Blumhouse Productions scored major profits from 2017’s Happy Death Day, which grossed $122 million worldwide $4.8 million budget. That’s not too shabby for a slasher film that drew heavily upon the Groundhog Day template, only instead of Bill Murray’s existential dread, audiences were treated to Jessica Rothe as Tree, who relived the aftermath of a one-night stand over and over, only to be brutally murdered later each day by a baby-mask-wearing killer. The trailer for the sequel, titled Happy Death Day 2U, has landed, and Tree discovers that being killed 11 times was only the beginning of her nightmare.
That is to say, Tree supposedly broke the time-loop curse in the first film, but death is now back with a broader beef while Tree’s friends get sucked into a new time loop, so she must put her own life on the line (again) in an effort to save them. The trailer looks truly absurd and even more sheer bloody fun than the first film, and the synopsis promises that the stakes have definitely been ratcheted up because “dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.” Christopher Landon is back as director and writer, and he previously hinted that the first film’s ending may not have broken the first time loop after all.
Tree is absolutely furious throughout this trailer, but can you blame her? What a headache. And To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before fans may also appreciate that Israel Broussard has returned as Tree’s love interest, Carter.
Happy Death Day 2U arrives in theaters on February 14, 2019.
