Happy Deathday

Don't watch it if you are in for a gory slasher, but if you like a bit of suspense with (teenage) humor, you're in the right place. Watched this movie with a smile on my face, but I was still interested int he mysterious side of the movie.

I had low expectations and I have to say they were totally exceeded .

This is an enjoyable Romantic Horror with more than a passing reference to GROUNDHOG DAY - and the occasional reminiscing of the 15 year old Shaun of the dead . Plus a bit of Scream , scary movie and a number of other slasher movies .

Jessica Roshe was brilliant in the starring role , you believe in her character , her charm was endearing and despite the 10 years between her character and actual age she played the combination of innocent romantic with a touch a modern feisty independent female in control of her own destiny .

The only poor point was how the inevitable twist was handled - that could have been slightly better but definitely worth seeing .

Pad.A 7/10

I've been looking forward to this ever since I saw the teaser trailer, sadly it's taken me this long to get around to it.

So did it live up to expectations? Not entirely, but I walked away happy regardless.

For those unaware it's Groundhog Day (1993) with murder as we see a girl repeatedly being killed off only to start to day anew. Personally I loved this idea and was curious with where they were going to go with it.

The traditional slasher tropes are all present, some great dark humor is in the script and the cast are all on point. Notable especially is our leading lady Jessica Rothe who was excellent though I spent half the movie baffled by just how much she looks like Melissa Benoist.

I'm not sure the finale was up to the same quality as the rest of the film and that is perhaps why it's receiving a 7 not an 8. Something about it just felt inferior and saw the movie go out with a bit of a fizzle.

Regardless I can see why the film was so successful, congratulations to everyone involved because though I didn't find it as mind blowing as I'd hoped I can't deny that this is a very inventive fun little film.

The Good:

Jessica Rothe

Cast are all great

Fantastic concept

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Weak soundtrack for a movie of this ilk

Finale was underwhelming

Hearing the same dialogue repeatedly can get frustrating

I saw a pre-screening of Happy Death Day and let me tell you, it was one of the most fun theater experiences I've had. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, which is definitely for the best. If anyone walks into a movie about a sorority girl living the same day over and over and being killed over and over and expects it to be some genre-defying horror perfection, that's on them.

However, that doesn't mean this is a bad movie by any means. Jessica Rothe as Tree Gelbman and Israel Broussard as Carter Davis are fantastic as the two leads. They have excellent chemistry and make us root for them. Rothe's character wasn't the typical horror movie sorority girl, either. She was cunning and badass. She made us believe she could actually figure this mess out. If you don't change your mind on who the killer is at least twice throughout the film, you aren't paying attention.

There are curveballs thrown left and right, which made my theater gasp and yell numerous times. You think the movie is about to end on at least two different occasions. The script is smart, there's horror, there's comedy, there's drama. Happy Death Day takes you in numerous directions, while also making sure you have fun along the way. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite campy horror flicks out there. It even pokes fun at Groundhog Day, which it very clearly took some inspiration from. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror; again, it doesn't redefine the genre and there are definitely an abundance of clichés. With that, though, there are still a handful of clever moments I certainly was not expecting.

On the day of her birthday, the college student Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) awakes in the male dormitory on the bed of Carter Davis (Israel Broussard). She learns that she was totally wasted in the previous night and she leaves Carter to meet her snobish Kappa friends. Then she despises Carter that brings her bracelet that was forgotten in his room; ignores the calls of her father that wants to have lunch with her; visits the office of her professor Gregory Butler (Charles Aitken), who is married and is having an affair with her; and despises her roommate Lori Spengler (Ruby Modine) that gives a cupcake to her. During the night, Tree goes to a party at the Sigma house but is murdered by a hooded masked man while crossing a tunnel. Out of the blue, Tree wakes up on her birthday day on the bed of Carter and relives the day, when she tries to find who might be the killer.

"Happy Death Day" is a surprisingly good film, with the combination of horror, romantic comedy, mystery and thriller genres. The most important is the humor and Jessica Rothe´s performance is great in the role of the cynical Tree Gelbman. There are jokes also with "Groundhog Day" and teenage slashers and campus movies that work very well. Her list of suspects is hilarious and the dark humor of the alternate ending is a plus of the DVD. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Te Dá Parabéns" ("The Death Gives Happy Birthday")

Note: On 15 April 2023, I saw this film again.