It's Groundhog Day.......but with murder.
Ever since the first trailer dropped for Happy Death Day, this has been the sell. And in a way, it's a truly ingenious concept. What if the final girl's death wasn't really final at all? The Groundhog Day formula has been applied to a variety of genres, so often that many argue that the film has spawned a new genre of its own. But if we're being honest here, Happy Death Day has more in common with Doug Liman's Edge of Tomorrow than it does with Harold Ramis' seminal 1993 classic. Both films feature a character dying over and over again in the hopes of solving a mystery, and in the grand tradition of the subgenre, both find that same character undergoing some kind of journey where they rectify their mistakes. What was once fiercely original is now slightly formulaic, but in the right hands, this material can still work.
Happy Death Day is mostly effective, almost in spite of itself. The slasher film feels particularly suited for this kind of treatment, but you would think that such a fine concept would spawn a better script than this. Assuming that much of what was on the page was translated to the screen, Scott Lobdell's screenplay is a strange beast. Veering wildly from comedy to romance to horror to tragic drama, Happy Death Day is seemingly horrified by the mere thought of sticking to a single, consistent tone. And don't even get me started on some of the preposterous plot twists that happen towards the end, things that are simultaneously baffling and outrageously stupid. But thanks to the confident direction of Christopher Landon and an incredible, hugely charismatic performance by Jessica Rothe, Happy Death Day barely squeaks by. You'll probably have fun- just don't expect anything nuanced or complex.
Tree (Jessica Rothe) is one of the most popular students on her campus. She's also kind of a terrible person. Monday morning begins just like any other day. She wakes up in the dorm room of Carter Davis (Israel Broussard), a kind, friendly student who Tree believes isn't worth her time. She leaves in a rush and retreats back to her sorority, where her close friend/romantic rival Danielle (Rachel Matthews) confronts her about the happenings of the last night. After her roommate, Lori (Ruby Modine), hands her a cupcake and wishes her a happy birthday, Tree realizes that she's late for class. It's subsequently revealed that she's having an affair with her professor (Charles Aitken), who's actually married to an unsuspecting wife. As the day comes to a close, Tree heads off to a couple of frat parties. Unfortunately, Tree doesn't make it to the parties- she gets murdered along the way by a man in a baby mask.
And then she wakes up. Was it a bad dream? Or was this something else entirely? Tree's day begins to happen exactly as she remembered. Is this a bad case of deja vu? Nope. Of course, the day ends with her getting murdered again. And once again, Tree wakes up and starts all over. She freaks out, but with the help of Carter, Tree realizes that she has an infinite amount of lives and an infinite number of chances to solve her own murder. As she begins to investigate and whittle down the potential suspects, Tree puts herself through a terrifying hell in order to find her killer. And maybe, along the way, she'll find a way to be a better person too.
Jessica Rothe first appeared in a major role in last year's La La Land, where she played one of Mia's roommates who was always eating food in the background. Nothing special, but in an Oscar-winning movie, it was a big break anyways. But after Happy Death Day, I have a feeling that Rothe will be on the radar of every studio in Hollywood. She's the reason that this film works, and she's able to do so much with what's already a multi-dimensional character. She sells Tree as a badass heroine, she sells her as a quasi-Mean Girls villain, and she's able to pull off the romantic plot as well. Rothe is almost unbelievably charming, and she carries the movie through its highest highs and lowest lows. Props to Israel Broussard as well, who emerges as a kind of sweetly lovable romantic interest for Tree. He first popped up in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a star as well.
With Rothe and Broussard leading the way, Happy Death Day ends up being a pretty fun hodgepodge of several different ideas. The film is a melting pot of genres and styles, and while this eventually will become one of its greatest flaws, director Christopher Landon coasts on his own frenetic energy for a while. Each individual element works on its own- only when they come together do things begin to get a little more challenging. The romance between Tree and Carter is genuine and appealing in an unexpected way, there's definitely a sharp sense of comedic wit in play here, and yeah, the film even gets off a few good scares in the early goings. It has plenty of satisfying surface level elements, and it's a brisk watch that never gets boring. Even when Happy Death Day hits some bumps in the road, it's never boring, which is one of its strongest assets.
