Happy Death Day 2U

Iiiiiiiit's my birthday, and I ain't gotta pick up the phone! Don't let that face (or name) fool you! There's nothing cute or innocent about this ruthless killer. Although I've got friends who big horror fans, who run horror clubs and have led horror panels at conventions and taught horror classes at university level, I've never been that interested in the genre. But the one I've enjoyed the most, recently, is easily Happy Death Day. A cross between a traditional slasher film and Groundhog Day, the film sees main girl, Tree, wake up, live her day, get murdered, and then wake up on the same day and go through it all again. It's inventive, fun, and definitely knows how to use the stanard slasher movie tropes to its advantage. Unfortunately, it was extremely unlikely to get toys; not in today's market! Neither the original movie nor its sequel were major hits, and the killer's outfit is just plain black clothing - jeans and a hoodie - so a toy would be unlikely to sell enough to recoup the costs. At least, not as an "Ultimate" figure. NECA announced one of their Mego knockoffs, as well as a Toony Terror. The Mego's apparently been cancelled, and I never saw the Toony version anywhere, but now Walmart is seemingly getting solid cases of a repaint based on Happy Death Day 2U. Happy Death Day takes place at the fictional Bayfield University, in New Orleans, where the school mascot and sports teams are the Babies - so this creepy mask the killer wears isn't some random look, it's official school merchandise anybody could be wearing, guilty or innocent. During production, they were either going to go with this look or a pig, but this is definitely more distinctive. And creepy! A pig would be suitable for anything, but only Happy Death Day has this off-putting monstrosity. (Well, them, and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, whose mascot "King Cake Baby" is similar enough that the guy who designed that sued Universal Pictures over Babyface, claiming infringement. The two aren't really all that similar [how many ways are there to do "god-awful infant," exactly?], but the suit was settled out of court anyway. Way to make yourself a nuisance, Johnson Berticelli!) Toony Terrors are not really about articulation, which is not great news in this case. The figure has a balljointed head, swivel shoulders, swivel wrists, and balljointed ankles. The left leg seems to be longer than the right, which makes getting the toy to stand very difficult; and unlike Jessica Fletcher, it doesn't even include a base to help things. NECA's stock photos of the original release provide a hint, however: after turning the feet way to the outside, like the pictures show, it became much less prone to falling over backwards. There's been one small change to set this figure apart from the original: this time, the hoodie has a little bit of blood splatter on the stomach instead of being plain black. Yes, I realize the killer's costume didn't change at all between movies, but if they were really so desperate to get some extra use out of these molds, they could have just re-released the original version that nobody ever found. This is at least... not distracting? They really should have painted the soles of the sneakers white, though. The accessories get changed, too. The first version had a simple knife, and a cupcake with a candle on it - perfectly thematic for the movie. This one still has a cupcake, though the candle is now shaped like a 2, and instead of a knife, there's a sledgehammer. I used this as an excuse to rewatch the movie, and the sledgehammer does show up, but it's not exactly what you'd call "memorable." Clearly this was more of a case of NECA casting about, thinking "what can we change to make this more distinct?" than trying to capture an iconic moment. If they really wanted something that'd make this update worth it, how about making the mask removable? Not to reveal the real killer, necessarily, but there's at least one red herring character who'd be worth putting in there. As is the way, the back of the card features a little diorama you can clip out and stick behind your figure. Since the majority of both movies take place at Tree's university, it makes sense the Babyface Killer's backdrop shows the quad outside Carter's dorm. And furthermore, since the Bayfield scenes were filmed on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans, it shows the Academic Quad outside Stallings Hall. That table-lookin' thing in the center of the walkway? That's one of the pieces in the school's sculpture garden (seen from a higher angle, it looks like a huricane or something; it's where the girl asks Tree to sign a petition against global warming). The movie has her wake up in a room in "Williams Hall" (Marquette Hall in real life) and walk out headed toward "Harmon Hall" (real life Bobet Hall), then turn right toward Monroe Hall (which doubles as the exterior of the movie's hospital), meaning that, yes, Stallings (or whatever it's called at Bayfield) would indeed be behind her. Or behind Babyface, in this case. Both Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U are great movies, and it's a shame we're probably never going to get that third one. I love the series, and absolutely wanted a toy from it, so I'm pleased to get a Toony Terror even if it's not as complete as an Ultimate would be. Given the choice, I'd have prefered the original with the knife, but this one wins by virtue of showing up in stores. But now I really, really want them to do a Tree as well - what's a killer without someone to kill? -- 04/26/26 What's your favorite underrated scary movie? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.