Happy Death Day (2017)

It doesn't really try to be too different from the usual groundhog day formula or the stalker/slasher genre but it does meld the two together extremely well. The cast is excellent, the direction is spot on and the writing is sharp. Considering I had heard nothing about this before I randomly watched it im genuinely surprised it doesn't have more notoriety. Definitely worth your time.

Fmovies: 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

Every negative review for this movie is going to point out that this movie is built around a concept that we've seen before. Our protagonist is forced to live through the same day again and again. Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow (both excellent movies) made this idea popular and for some people, they won't be able to get past the fact that this isn't brand new gimmick. I don't have a problem if movies borrow from other movies, they just need to do it effectively and put a fresh spin on it. Happy Death Day certainly accomplishes that. At the beginning, the journey hits the first couple of familiar notes but when Tree starts to realize what's happening, that's when the movie shifts gears. They aren't afraid to play with Tree's tragic end day after day and the movie functions for whole periods as a straight comedy. Luckily, this movie is really funny when it wants to be. The writers know enough to play with certain genre clichés and there's a surprising amount of tongue-in-cheek humour here. The marketing for this is a little misleading, it makes this movie look like a traditional slasher movie when it really ends up being a mishmash of comedy, mystery and horror

Other than the living the same day plot point, Happy Death Day centres around the mystery of who Tree's killer is. The movie throws a bunch of obvious red herrings at you right off the bat and I was glad they took it a less obvious direction. I don't think they overplay their hand either, there are a couple of hints here and there but I think you'd have to be pretty perceptive to guess the twists and turns that Day's plot takes. If I had one complaint, there was a point where they looked like they were heading towards a very sentimental resolution that could have been corny. Its a case of me wanting that for these characters. They bypass that though and keep going and while I understand the decision, I might have preferred that wrap-up instead.

Another turnoff for certain audience members might be Tree's personality as a character. She's a real b!#@% when we first meet her and I'm not exaggerating. The first time she meets her killer, I wasn't feeling sorry for her. But even when she's at her worst, she still has a certain charisma that you want to keep rooting for her. Writing characters that aren't perfect and are selfish that you want to follow is an art that so many horror movies get wrong. I liked how Tree grows (no pun intended) and by the end I really wanted her to find a happy ending somehow.

I don't often get to really discover actors and actresses. Most of the movies I watch are pretty mainstream and by the time someone becomes a lead, you've probably heard about them from somewhere. I wasn't familiar with Jessica Rothe at all but she anchored this movie as Tree. This is a stand up and take notice kind of performance, she's multi-faceted in handling both the drama and the comedy in this movie. I hope this movie is just a stepping stone to bigger things for her and I think the last time I walked away from a movie so impressed with an actress I didn't know was Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street. Israel Broussard is easy to like as Carter, he's easy going enough that his character's relationship with Tree builds up organically. Rachel Matthews is funny as Danielle Bouseman, she's playing a very stereotypical character (stuck up sorority rich girl) but she nails it. Ruby Modine is sweet as Lori and Charles Aitken is appropriately

Happy Death Day fmovies. Jessica Rothe is amusingly pithy and savvy playing a selfish college beauty, a spoiled sorority sister who rules the school until she is stabbed and killed on her way to a surprise birthday party by a masked lunatic. But fate plays this campus cutie an unusual hand once she discovers she's living her birthday over and over again, each time attempting to cheat death but always running into her attacker. Screenwriter Scott Lobdell isn't trying to sneak a slasher variant of "Groundhog Day" passed us--he's upfront about the similarities, even exalts in them, while toying with all the possibilities such a scenario can offer. It takes Rothe three tries to fully comprehend what's happening to her; once she formulates a plan (creating a suspect list), Lobdell mixes things up, so that the movie rarely feels repetitive. Our heroine, snarky to start, follows Bill Murray's example and becomes a better person on her twisted journey (reestablishing contact with her father, apologizing to her roommate, even causing her own demise on one occasion to prevent the cute nerd from the boys' dorm from losing his life). Director Christopher B. Landon deserves credit for delivering a modern-day thriller with lots of action but no gore and no nudity. If it isn't quite a family-friendly slasher flick, it certainly is a squirrelly, sassy one, with some big laughs counterbalancing the suspense. Good show! *** from ****

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.

Saw 'Happy Death Day' as somebody who was fascinated by the concept, found the advertising interesting and good enough to warrant a view and who appreciates horror when done well. Seeing it just before Halloween as part of my Halloween celebrations, will admit to not being as bowled over by the film as would have liked but enjoying it a good deal.

As surprisingly interesting as the advertising was (and there has been some dreadful advertising this year, a notable recent example being the completely mis-marketed 'Geostorm'), it is also misleading. One would expect a truly frightening film judging from the trailers, but actually 'Happy Death Day' happened to be much more than what was indicated and wasn't what one would call terrifying or sleep-with-the-light-on-for-a-week. The good news is that 'Happy Death Day' actually makes the most of its concept, refreshing having seen films recently that had concepts that they didn't do anywhere near enough with. The not so good news is that as enjoyable as it was it did feel like something was missing.

It is easy to see why lots of people will like, and have liked 'Happy Death Day'. It is just as easy to see why it will be, and has been, a let-down for others. My opinion has shades of both, leaning towards the former. 'Happy Death Day' may be somewhat standard (while the concept is a pretty unique one, some of the story elements aren't), superficial (other than the lead character, the characters are developed very flimsily) and some parts don't make as much sense as they could and feel unfinished.

Was expecting more from the killer twist reveal, which is not as clever and surprising as one would like and the whole ending felt rather silly and rushed to me (the killer's motive also came over as really trivial for an elaborate set-up). A little slow to begin with too, it's once the concept kicks in when 'Happy Death Day' properly comes to life and maintains that energy for the rest of the film.

For all those faults though, 'Happy Death Day' is also refreshingly self-aware, almost very much aware of its standard-ness and superficiality and acknowledges it, and manages to be lots of fun, creepy-suspenseful and surprisingly thought-provoking. Gruesomely funny sums it up very well.

'Happy Death Day' is a long way from amateurish visually, the photography is stylish rather than slapdash, the editing has suitably unnerving moments and the lighting is atmospheric. Christopher Landon never lets it get too heavy while not diluting the fun or scares, and the at times haunting and at others times funky soundtrack adds a lot.

When it comes to the script, 'Happy Death Day' is full of knowing humour and never removes its tongue from its cheek, instead keeping it firmly intact throughout which proved to come off really well. It also really makes one think. The story execution is not perfect, but it's never dull and has some neat twists and turns that stops it from being predictable and repetitive.

Jessica Rothe should become a bigger star after her excellent lead turn here, she has been acting a few years before this but this is the first time where she really held my attention and allowed me to take proper notice of her. Israel Broussard is also very believable and the two have great chemistry together. The acting on the whole is solid but essentially it's all about Rothe and she is one of the main reasons why 'Happy Death Day' is