Around the Halloween season, moviegoers are introduced to new horror movies and thrillers to hit the big screen. This year, “Happy Death Day,” directed by Christopher Landon and starring Jessica Rothe as “Tree,” does not meet the standards of a true Halloween thriller.
Best known for writing “Paranormal Activity 3” back in 2011, Landon’s “Happy Death Day” upsets viewers through constant repetition and countless plot holes, meaning certain plot twists introduced once, but never spoken of again.
While viewing the movie, we noticed the strong resemblance to “Groundhog Day” directed by Harold Ramis back in 1993, due to Rothe constantly being forced to relive the same day repeatedly.
Towards the end of the movie, Rothe and costar Israel Broussard, who plays “Carter,” even mentioned “Groundhog Day” within a conversation, making readers question whether this film was to be a horror or an upsetting comedy.
Viewers are introduced to information regarding the character’s background, explaining why the movie is on Rothe’s birthday. However, viewers are also left with a lot of questions once walking out of the theater, making us think about the necessity of specific scenes. These scenes seemed important at the moment, but eventually had no significance to the plot development for the movie.
If your intention was to watch a good horror movie, you are likely to be disappointed by “Happy Death Day.” Viewers are only given one jump-scare the first time Tree is being murdered, but it is easy to become accustomed to expecting the next attack on Rothe by her mystery killer. This squashes any suspicion Landon was attempting to create.
Landon also added aspects of the college life experience through Rothe’s constant irresponsible partying and sorority drama. Because of this, the movie becomes stale and stereotypical. Introducing an unintelligent blonde “mean girl” protagonist to be the subject of a seemingly avoidable murder story is far from original.
However, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Landon hints at a sequel to “Happy Death Day” saying “...it’s definitely not what anyone is expecting.” This makes us curious as to whether or not certain plot holes will be paved, and whether or not Landon will create yet another disappointing film.