Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: After being murdered by a masked killer, a soroity girl relives the same day over and over in an effort to uncover the killer's identity.
Review: Taking the core premise of "Groundhog Day" and splicing that with '80s slasher tropes was, surprisingly, an act of utter brilliance! "Happy Death Day" turned out to be the most fun horror movie I've watched in years. You get plenty of mayhem, plenty of laughs, and the events unfold in the most satisfying of ways. Not sure why it took nearly 10 years to get this movie out of production hell, but I am certainly glad it turned out this well. The filmmakers simply did everything right--from the pacing to the balance of comedy and horror--it comes together seamlessly.
The main character, Tree, is played masterfully by Jessica Rothe and sells the entire experience. Tree starts off as the most unlikable bitch-whore yet, by the end, you will be cheering her on. The nuances and humor to her character are perfect and help to make the film memorable. For example, you have Tree trying to narrow down her suspects and investigating their motives by physically making a list and stalking them until she ends up murdered for the day. Then you have times where she doesn't give a flying fuck and embraces the fact that she will die that day. Despite spending nowhere near as much time reliving the day as is implied with "Groundhog Day," the audience still experiences a redemption tale of the character. More precisely, Tree's romance with her loverboy, Carter, is quite endearing and adds further charm to her character as she realizes the person she's become and attempts to change it. Though, they do deviate slightly by adding a sense of stakes to the situation. In this instance, Tree comes back slightly weaker with each day passing with the implication she'll eventually stay dead one of these times. This sense of urgency helps builds tension that simply works in the story's favor. I'd honestly go as far as calling this movie "Groundhog Day 2" since this is as close to a sequel as we will ever have and it's damn good at emulating the inspiration. Not to be outdone, the whodunnit, masked killer element is fantastic too. There are A LOT of suspects and potential motives which are laid out for the audience succinctly. Though I guessed the killer, the movie proposes numerous options and a few twists to keep you guessing until the end.
There were only two, legitimate detriments present throughout. One, the story isn't wholeheartedly original when borrowing this heavily from "Groundhog Day." I mean, they change things up, of course, yet the story beats do mirror one another closely; similarly, the film never explains or even leaves a clue as to why Tree is reliving the day. Two, the killer is somewhat predictable given that there's a certain character with a deliberately ambiguous body type. The killer's motive is amusing, befitting of the film's tone, but it's still easy to see coming especially when compared to the other culprits. The fake-out toward the end does help cast doubt in a viewer, but, c'mon, no horror vet will fall for that. Other than these gripes, "Happy Death Day" delivers on the goods.
Overall, this was a fucking awesome movie from start to finish! From the goofy characters to the killer's reveal to the background shenanigans, you will be fully engrossed in the story and pleased with Ms. Rothe as the lead and her plight. I thoroughly and enthusiastically recommend checking out "Happy Death Day." It's that perfect combination of humor and horror to pull in casual and genre audiences alike with mass appeal. I've kept the spoilers to a bare minimum this time around since I truly want people to check this one out.
Notable Moment: When Tree and Carter finally address the topic of "Groundhog Day" toward the end. That was an amusing and appropriate way to address the elephant in the room.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
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