Happy Death Day is not unaware of its obvious inspirations, and the ending of the film is the film dropping the mask and pretty directly acknowledging Groundhog Day as a major factor in the screenplay. However, the usage of the "Groundhog Day" Loop dovetails with a slasher film and a whodunit mystery in really interesting ways, and makes for a fun watch.
Tree is a sorority sister who sleeps with her professor and shows no regard for any of the people around her. She also cares nothing for celebrating her birthday. When said birthday ends in being murdered by a killer wearing their school's mass-produced mascot mask, Tree suddenly wakes up on the same morning of her birthday, with only her realizing something is wrong.
It's genuinely pretty fascinating how the time loop functions in a slasher story with a female protagonist. Tree feels like a very subversive take on the Final Girl trope, since she's the primary victim and the object of most of the film's kills...while also being the protagonist survivor who defeats the killer at the end! The usage of the time loop as a space for moral growth a la Groundhog Day also works brilliantly with a slasher, since Tree essentially starts the story as the archetypal shallow, morally repugnant victim you root for the death of in slashers, and thus, over the course of the story, occupies the roles of multiple slasher-victim archetypes—the unlikable victim all the way to the hero!
The mystery structure of the film is also compelling and put together well. It's a time loop whose consistencies aren't just used for psychological exploration, but also come into play for certain maneuvers and action plans. The movie also consistently keeps you guessing about the identity of the killer as suspects are ruled out through investigations and becoming victims themselves, and the resolution of the mystery is a genuine surprise that's also very satisfying and clever. Some elements don't seem to come together, like the idea that Tree will die for real if she keeps getting killed in the time loop, but the script overall feels pretty tight and satisfying.
Happy Death Day isn't deep, but it is polished, clever, inventive, and funny, and serves as a really interesting film in the horror space.
Film A fun, slightly metafictional, slasher mystery.
Happy Death Day is not unaware of its obvious inspirations, and the ending of the film is the film dropping the mask and pretty directly acknowledging Groundhog Day as a major factor in the screenplay. However, the usage of the "Groundhog Day" Loop dovetails with a slasher film and a whodunit mystery in really interesting ways, and makes for a fun watch.
Tree is a sorority sister who sleeps with her professor and shows no regard for any of the people around her. She also cares nothing for celebrating her birthday. When said birthday ends in being murdered by a killer wearing their school's mass-produced mascot mask, Tree suddenly wakes up on the same morning of her birthday, with only her realizing something is wrong.
It's genuinely pretty fascinating how the time loop functions in a slasher story with a female protagonist. Tree feels like a very subversive take on the Final Girl trope, since she's the primary victim and the object of most of the film's kills...while also being the protagonist survivor who defeats the killer at the end! The usage of the time loop as a space for moral growth a la Groundhog Day also works brilliantly with a slasher, since Tree essentially starts the story as the archetypal shallow, morally repugnant victim you root for the death of in slashers, and thus, over the course of the story, occupies the roles of multiple slasher-victim archetypes—the unlikable victim all the way to the hero!
The mystery structure of the film is also compelling and put together well. It's a time loop whose consistencies aren't just used for psychological exploration, but also come into play for certain maneuvers and action plans. The movie also consistently keeps you guessing about the identity of the killer as suspects are ruled out through investigations and becoming victims themselves, and the resolution of the mystery is a genuine surprise that's also very satisfying and clever. Some elements don't seem to come together, like the idea that Tree will die for real if she keeps getting killed in the time loop, but the script overall feels pretty tight and satisfying.
Happy Death Day isn't deep, but it is polished, clever, inventive, and funny, and serves as a really interesting film in the horror space.