Review of Happy Death Day (2017) by Kevin P — 19 Nov 2017

Time loop films can either be very fun or too repetitive to be enjoyable. This was closer for the former. I saw one comparison of this film as "Scream meets Groundhog Day" and that's appropriate.

The mystery of trying to figure out the killer is intriguing. Seeing the different ways that Tree (Jessica Rothe) dies throughout the film is also quite fun. Unfortunately, Tree is not a very interesting character.

Carter (Israel Broussard) is a fine supporting cast member, though the rest of the side characters aren't well rounded or vital. In time loop films, each trip through the loop should be interesting or add more intrigue, but that wasn't always the case.

Some of the trips through left me a bit bored. I do like how the film doesn't ever take itself too seriously, which worked in its favor. My biggest gripe was the reveal of the killer. It felt very underwhelming and even when it was made officially clear in the end, I still didn't think it was well developed.