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Happy Death Day - Movie Review

2 starsHappy Death Day should have been good. Groundhog Day redone as a teen slasher horror? Are you kidding me? Count me in! The opportunity to watch a miserable prig of a person on the receiving end of the perfect comeuppance... over and over. A circular loop of bloody kill shots... each to the same person. 90 minutes of wink-wink send-ups to the most legendary moments of the horror genre. What’s not to like?

"Happy Death Day will be an exciting treat for some, and a frustrating trick for others. But we can all agree that at a briskly-paced 96 minutes, it never wears out its welcome."


Well, let’s begin with the reality that it never really beds down and fully commits to any of those ideas thoroughly enough. It tries very hard to spend ample time with each, and still manages to tug on the ol’ heartstrings with some moments of heartfelt drama. Heck, it even throws in a few much-appreciated nods to camp. But while it occasionally bloodies the jaw of its intended target, it more often than not misses with a flailing windmill that leaves us shaking our heads, thinking of what it could have been. It is a hoot when it works. There just aren’t enough of those moments.

Christopher Landon directs from a script by comic book writer Scott Lobdell that follows the same thinking as Groundhog Day, wherein the main character experiences the same day over and over. In the case of Happy Death Day, the Phil Connors schlub is annoying sorority girl Theresa (Jessica Rothe) who dies at the end of each day.

Hung up in an endless loop, Theresa wakes up on her birthday in the bed of some random guy named Carter (Israel Broussard) with whom she may or may not have had a one night stand. We learn that she is not a very good person and seems totally at ease being the mean girl to everyone she encounters. She throws away the birthday cupcake given by her dorm mate, blows off a guy with whom she’s started dating, refuses to answer her father’s phone calls, and even ridicules a sorority-mate for eating food that isn’t very “Kappa-like.” She’s such a despicable person, we cheer when she meets her untimely death at the hands of a mask-wearing killer. Only, she’s not dead as she wakes up again in Carter’s dorm room. Lather, rinse repeat. {googleads}

As was the case in Groundhog Day, the fun of the scenario comes from the way the character begins to accept what is happening and works to find a way to turn it into an advantage, in this case, to solve her own murder. Theresa begins to soften a bit and even let’s Carter in on what is happening with hopes that he can help unmask her eventual killer.

Theresa’s change is meant to show that she is growing as a person which, in turn, means that we are supposed to start liking her. But we don’t. There’s not enough to her character (despite an admirable turn by Rothe) for that to happen. So we carry on, not really caring whether she meets her predetermined fate or whether she finally discovers who her deranged killer is. Theresa is just another poor miserable sap who we love watching die. But even that begins to wear thin as the film’s numerous tonal shifts and out-of-the-blue red herrings bring everything to a screeching halt. Comedy works in horror. And so do twists. There are plenty of successful examples to pull from. But here the jarring shifts to humor, then to serious human emotion, then to mystery, then back to terror are way too abrupt and never let the story breathe. It always feels more interested in getting to its twist ending.Happy Death Day

Happy Death Day takes a while to find its rhythm and once it does there’s enough good stuff to keep the well-worn gimmick alive. It is far more enjoyable when it doesn’t take itself quite so seriously. Plus, there’s plenty of franchise-making material, especially considering the effectively creepy get-up worn by the killer that includes a creepy plastic mask with a pulled-over hoodie. Go get your Halloween costumes now, folks.

Happy Death Day will be an exciting treat for some, and a frustrating trick for others. But we can all agree that at a briskly-paced 96 minutes, it never wears out its welcome

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Happy Death Day - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: for violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity.
Runtime:
96 mins
Director
: Christopher Landon
Writer:
Scott Lobdell
Cast:
Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine
Genre
: Horror | Comedy
Tagline:
Get Up. Live Your Day. Get Killed. Again.
Memorable Movie Quote: "someboady's gonna kill me tonight."
Theatrical Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Official Site: http://www.happydeathdaymovie.com/
Release Date:
October 13, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
No details available.
Synopsis: A college student relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer's identity.

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happy death day lg2

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios
Available on Blu-ray
- January 16, 2018
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: DTS 5.1; French (Canada): DTS 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD-50, 1 DVD); Digital copy; Movies Anywhere; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Universal's HD Blu-ray/DVD combo treatment of Happy Death Day is presented with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This 1080p transfer crackles with detailed perfection and is virtually flawless in its rollout. Blacks are solid and colors damn near sparkle with intensity. Music is strong and smooth, with a powerfully natural and dominant presence. Skin tones are appropriately saturated but lack solid textures.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

The two-minute alternate ending is interesting. It changes a lot of how the movie goes down but it is easy to see why it wasn't chosen. The three deleted scenes, clocking in at 10-minutes, are interesting but nothing too revealing. We also get a 3-minute look at the people behind the scenes of the movie, a look at the characters in the movie, and a 90-second bonus look at the deaths in the movie.

  • Alternate Ending
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Worst Birthday Ever
  • Behind the Mask: The Suspects
  • The Many Deaths of Tree

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Happy Death Day - Movie Review

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