Live. Die. Repeat. Three words sloganized by Edge of Tomorrow but applicable across a genre of time-bending Groundhog Day-esque stories, except Groundhog Day has less death and murder. For movies of this ilk, I’ve found one that surprises with its entertaining blend of slasher and time loop tropes: Happy Death Day.
You may watch the trailer and come away with low expectations. I did. There’s the introduction of the time loop aspect layered with short clips of traditional slasher and stalker fare. There’s also the typical final girl (Tree) being relentlessly pursued by a mysterious killer who leaves a trail of bodies and carnage in their wake. That is your prototypical slasher formula. There is a genre of movies today verbalizing that formula as part of their plot, and time loop films are certainly not new. While Happy Death Day does not stand out for marrying slashers and time loops, there is a freshness to the presentation and the take on the inherent angst of having to die on repeat. The final package ends up being more than B-movie kitsch. Happy Death Day comes through to deliver a good story with quality and just the right amount of rough, slightly corny, edges.
When Happy Death Day released in 2017, the October timing set it up as one of the better scary movies to watch at the time. While expectations remained low even as I walked into the theater, the introduction of the on-screen ringtone, “Hey, it’s your birthday, why don’t you pick up your phone,” (something that ends up getting seared into your brain after hearing it over and over) put in motion a captivating tale of unique characters and situations, and even though they repeat throughout, Tree’s evolving interactions with them create comedic surprises and nuances that ultimately make each day different.
As in any time loop flick, the main character needs to use the cumulative experience from reliving the same day to overcome whatever mystery is keeping them stuck. Tree is forced to face her murderer, and consequently her own death, dozens of times, and while this occurs, she builds theories regarding the killer’s identity and what outcome could lead to restoring her alive timeline. This is where Happy Death Day hits its peak fun factor and became a movie that surprised. Of course, there are the usual twists and sense of inescapable fate, but each death comes about in a unique fashion while Tree’s eventual acceptance of her situation lets her live without fear of the consequences. The combination of the pieces allows Happy Death Day to carve out a place in this combo genre and set the stage for a sequel.
You may read the above and not see anything that truly sets Happy Death Day apart from a film like Edge of Tomorrow or Scream, but ultimately, what made this movie surprising is that I liked it more than I expected, so much so that I still sing that damn ringtone. It’s a film I enjoy watching even though I know the outcome, my own slice of the Happy Death Day experience.