That being said, it isn't without some serious faults, things that threaten to drag the whole thing down. Landon makes the best of Scott Lobdell's immensely messy screenplay, but he can't escape the sense of tonal whiplash that comes into play as the film moves closer to its conclusion. To give a prominent example, there's a critical scene towards the end that centers around an emotional conversation with Tree's dad, a subplot that seems to hover over the entire film. But after this sad, intense moment, the very next shot shows Tree gearing up for the final assault on her killer. It's this kind of jerkiness that almost destroys the movie, and I wish that the film had found a more consistent balance.
Part of this lack of tonal consistency is founded in the nature of the project itself- it's a PG-13 horror movie, and it shows. Ironically enough, Landon seems to be afraid of scaring the audience, and even after a few effective scares in the first act, it quickly becomes apparent that this really isn't a horror movie at all. It's an action movie with a guy in a creepy baby mask, and for anyone expecting something more grim and serious, I have a feeling you'll be disappointed. Each scare is punctuated by a laugh or a punchline, and while many are good, it veers on excessive. The concept of repeating your death over and over is so ripe for an interesting treatment, but Happy Death Day uses it more as a frame than as something philosophically engaging. It would be foolish to say that I expected a profound statement on mortality from this film, but it seems to disregard its concept when it becomes useful to the narrative. It just has nowhere to go towards the end.
Nonetheless, Happy Death Day is easy watching. I can't say enough good things about Jessica Rothe, who takes what could be an unlikable character and turns her into the perfect action star. It's light on its feet and endlessly charming, which keeps things afloat even when Lobdell's screenplay loses the way. While it's easy to see numerous ways to improve, Happy Death Day satisfies and engages in the moment. It's not a bad way to spend 96 minutes, and I think most people will walk away happy. It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessors in the Groundhog Day subgenre, but it's slick enough to work as an efficient slice of popcorn entertainment.
THE FINAL GRADE: B- (6.5/10)
Image Credit: IMDB/Universal
Ever since the first trailer dropped for Happy Death Day, this has been the sell. And in a way, it's a truly ingenious concept. What if the final girl's death wasn't really final at all? The Groundhog Day formula has been applied to a variety of genres, so often that many argue that the film has spawned a new genre of its own. But if we're being honest here, Happy Death Day has more in common with Doug Liman's Edge of Tomorrow than it does with Harold Ramis' seminal 1993 classic. Both films feature a character dying over and over again in the hopes of solving a mystery, and in the grand tradition of the subgenre, both find that same character undergoing some kind of journey where they rectify their mistakes. What was once fiercely original is now slightly formulaic, but in the right hands, this material can still work.
Happy Death Day is mostly effective, almost in spite of itself. The slasher film feels particularly suited for this kind of treatment, but you would think that such a fine concept would spawn a better script than this. Assuming that much of what was on the page was translated to the screen, Scott Lobdell's screenplay is a strange beast. Veering wildly from comedy to romance to horror to tragic drama, Happy Death Day is seemingly horrified by the mere thought of sticking to a single, consistent tone. And don't even get me started on some of the preposterous plot twists that happen towards the end, things that are simultaneously baffling and outrageously stupid. But thanks to the confident direction of Christopher Landon and an incredible, hugely charismatic performance by Jessica Rothe, Happy Death Day barely squeaks by. You'll probably have fun- just don't expect anything nuanced or complex.
Tree (Jessica Rothe) is one of the most popular students on her campus. She's also kind of a terrible person. Monday morning begins just like any other day. She wakes up in the dorm room of Carter Davis (Israel Broussard), a kind, friendly student who Tree believes isn't worth her time. She leaves in a rush and retreats back to her sorority, where her close friend/romantic rival Danielle (Rachel Matthews) confronts her about the happenings of the last night. After her roommate, Lori (Ruby Modine), hands her a cupcake and wishes her a happy birthday, Tree realizes that she's late for class. It's subsequently revealed that she's having an affair with her professor (Charles Aitken), who's actually married to an unsuspecting wife. As the day comes to a close, Tree heads off to a couple of frat parties. Unfortunately, Tree doesn't make it to the parties- she gets murdered along the way by a man in a baby mask.
