Happy Death Day movie review - Aussieboyreviews
IS HAPPY DEATH DAY THE HORROR VERSION OF GROUNDHOG DAY?
The lead character must relive the same day until she figures out who her killer is, so yes, it’s the horror-slasher version of Groundhog Day. Happy Death Day is very funny and entertaining, with plenty of horror violence.
Storyline
When she finds herself reliving the same day in which she is always murdered over and over again, college student Tree Gelbman realises she is in a loop that will only end when she discovers her killer’s identity.
Movie Images
Movie details
Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello, Laura Clifton, Phi Vu
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Release Date (Australia): 12 October 2017
Runtime: 96 minutes/1h 36m
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Language: English
CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)
The film contains horror themes, including the character being terrorised by a killer. The film also features a brief suicide scene.
The film contains scenes of horror violence, including depictions of people being attacked, stabbed and shot, sometimes accompanied by blood and injury detail.
There is one use of “f**k” throughout the film, as well as use of the words “s**t”, “d**khead”, “bitch”, “ass”, “p***y” and “whore”.
The film includes verbal references to “being high” and scenes that feature depictions of a bong.
A nude woman’s upper body is viewed from behind.
The film contains multiple crude verbal references to sex and a depiction of a man preparing to masturbate to gay pornography.
mpaa rating
PG-13 (for violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity)
Aussie boy's thoughts
This is the excessively fun horror-comedy version of Groundhog Day with a slasher twist. The popular concept where there’s the spotlight on the main character who keeps on reliving the same day over and over again has been borrowed and reused so many times, one example being Edge of Tomorrow in 2014. Although that movie received positive criticism, a lot of films that take this concept will fail miserably, but Happy Death Day is not one of them.
This killer-mystery horror-comedy features a worthy performance from Jessica Rothe, who the film introduces as a real jerk of a college girl. But if you wait for it, her snotty attitude improves and you begin to root for her as she’s continuously being killed and must relive the day until she figures out her killer’s identity. This makes for a very interesting idea, and alike Groundhog Day, although a lot of the same actions and lines are repeated throughout the movie, it just never gets boring and it’s always fascinating to see the lead discovering that for themselves.
Happy Death Day is also probably the best horror-comedy for teens seeking thrills and laughs, with there being an appropriate impact level of horror violence, an admirable amount of jokes and an unexpected plot twist many horror-mysteries are capable of but don’t do. And despite this movie having a really light-hearted horror and a reasonably silly tone, it’s as the lead’s attitude and outlook starts to become nicer that there’s a touching message that will possibly leave a lot of viewers thinking about how they can be a better person. It’s another example of everything in this movie being a surprise.
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