Happy Death Day

Slasher movies have been making their mark in history ever since the 1970s as one of the most stereotypical, formulaic, entertaining sub-genres in horror. They have a structure that is complete with features such as a main protagonist to carry the film (and/or franchise) on their acting chops and likability, side characters who are used as fodder to make the villain look imposing, a sense of dread surrounding the villain, unique plot twists to try and change things up, the antagonists murder motivation being either sympathetic or ridiculous, and blunt objects associated with the antagonist that are infamous among fans of the sub-genre. These most common film franchises include Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (all of whom had numerous sequels), the one outlier most of the public refer to would Scream, which captured popularity by satirizing the aforementioned topic. My personal favorites are Child's Play and The Cabin in the Woods, the latter of which parodied and paid homage to horror films while being comedic at the same time. It's worth bringing up because for the past few months a marketing campaign gathered attention for a new player to join the aforementioned group, Happy Death Day. The two things that captured my attention was its Groundhog Day premise and the mask of the assailant. I entered the crowded auditorium on the day it premiered (Friday the 13th for a killer movie) ready for entertainment and afterwards leaving it feeling happy about the enjoyable experience.

Plot: The story follows a sorority girl working to find the culprit after finding herself repeating her birthday again and again when she's murdered by a masked assailant. One thing to note is even though this movie fulfills the aforementioned definitions of the category, it's actually a comedic story with horror elements in the beginning. The cliches you would normally expect are mixed between playing around some of them and falling into the others, which all depends on the performance of the leading protagonist and how she interacts with them. There are a few cliches that do hold the film back a little bit, but they don't take much away from the entertainment value. There are some effective jump scares in the first few kills in the beginning before it settles into its own light hearted grove and style it was aiming for. There's a twist ending that might provoke some annoyance depending on how it gels with you (personally it didn't bother me much since it blended with those previously established tropes and the light hearted tone carried throughout most of the film). Overall while the predictable plot in Happy Death Day is affected by common stereotypes, the usage of its happy tone, clever writing, and strong protagonist help overcome its flaws while providing joyful entertainment.

Characters: The main character to focus on is Theresa "Tree" Gelbman (Jessica Rothe). Tree is a selfish sorority girl you would expect from the popular clique in Mean Girls who's killed many times as she relives her birthday repeatedly while figuring out the murderers identity. Jessica gives a great performance as she bolsters the film through her portrayal of her characters growth and demonstrates her acting range whether it's being so mean you aren't surprised a lot people would want to kill her or doing pretty well with handling emotional and comedic moments (no matter how many times she'll die in the process). It should be noted that the supporting actors could have been in better movies since they all give great performances despite limited roles or screen time in the movie. An honorable mention goes to Carter (Israel Broussard) for his likable charm and chemistry with the main lead. Overall the main lead and supporting cast in Happy Death Day all give great performances, with the former carrying the experience on her shoulders and the latter deserving better movies regardless of their roles and amount of screen time presented here.

Overall Consensus: Happy Death Day relies of the strength of its main lead, clever writing around its familiar Groundhog Day premise, and light-hearted tone to provide great entertainment to the slasher sub-genre. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿🎟

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like comedic killer movies. You like minimal use of blood is PG-13 slasher movies (Keep in mind that the films budget is really cheap here, $5 million, and is the same studio that produced another horror movie with a similar budget, Get Out). You like seeing common stereotypes being played around with. You enjoy films being self-aware of its Groundhog Day premise. You are in a fraternity/sorority and like to see how they are portrayed. You enjoy college campus environments in horror comedies. You like watching killers in creepy masks. You want to see the multiple deaths of the main protagonist.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike comedic killer movies. You want blood and gore in PG-13 slasher movies. You are annoyed by common stereotypes being played around with. You hate the Groundhog Day premise. You are annoyed by college campus environments in horror comedies. You want to see a lot of jump scares.

Coming up next: October-ween just got more humorous and creative with Happy Death Day bringing in a lighter mood for Halloween film treats to help counter the depressive tone of Blade Runner 2049. Before the surge of the much anticipated blockbusters arrive next month, there's one more entry left to round up this month. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will be taking a look at the true story involving TWA pilot Barry Seal and his reconnaissance work during the 1980s with the CIA that almost brought down the Reagan White House with the Iran Contra scandal in the recent biopic, American Made!!!