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Lee (2222 KP) rated Happy Death Day (2017) in Movies
Oct 26, 2017
Plenty of humour (1 more)
Jessica Rothe is great
Enjoable Groundhog Day/Scream Mashup
It's not that scary, and there's no real blood or gore for die hard horror fans to enjoy, but Happy Death Day - the latest offering from Blumhouse Productions - still manages to deliver a wildly entertaining mashup of Groundhog Day and Scream.
College girl Tree Gelbman wakes up in the dorm of a boy she doesn't remember spending the night with. She has a pounding headache and can't wait to get out of there as quickly as possible. Sneering at the goth on her way out, avoiding the clipboard wielding tree hugger and blanking the less popular girl that smiles at her as she returns to her sorority house. Back in her room, her room mate has a birthday cupcake for Tree in honour of her special day, which she dumps in the bin on her way out to the class she's late for. Later on, we discover that she's sleeping with one of her college teachers, whose wife nearly catches them together. There certainly do seem to be a lot of people who have every right to be pissed at Tree. And, later that evening on her way to a party, Tree is approached by someone wearing a black hoodie and a baby mask. As the mysterious figure murders her, she wakes up, back in the boys dorm from that morning, and she finds herself having to endure her birth/death day once more.
Tree is understandably confused, as the days events begin to play out exactly as they did before, right up until the point where she's murdered again by the mask wearing killer. From there she goes through stages of anger, despair and acceptance, eventually coming to the conclusion that no matter what she does or where she hides, the Baby Faced killer is always going to find her and kill her, triggering the reset button on the day in the process. It's up to her to try and whittle down that big list of suspects, and take out the killer before they get chance to kill her. The only trouble is, each time that Tree dies the injuries she sustained leave a negative impact on her body, so she only has a limited number of days to find the killer and break the loop before she is gone forever.
So much of this movie rests on Jessica Rothe as Tree, and she just nails it, successfully moving Tree from victim to full-on bad-ass and becoming more and more likeable as she sets about changing her ways in order to get close to those potential suspects. There's a lot of humour throughout, and a pretty decent twist towards the end, just to keep you on your toes. Overall I really liked this. There's even a nice, last minute mention of Groundhog Day, the classic movie that this owes so much to.
College girl Tree Gelbman wakes up in the dorm of a boy she doesn't remember spending the night with. She has a pounding headache and can't wait to get out of there as quickly as possible. Sneering at the goth on her way out, avoiding the clipboard wielding tree hugger and blanking the less popular girl that smiles at her as she returns to her sorority house. Back in her room, her room mate has a birthday cupcake for Tree in honour of her special day, which she dumps in the bin on her way out to the class she's late for. Later on, we discover that she's sleeping with one of her college teachers, whose wife nearly catches them together. There certainly do seem to be a lot of people who have every right to be pissed at Tree. And, later that evening on her way to a party, Tree is approached by someone wearing a black hoodie and a baby mask. As the mysterious figure murders her, she wakes up, back in the boys dorm from that morning, and she finds herself having to endure her birth/death day once more.
Tree is understandably confused, as the days events begin to play out exactly as they did before, right up until the point where she's murdered again by the mask wearing killer. From there she goes through stages of anger, despair and acceptance, eventually coming to the conclusion that no matter what she does or where she hides, the Baby Faced killer is always going to find her and kill her, triggering the reset button on the day in the process. It's up to her to try and whittle down that big list of suspects, and take out the killer before they get chance to kill her. The only trouble is, each time that Tree dies the injuries she sustained leave a negative impact on her body, so she only has a limited number of days to find the killer and break the loop before she is gone forever.
