka the machine that caused the first film’s travel shenanigans. The result is the accidental reactivation of Tree’s birthday loop, as well as a new wrinkle: Tree finds herself in a multiverse dimension wherein all of the characters’ relationships are upended. Suddenly Carter is dating KAPPA sorority bitch Danielle (Rachel Matthews) and Tree’s murderous roommate Lori (Ruby Modine) is alive and no longer homicidal.

These (and other) alterations allow HDD2U to playfully shake things up and help the sequel avoid becoming a déjà vu loop of its predecessor. Danielle’s substantial increase in screen time means a great deal more comedy (this version of Danielle is less of a bitch and more of a fake, but naturally she’s still terrible), while the introduction of another surviving character directly pays off one of the first film’s weaker subplots while also allowing Rothe several emotional scenes in which to flex her dramatic muscles.

The main narrative thrust of HDD2U is driven by Tree’s desire to return to her home dimension (and her romantic relationship with Carter). Whereas the first film centered on Tree’s need to die repeatedly in order to identify the Baby Face killer, the sequel focuses on Tree’s work with Ryan and his lab mates, Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Anna (Sarah Bennani), to identify and remember the correct algorithm to get her home. It’s a scientific MacGuffin that requires several weeks worth of trial and error, resulting in another montage set to pop music as Tree cheerfully commits suicide in a number of (frankly painful looking) ways such as electrocution, poison and falls from various heights.

This sequence is a high point of the film, which struggles with its energy and focus. Landon’s efforts to pay off eagle-eyed fans of the first film is admirable as whole sequences and lines of dialogue are replayed while attempts are also made to explain narrative gaps such as Tree’s accruing injuries and why the school has such an unusual mascot. Overall, however, Landon’s witty screenplay tips too frequently and too strongly towards comedy and drama, always at the expense of thrills and horror.

This is most apparent in the egregious use of Dean Bronson (Steve Zissi), an unfunny new supporting character who acts as a foil for the group’s work on the time machine. Bronson would fit right in on the set of National Lampoon film and he (unsurprisingly) figures prominently in a third act comedic heist that grinds HDD2U’s momentum to a halt at a time when it should be barreling towards the climax. Sure it’s mildly amusing, but it is out of place.

At this point, we should probably discuss the (forgotten) Baby Face in the room. There is a new masked killer lurking in this alternative dimension, albeit one that is seemingly relegated solely to the hospital. Serial killer John Tombs (Rob Mello) is also still kicking around, but he’s little more than a pawn in a new scheme that Landon’s screenplay is completely disinterested in. Baby Face is largely absent from this film, as are any thrills or notes of horror.

Following the first two attacks on Ryan at the start of the film, there is arguably one other scary set piece as Tree and Lori try to stay alive on an abandoned floor of the hospital. For the vast majority of its runtime, however, Happy Death Day 2U is primarily focused on Tree’s personal relationships. The film forgets to invest in the identity of the killer, so much so that by the time the showdown with the new Baby Face occurs, the revelation and its narrative impact equates to little more than a shoulder shrug (albeit still with a self-reflexive wink to the first film). The new killer is merely a subplot and one that could be nearly excised without much narrative consequence.

Fans who were attracted to the original film’s creative deaths and its Live.Die.Repeat-style narrative will need to adjust their expectations accordingly. Rothe remains a dominant and endearing presence and her chemistry with Broussard is palpable, plus the expanded roles for several secondary characters is noteworthy. Unfortunately, Happy Death Day 2U too frequently loses sight of its slasher origins in favour of comedy first, drama second and horror a distant third. The sequel is an admirable attempt to offer a new spin on a familiar tale that frequently works in the small moments, but horror audiences anticipating a second round of Baby Face will undoubtedly walk away disappointed.

Note: there is a mid-credits stinger that offers hints of where the franchise could go in a potential third outing, but it is also simultaneously a capper in the event that HDD2U is the end of the road.