Happy Death Day - Shocktober #3

Knowing that Shocktober is coming I try to save most of the year's horror/genre movies for October viewing. In 2018, I did catch a Quiet Place earlier in the year, but realized that a couple of the 4th quarter 2017 releases were forgotten. So I finally got around to Happy Death Day

If you have seen the trailer or even marginally aware of the premise, you would be aware that Happy Death Day is the horror/slasher equivalent to the Harold Ramis classic Groundhog Day. I came into this Blumhouse picture with zero expectations. Blumhouse, if you are unaware, produces the Purge and Paranormal Activity series and acts as a distribution center for any horror movie as long as the budget stays low (typically under 5 million). Other than the original Insidious, Sinister, and last year's terrific Hush, most of the Blumhouse catalog has been pretty mediocre to bad.

Happy Death Day I am happy (hah!) to report is funnier and smarter than it has any right to be. Definitely leaning into the comedy of the source material of Groundhog Day, the film takes a certain satisfaction in puncturing every mean girl stereotype . That it actually works is fairly impressive given the concept of watching a conceited blonde slaughtered again and again could go sideways real fast. Appropriately beginning on one of the most miserable of collegiate experiences, particularly for women, Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) is forced to make the dreaded “walk of shame” across her quad ad infinitum. 

A reigning sorority empress with a nasty streak, Tree doesn’t have time for the nice guy freshman in whose dorm room she keeps awakening from, Carter (Israel Broussard), nor does she care about her Greek house’s queen bee Danielle (Rachel Matthews), whose ideal boyfriends Tree keeps sleeping with. She won’t even take a bite of the birthday cupcake that roommate Lori (Ruby Modine, from the show Shameless, and by all accounts the only cast member with a significant role outside of this) made for her. It’s her birthday, and she’ll celebrate it how she want, by blowing off her father who arranged a lunch so as to snuggle up to her married professor (Charles Aitken), all while avoiding the attentions of ex-boyfriends.

In other words, Tree is the lady version of Bill Murray’s character who is completely unlikable, needs to grow up, and has a lot of comeuppance en route. The main difference, however, between Death and Groundhog Day, is that there is a killer intent on ending Tree's birthday the same way every single time. To Tree’s increasing horror and delirium, no matter what she does or who she confides in, the babyfaced killer and a litany of fairly creative weapons find her and makes sure she doesn’t survive. So in addition to becoming a better person by reliving the same day (because the apple does not stray far from the tree as far as plot), Tree is going to need to figure out who this psycho stalker is if she ever gets to wake up without a crippling hangover and a memory of her last slaughter.

As a concept, Happy Death Day is unapologetically derivative, and that works to its advantage. Moving with the same kind of frisky mischievous of otherwise dumber 80s slashers, this high-concept horror from director Christopher Landon is a delight. It is also aided immensely by Rothe who gives a winning performance as a character who traditionally would be one of the first to go in a genre movie and turns her into a survivor without losing the sarcastic tone.

After the first one, I would say that all of Tree’s demises are played for humor, as opposed to exploitation and outright gore. My biggest problem with the movie is that it is PG-13 and we could have an Alexandre Aja or even a cartoony Sam Raimi or early Peter Jackson sort of splatter violence. Instead, the vast majority is just off camera. It is still primarily successful, in a beguilingly dopey way, due to a screenplay by Scott Lobdell, which is the antithesis of original but nevertheless gets the job done by straddling the line between subversive and dimly whacky. 

There are quirky encounters and strangers on Tree’s repeated walk of shame and itst amusing to see what she does throughout the day. There's even the trope of the montage where the time travelling protagonist goes through increasingly silly versions. These are all again aided by Rothe, who gives enough of a star turn to sell the desperation and resigned bemusement of her predicament. The script also gives its best shot at crafting Mean Girls or Heather style one-liners for the sisters living on repeat. Some are groaners, but that only adds to the movie’s affectation. Also, I won't spoil things, but the final reveal, although clever, is also very dumb, but somehow I didn't care so much because being a comedy, its a tough movie to really nitpick apart.

Its not a classic by any means but for people who don't want another Conjuring spinoff and go in understanding its all comedy and not scary in the least, I'd say its worth a watch. It was enough of a hit, grossing 122.7 million world wide (55.7 million domestic) on a 4.8 million budget, that we are getting a sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, in 2019. I give it a solid 7/10.