And then she wakes up. Was it a bad dream? Or was this something else entirely? Tree's day begins to happen exactly as she remembered. Is this a bad case of deja vu? Nope. Of course, the day ends with her getting murdered again. And once again, Tree wakes up and starts all over. She freaks out, but with the help of Carter, Tree realizes that she has an infinite amount of lives and an infinite number of chances to solve her own murder. As she begins to investigate and whittle down the potential suspects, Tree puts herself through a terrifying hell in order to find her killer. And maybe, along the way, she'll find a way to be a better person too.
Jessica Rothe first appeared in a major role in last year's La La Land, where she played one of Mia's roommates who was always eating food in the background. Nothing special, but in an Oscar-winning movie, it was a big break anyways. But after Happy Death Day, I have a feeling that Rothe will be on the radar of every studio in Hollywood. She's the reason that this film works, and she's able to do so much with what's already a multi-dimensional character. She sells Tree as a badass heroine, she sells her as a quasi-Mean Girls villain, and she's able to pull off the romantic plot as well. Rothe is almost unbelievably charming, and she carries the movie through its highest highs and lowest lows. Props to Israel Broussard as well, who emerges as a kind of sweetly lovable romantic interest for Tree. He first popped up in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a star as well.
With Rothe and Broussard leading the way, Happy Death Day ends up being a pretty fun hodgepodge of several different ideas. The film is a melting pot of genres and styles, and while this eventually will become one of its greatest flaws, director Christopher Landon coasts on his own frenetic energy for a while. Each individual element works on its own- only when they come together do things begin to get a little more challenging. The romance between Tree and Carter is genuine and appealing in an unexpected way, there's definitely a sharp sense of comedic wit in play here, and yeah, the film even gets off a few good scares in the early goings. It has plenty of satisfying surface level elements, and it's a brisk watch that never gets boring. Even when Happy Death Day hits some bumps in the road, it's never boring, which is one of its strongest assets.
That being said, it isn't without some serious faults, things that threaten to drag the whole thing down. Landon makes the best of Scott Lobdell's immensely messy screenplay, but he can't escape the sense of tonal whiplash that comes into play as the film moves closer to its conclusion. To give a prominent example, there's a critical scene towards the end that centers around an emotional conversation with Tree's dad, a subplot that seems to hover over the entire film. But after this sad, intense moment, the very next shot shows Tree gearing up for the final assault on her killer. It's this kind of jerkiness that almost destroys the movie, and I wish that the film had found a more consistent balance.
Part of this lack of tonal consistency is founded in the nature of the project itself- it's a PG-13 horror movie, and it shows. Ironically enough, Landon seems to be afraid of scaring the audience, and even after a few effective scares in the first act, it quickly becomes apparent that this really isn't a horror movie at all. It's an action movie with a guy in a creepy baby mask, and for anyone expecting something more grim and serious, I have a feeling you'll be disappointed. Each scare is punctuated by a laugh or a punchline, and while many are good, it veers on excessive. The concept of repeating your death over and over is so ripe for an interesting treatment, but Happy Death Day uses it more as a frame than as something philosophically engaging. It would be foolish to say that I expected a profound statement on mortality from this film, but it seems to disregard its concept when it becomes useful to the narrative. It just has nowhere to go towards the end.
Nonetheless, Happy Death Day is easy watching. I can't say enough good things about Jessica Rothe, who takes what could be an unlikable character and turns her into the perfect action star. It's light on its feet and endlessly charming, which keeps things afloat even when Lobdell's screenplay loses the way. While it's easy to see numerous ways to improve, Happy Death Day satisfies and engages in the moment. It's not a bad way to spend 96 minutes, and I think most people will walk away happy. It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessors in the Groundhog Day subgenre, but it's slick enough to work as an efficient slice of popcorn entertainment.
THE FINAL GRADE: B- (6.5/10)
Image Credit: IMDB/Universal
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