So much of this movie rests on Jessica Rothe as Tree, and she just nails it, successfully moving Tree from victim to full-on bad-ass and becoming more and more likeable as she sets about changing her ways in order to get close to those potential suspects. There's a lot of humour throughout, and a pretty decent twist towards the end, just to keep you on your toes. Overall I really liked this. There's even a nice, last minute mention of Groundhog Day, the classic movie that this owes so much to.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Happy Death Day (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Using familiar themes can be a risk. What we have seen in previous films that define a style, becomes cliché and bores the audience. Then there are times when movies turn the trope on its head and gives us a clever take on the familiar. Christopher Landon (Scout’s Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse) has directed a fun romp in suspense and horror. Yes, there is the blatant reference to Groundhog Day, but this film is definitely a homage to John Carpenter, the master of the genre.
We know from the trailer that this is a horror/suspense loop and there are expectations set in this type of film. The young, attractive, woman, stalked by an unknown, masked assailant with a penchant for cutlery. As we know, Tree (Jessica Rothe) gets killed repeatedly on her birthday. We know it’s a slasher flick, expecting to see lots of blood and gore. Putting the main character in a time loop is definitely a twist in the storytelling.
Using repetition in film can be a tricky, stalling the momentum of the film. There was a moment during where I wondered when the loop would end, creating the feeling of hopelessness. It is at that time where Tree’s through process shifts and we travel with her in this never ending day. It takes a few times in the loop for Tree’s character to become enlightened She does figure out that each return is a do-over, an opportunity to make different choices.
The film also tips it’s hat to the college/high school, mean girl movies and definitely a nod to John Hughes Sixteen Candles. It had humor, wit and clever character development, I certainly did not expect to enjoy the film as much as I did. I would definitely watch it again to catch all of the references.
We know from the trailer that this is a horror/suspense loop and there are expectations set in this type of film. The young, attractive, woman, stalked by an unknown, masked assailant with a penchant for cutlery. As we know, Tree (Jessica Rothe) gets killed repeatedly on her birthday. We know it’s a slasher flick, expecting to see lots of blood and gore. Putting the main character in a time loop is definitely a twist in the storytelling.
Using repetition in film can be a tricky, stalling the momentum of the film. There was a moment during where I wondered when the loop would end, creating the feeling of hopelessness. It is at that time where Tree’s through process shifts and we travel with her in this never ending day. It takes a few times in the loop for Tree’s character to become enlightened She does figure out that each return is a do-over, an opportunity to make different choices.
The film also tips it’s hat to the college/high school, mean girl movies and definitely a nod to John Hughes Sixteen Candles. It had humor, wit and clever character development, I certainly did not expect to enjoy the film as much as I did. I would definitely watch it again to catch all of the references.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Happy Death Day 2U (2019) in Movies
Feb 18, 2019 (Updated Feb 21, 2019)
A worthy sequel
Contains spoilers, click to show
The original Happy Death Day was a real pleasant surprise. A cross between Groundhog Day and Scream, with our heroine being killed by a baby face mask wearing killer every day, only to wake up again at the start of the same day. With a long list of potential suspects, and slowly feeling the effects of dying repeatedly, she set about trying to find the killers identity. Much of what made the first movie so enjoyable was largely down to lead character Tree, played by Jessica Rothe and the intensely hilarious way that she approached the whole situation. It wasn't exactly a horror movie, more of a comedy thriller.
In Happy Death Day 2U, we begin by following Ryan. Ryan was also in the first movie, bursting into his campus room each morning, interrupting roommate Carter and Tree after she'd spent the night there. As he makes his way to the room from the car he'd spent the night in - avoiding a barking dog, dodging a man asking for money and a boy riding a skateboard - it's pretty clear that we're setting up a series of events likely to be repeated time and again in a similar way that Tree experienced a very specific series of events each day in the first movie. During his morning at university, we discover that Ryan has been working on a Quantum mechanics experiment along with a bunch of nerdy students - a machine dubbed 'Sissy'. Turns out Sissy has been causing some very high power fluctuations and generated some very high readings the day before, the day in which Tree experienced her loop. Soon after, Ryan is killed by the baby face killer and wakes up in his car once again, experiencing the same events we've just seen encounter on the way to his room. When he explains what just happened to Tree and Carter, Tree sets about trying to help him figure out how Sissy caused the time-loop in the first place, and how it has now transferred to Ryan.
