Happy Death Day Review

So I just watched Happy Death Day. What a nice surprise.

In case you’re unfamiliar Happy Death Day is a movie about a girl who keeps reliving the same day over and over again in classic Groundhog day fashion. The twist is she gets murdered at the end of every day.

First thing’s first, this movie has all the tropes of the time loop movie. The protagonist starts out an asshole and goes on a journey of self discovery and redemption. There’s the original day, the deja vu day, the realization day, the montage, etc. There’s all the repeated moments with varying reactions from the protagonist. Everything you expect in a Groundhog Day type movie is present and accounted for.

With that in mind I have to say this movie has enough clever ideas to stand on its own. One of my favorite things they add is a reason why the loop can’t last forever which gives each death a little more weight. There are several twists in the movie, and a ton of red herrings which kept the momentum going.

I think this movie’s biggest strength was its comedic chops. I haven’t seen any trailers or marketing for this movie but based on the title and premise alone I was expecting more horror. Not that there’s no horror, some of it is even really effective, however many of the kills are done for laughs. And honestly that was a pleasant surprise. I chuckled a bunch. The characters were a little cookie cutter, but I liked them just the same.

I do think an R rating could have given the kills a little more variety and a little more weight. As it stands it’s a pretty bloodless movie.

If you think the premise sounds interesting I say go. I think there’s enough originality and fun that it overcomes any Groundhog Day ripoff accusations. I give Happy Death Day 62 out of 85 cupcakes.