I had been intrigued by this film ever since I saw the first trailer for it. Groundhog Day meets campy horror? Sign me up! However, after hearing only negative reviews about this film, I decided to stay away. Flash forward 3 months and I rented this film on Redbox. I soon learned that I should not have waited to rent this film, and instead seen it in theaters. Happy Death Day is a great horror film that incorporates comedy, character development, and a strong female lead that is hard to match, especially in this kind of genre.
From the start, I was informed that this was a Blumhouse Productions picture (the same studio that produced Get Out), so I knew that I was in for a treat given the wild success of Jordan Peele's film. The points that this film excelled in were its character development and the tone throughout the film. This movie turned out to be more of a horror-comedy than a horror film, and it worked surprisingly well. The writing throughout the movie made the comedic tone work very well, as none of it seemed out of place or forced. This was very important, especially to the plot of the movie, which involved a girl getting killed on the same day over and over again until she solves her own murder. This is a tough subject to keep dramatic and suspenseful, and I am very glad that the creative directors decided to embrace the humor. The other best part about this film was the development of the main character Tree, played by Jessica Rothe. She began this film as a very uptight and rude character, written very stereo-typically as a teenage sorority girl. She was condescending of everyone on the campus, and had the very high maintenance lifestyle that is normally portrayed in that archetypal female. But throughout this film, and throughout what happened to her, the development was done very well. She began to care about her surroundings and become appreciative of everyone, as the audience becomes appreciative of her as well. The writing definitely did her character justice, and I am delighted that she did not take on the generic "dumb blonde" trope that is grossly misused in film.
While this movie performed excellently in the areas previously mentioned, there were still some minor issues in the writing. There were scenes that seemed to be taken straight out of the "how-to-make-a-horror-movie" textbook and scenes that were superb. Some of the less-than-mediocre scenes, however, were very predictable and easily written in a matter of minutes. I do appreciate how clever the writing was, as it progressed from being very simple and typical to more complex and attention-grabbing. The problem was the predictable scenes were scattered in random places throughout the film, where it erred the pacing as well. Even though the writing was weak in a few spots, the screenwriters did a fantastic job of hiding the poison cupcake twist and the reveal of the killer. I never would have guessed that (spoilers) her roommate would have been the one to attempt to murder her. This brings up another of the questionable writing moments too. What kind of teenage girl would attempt to murder another over the assumed "stealing" of her boyfriend? While the writing hid the reveal brilliantly, it did not further the cause of "young women are more than just petty and dumb."
Happy Death Day is a very entertaining and engaging film that I would definitely recommend to any fan of horror. Or comedy. Or both. While the writing did not excel in all areas, it was supported by a great performance by Rothe and an interesting storyline. Overall, this film was very enjoyable and I would definitely re-watch it with friends. I do wish I had seen this in theatres because I know it would have been a very fun group experience, but for now, renting it from Redbox is good enough.
My Rating: ★★★½
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