Review of Happy Death Day (2017) by Guillotrined — 19 Dec 2017

Happy Death Day surprised me. It really surprised me. And given my rapidly growing cynicism towards all of Hollywood's contrived vomit, this movie was like taking a breath of fresh air after nearly drowning in filmmaking idiocy.

Happy Death Day utilizes the 'Groundhog Day' formula; that is to say, the protagonist is trapped in a day that forever repeats. This is one of the few movies that takes advantage of that formula, however, it appears to be a growing trend. I happen to think this is something positive since the idea of a cyclical and never-ending day can be used in a multitude of creative ways (see 'Edge of Tomorrow').

But Happy Death Day does not pretend it's something unique. In fact, Happy Death Day even manages a nod towards Groundhog Day, both humbly acknowledging where its own inspiration derived from and complimenting a phenomenal classic that should be required viewing for anyone with a pulse.

And that's a big part of what makes this movie so good: it's not pretentious. It's not trying to be something it's not. And best of all, it's not robotic and formulaic. While the film plods the path of the typical three act Greek outline, it does so with emotion and realism. The characters matter. This is a big part of what makes Happy Death Day stand out: the characters aren't fabricated on an assembly line. They aren't caricatures. They act like we act. They react like we react.

The cynicism I complained of at the beginning of this review has largely been cultivated by bloated budgets and overpaid arrogant blowhards who think they can force feed the moviegoing public with their computer generated scripts and lazily earn a paycheck without lifting a finger. But this movie is anything but. The people involved in this film made an earnest effort and it shows.

Happy Death Day's storytelling is also patient and thoughtful. The story is unfolded at an even pace and plot points that are revealed from the start are neatly tied up by the end. Speaking of the end, it's rare that I'm surprised and/or fulfilled by an ending but this movie managed to achieve both for me.

As a sidenote, I have read disparaging reviews that attack the fact that Happy Death Day "rips off" Groundhog Day; this is akin to lambasting every story that's had aggressive aliens since War of the Worlds. Why is it negative if someone is inspired by someone else? If I created something unique and others used it for their own creations, why would I take that as anything other than praise? Attacking a plot for its similarity to something else is, on its face, ridiculous. Plots are used and reused all the time; it is what we do with them that matters.

But I will digress. overall, I highly recommend this movie. Remove the Hollywood preconceptions in your mind, drop the need for flashy effects and other bells and whistles and simply let it all unfold. Hopefully, like me, you'll be left feeling very satisfied.

(P.S. I gave it an 9/10 as a bit of a curve score. In other words, if movies were metaphorically a classroom full of students, Happy Death Day would be given a higher score given that all of its classmates are flunking out. As a movie of its own right, perhaps I'd give it a 7 or 8.