Happy Death Day (2017): The Groundhog Day-inspired Slasher
Happy Death Day is a 2017 horror film written by Scott Lobdell and directed by Christopher Landon. The film was a massive success with a 4.6 million dollar budget, making 125.5 million at the box office, leading to a 2019 sequel. The plot sort of reminds me of Scream in that it is a whodunit horror film, though this one is more comedy than horror, while Scream is more horror than comedy.
The movie immediately gives you the vibe of Groundhog Day mixed with horror and 2000s-era teen comedies. I think this has a solid set-up for trying to figure out who killed her since she is a cunt to literally everyone making it harder to narrow down. Treating the second day as deja vu is the best possible way because you could discount the first time it happened as a vivid dream or something, so that was a pretty decent way to handle it.
One of the times she gets killed is in a room with loud music playing, but I don’t care how loud the music is in a bedroom, how would you not hear someone getting violently murdered only two steps behind you?
They could’ve gone so much more fun and gorey with many of these kills if this was Rated R. I understand why this was PG-13 but it would’ve been better with more gore. There’s a part where they are in a diner, and Tree decides to go exactly to who she thinks her killer is instead of waiting it out in the restaurant or staying at places with lots of people around.
This movie made me frustrated when Tree had her best day ever and died anyway, that would be so trash.
It’d be hard to catch who the killer is without seeing the film first, but the clues can sort of get you there.
1. She never eats the cupcake
2. It has to be someone who’s already in the house or has solid knowledge of the home because she barricades herself in her bedroom and still dies.
3. The killer has candles.
4. In the hospital, Lori warns Tree about the affair with the doctor.
This movie has a fun concept, and I enjoyed it, but this is barely even a horror movie. It is way more comedy than horror. The sequel isn’t as good as this one, but overall, as a franchise, it is fine. I have trouble believing even a 10-year-old me would have been scared of this movie.
