“Groundhog Day” meets “Scream” in this surprisingly funny, mystery thriller.
Sorority girl, Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) wakes up hungover on her birthday in a stranger’s (Isreal Broussard) bed. She discovers she stayed the night with nerdy classmate, Carter, and rudely exits his dorm room. Thus begins her rampage of being a narcissistic mean girl to everyone who crosses her path. As we get a peek into a day in the life of Tree, we learn she ignores her father’s call, she’s sleeping with her married professor, and constantly belittles others. I know, hard to believe someone wants to kill her. As the night draws near, Tree heads to a party and is quickly stabbed to death by someone in a disturbing baby mask–oddly enough, that is the school’s mascot. She then wakes up, and is forced to keep reliving her birthday with each day ending in her being murdered in some gruesome way. As Tree grows weaker with each consecutive loop, she must unmask her murderer and stop them from finishing her off for good.
Writer Scott Lobell does a great job with this clever script, as he adds a lot of humor and makes the film self-aware to the fact that this is a cheesy horror. The self-awareness allows for the movie to go beyond cliché lines and really have fun with a decently, thought out mystery. At this point I’ve described more of a comedy, but director Christopher Landon achieves a handful of scares that will have audiences jumping in their chairs.
The film’s story is solid, but the key ingredient here is the engaging breakout performance by Jessica Rothe. She nails the strong bitchy exterior that actually allows us to not feel guilty when we laugh at her numerous deaths, yet still gains sympathy towards her hopeful victory. Rachel Matthews, who plays an even more awful sorority sister, might provide the most laugh out moments with her over the top bitchy lines.
Whatever “Happy Death Day” lacks in the horror, it makes up for it in its entertainment. Reminiscent of the “Scream” era, it provides the same kind of “whodunit” feel that keeps you guessing till the very end.
I can’t say that this film should be at the top of your must-see list, but if you are looking for a few scares and fun time during this Halloween season, then “Happy Death Day” is the perfect choice.
Rating: 3.75/5
“Happy Death Day” opens in theaters October 13.
Morse does a decent job as the enraged detective hunting his prey. It is his unknown motive and all his actions before catching Simon that make you lack care and empathy for his character. He just comes off as a psychotic, dirty cop. Although, if the goal was to have you sympathize with Monteith’s character as a lost, orphaned druggy that has seemingly changed his ways since prison, then mission accomplished.
Overall the entire cast gives surprisingly convincing performances. Ambyr Childers and Julia Garner carry this film. Being able to sympathize for their characters is what makes the movie so interesting. Often times when we see a horror flick, we have to endure villains that have no remorse for their actions, and you are just waiting for them to get their karma in the end. Your heart breaks for these girls as you watch their struggle. The whole time you are second guessing whether or not you should be feeling this way. You never truly know what these girls are thinking. On the other hand, there is no questioning what Bill Sage’s character is thinking. He does an amazing job as the controlling father who stands firmly by his “religious beliefs.”