At this point you'd think you've got the rest of the movie pretty much figured out - with Ryan repeating his day, aided by experienced looper Tree. But surprisingly, the movie largely abandons its slasher story-line. Instead, we get a more sc-fi story with a varied mix of slapstick comedy and emotional drama. An accident involving Sissy opens up a portal to the multiverse and Tree finds herself caught up in her original loop once more. Only this time, it's in a slightly different universe to the one she's used to - her mum is now alive, and her boyfriend is dating her best friend. Not only does she need to work with Ryan and his nerd friends each day in order to determine how to put things right, she needs to once again work out who the killer is in this particular universe and, more importantly, make the difficult decision to either stay in the universe where her mum is still alive, or return to the one she knows and has lived in all her life.
Once again, Jessica Rothe as Tree is what makes this movie so enjoyable. From the emotional scenes with her mum, to the frustration of the loop, to the bad ass fighting back against it all, she pulls it all off wonderfully. We even get time to enjoy some very funny death scenes too - a particularly enjoyable one being a sky-dive out of an aeroplane, wearing only a bikini and then landing horizontally in slow motion while giving the finger to the camera!
It's difficult for me to say whether or not I enjoyed this movie more or less than the first. A lot of what made the original so enjoyable is present in this sequel. But there are also a lot of new elements introduced, some that work and some that don't. Overall I had a great time watching with this though - definitely a worthy sequel.
In Happy Death Day 2U, we begin by following Ryan. Ryan was also in the first movie, bursting into his campus room each morning, interrupting roommate Carter and Tree after she'd spent the night there. As he makes his way to the room from the car he'd spent the night in - avoiding a barking dog, dodging a man asking for money and a boy riding a skateboard - it's pretty clear that we're setting up a series of events likely to be repeated time and again in a similar way that Tree experienced a very specific series of events each day in the first movie. During his morning at university, we discover that Ryan has been working on a Quantum mechanics experiment along with a bunch of nerdy students - a machine dubbed 'Sissy'. Turns out Sissy has been causing some very high power fluctuations and generated some very high readings the day before, the day in which Tree experienced her loop. Soon after, Ryan is killed by the baby face killer and wakes up in his car once again, experiencing the same events we've just seen encounter on the way to his room. When he explains what just happened to Tree and Carter, Tree sets about trying to help him figure out how Sissy caused the time-loop in the first place, and how it has now transferred to Ryan.
At this point you'd think you've got the rest of the movie pretty much figured out - with Ryan repeating his day, aided by experienced looper Tree. But surprisingly, the movie largely abandons its slasher story-line. Instead, we get a more sc-fi story with a varied mix of slapstick comedy and emotional drama. An accident involving Sissy opens up a portal to the multiverse and Tree finds herself caught up in her original loop once more. Only this time, it's in a slightly different universe to the one she's used to - her mum is now alive, and her boyfriend is dating her best friend. Not only does she need to work with Ryan and his nerd friends each day in order to determine how to put things right, she needs to once again work out who the killer is in this particular universe and, more importantly, make the difficult decision to either stay in the universe where her mum is still alive, or return to the one she knows and has lived in all her life.
Once again, Jessica Rothe as Tree is what makes this movie so enjoyable. From the emotional scenes with her mum, to the frustration of the loop, to the bad ass fighting back against it all, she pulls it all off wonderfully. We even get time to enjoy some very funny death scenes too - a particularly enjoyable one being a sky-dive out of an aeroplane, wearing only a bikini and then landing horizontally in slow motion while giving the finger to the camera!
It's difficult for me to say whether or not I enjoyed this movie more or less than the first. A lot of what made the original so enjoyable is present in this sequel. But there are also a lot of new elements introduced, some that work and some that don't. Overall I had a great time watching with this though - definitely a worthy sequel.
