Happy Death Day (2017) is probably one of the best horror comedies I have seen in a long time. I felt like this movie wasn't really an original idea, but something completely different. It is a very unique film. I like it. I've seen it several times, in fact.
Now the plot centers around a young college student named Theresa (Jessica Rothe), nickname “Tree,” who wakes up on her birthday, Monday September 18th in the dorm room of a classmate, Carter, after a drunken romp the previous evening. Tree is a self-centered character and does not care about anymore; but herself. She is very condescending to her fellow classmates, and previous hookups. She ignores calls from her father, throwing away a cupcake her roommate made, and finally having an affair with her professor.
Yeah, she is the ultimate mean girl, literally. However, she dies every night, and wakes up the next morning forced to do it all over again. The best way I can describe the movie is that it's similar in tone to Groundhog Day or Before I Fall. It has that looping disorientation feel to it. You watch her die in very interesting ways; which includes being drowned, stabbed and even beaten with a baseball bat. She dies in several different and creative ways; which I found out to be an interesting concept. There isn't just one stabbing that happens on repeat, you know?
Tree then decided to go through a list of suspects to see who could be her murderer. She goes through a list of one by one, and when she is murdered, she crosses their names off. After all that fails, she continues on her search for the killer; only problem is that she is getting weaker and weaker from all the deaths.
Eventually she tries to right all the wrongs in her life, like breaking up the affair with the professor and trying to be a little nicer to all her classmates; including her "hookup" Carter. Throughout the film, you begin to see that her birthday plays a role as well. It was also her mother's birthday. Now I don’t want to spoil the ending for those who have not had the opportunity to see it, however, it is really interesting!!
I liked this film for it’s dark humor, however, there are “scary/shocker” moments. Jessica Rothe is fairly convincing in the role. I can really sympathize with her. You can really feel that this is happening her and you get so frustrated along with her, because you want to know why this is happening. You also want to know who the killer is. The film really keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end. It may seem like the typical slasher movie, however it really isn't; because there is only one person who gets murder: "Tree." This also pulls the aesthetics from other horror films, like a masked killer, a female protagonist, partying and atmosphere. The film is center around a college; which is similar in Scream 2, Sorority Row, and Black Christmas.
Moving on the mask, creepy AF, am I right? It's not the typical Jason or Halloween mask. It is completely original and really terrifying. It reminds me of a something you would see in the early 1900s. Also it carries on a sinister smile, big cheeks, one tooth, and bright blue eyes. *Shudder* I mean if I saw this thing in a dark alley way, I'd run in the other direction!!
The mask as designed by Tony Gardner, who is the same guy response for “Ghostface” from Scream. Also director Christopher Landon was inspired by films like Groundhog Day, Scream, Halloween, Sixteen Candles, Back to the Future, and The Goonies, just to name a few. It's interesting how so many films, like Halloween, has inspired this film. You can really get sense of the classics. For example, In Carter's dorm room, he has a bunch of movie posters on his wall. One of the ones I noticed was "They Live." Now that's another classic I'll need to check out!!
IMDB: 6.5/10 || Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Anyway, that's about it. Yeah I don't want to say too much and spoil it. Yeah it’s an interesting film. If you were into movies with a lot of dark humor, mystery and some thrills, I would check it out!!
Sleep Tight,
A Nightmare on Movie Night
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