Happy Death Day (2017)

Directed by: Christopher Landon | 96 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello, Rachel Matthews, Ramsey Anderson, Brady Lewis, Phi Vu, Tenea Intriago, Blaine Kern III, Cariella Smith, Jimmy Gonzales, Billy Slaughter , Donna Duplantier

‘Happy Death Day’ became a commercial success in 2017, especially for a horror film. In the United States, the film grossed over $26 million in its opening weekend alone. The film zooms in on Tree (Jessica Roth), a superficial, not too sympathetic student who is mainly concerned with herself. On the way to her own birthday party, however, she encounters a psychopath with a surreal-looking baby mask. The creep kills her, making our introduction to Tree seem short-lived. The next day, however, she just wakes up and it’s Tree’s birthday again. From that moment on, the student relives the same day over and over: her birthday on which she is murdered. It’s not clear why she has to relive her death day over and over, but it seems clear that Tree is getting a second chance. A chance to find out who the killer is and the opportunity to prevent her death. The question is whether she will find out the identity of her attacker in time, because, just like a cat, Tree eventually gets through her lives…

In terms of structure and approach, ‘Happy Death Day’ is a horror variant of the ingenious comedy ‘Groundhog Day’ or the science fiction epic ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. The film idea of ​​a day that repeats itself over and over is therefore certainly not new. We have also seen masked killers targeting young and voluptuous teenagers in thrillers and horror films of all sorts. ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘Scream’ is – a bit succinct – a good description of what we are presented with in ‘Happy Death Day’.

Despite the not terribly original story, this piece by director Christopher Landon (“Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse”, “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones”) is nevertheless a fresh film that manages to forge together horror, comedy and thriller elements into a nice looking whole. Serious, exciting and slightly comical scenes alternate at a rapid pace, which keeps the film moving. The killer experiments extensively with gory and sadistic ways to take Tree’s life. Yet the repetitive death of the main character is presented with the necessary melancholy humor, which makes it a kind of running gag. Fortunately, a clever aspect of the storyline ensures that Tree’s repeated death and resurrection are not an empty event without consequences. Every time the student dies, she wakes up with additional pain from her most recent death. Little by little she becomes weaker and the clock is ticking continuously against her.

Although ‘Happy Death Day’ is primarily a thriller cum horror film, you don’t necessarily have to be a big fan of those genres to find this film interesting. The story is presented lightly enough to serve a wider audience. In fact, it could well be that ‘Happy Death Day’ is just a bit too good and superficial for the seasoned horror fan. Still, it’s an entertaining film that occasionally gives fun twists to a tried and tested formula.