"Conclude your journey by watching one with a catchphrase you find yourself repeating in the real world." by Julianne Bell 31. “I’LL BE BACK”: We hope you had a good time with our little Challenge. Conclude your journey by watching one with a catchphrase you find yourself repeating in the real world. Happy Death Day 2U We’ve officially made it through Scarecrow’s Psychotronic Challenge! I hope you’ve had a fun time following along with our picks. For today’s catchphrase-based prompt and our final viewing suggestion, I’ve chosen Happy Death Day 2U, the 2019 follow-up to 2017’s time-loop slasher comedy Happy Death Day. In the first film, sorority member Tree Gelbman discovers she’s trapped in a time loop, in which she gets stabbed by a killer in a creepy smiling baby mask over and over again. She must ascertain the identity of the murderer and prevent her death in order to find her way out of her endless Groundhog Day nightmare. In the second film, Tree awakens to find that to her dismay, she’s back in the time loop, and this time, she’s stuck in an alternate dimension where her boyfriend Carter is dating her nemesis Danielle—and where her late mother is still alive. Though she’s tempted to stay in this dimension to stay with her mom, she teams up with the university’s science nerds to attempt to set things right. Unfortunately, the second film, which leans more sci-fi and comedy than horror, is not quite as sharp and punchy as the first—it has some pacing issues and loses the plot in a muddle of silliness and fake science babble. Still, it’s an entertaining enough continuation of the franchise for fans of the first movie. My friends and I frequently quote the memeable scene where a beleaguered Tree stomps through campus and hollers at her closeted would-be suitor Tim Bauer from the first time loop: “YOU ARE GAYYYY!” Also, keep your eyes peeled for a montage fittingly set to Paramore’s “Hard Times.” The Stranger is participating in Scarecrow Video’s Psychotronic Challenge all month long! Every October, Scarecrow puts together a list of cinematic themes and invites folks to follow along and watch a horror, sci-fi, or fantasy flick that meets the criteria. This year, Stranger staffers are joining the fun and we’re sharing our daily recommendations here on Slog! Read more about Scarecrow’s 2024 challenge—and get the watch list—here. And you can track our daily recommendations here! 💀