Happy Death Day Movie Review
October 24, 2017
“Happy Death Day”, a suspenseful, slasher, directed by Christopher Landon follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe who is stuck in a time loop, suffering a violent death over and over again until she figures out how to break the cycle.
Tree is not a particularly selfless person and seem to believe as though the whole world revolves around her. After her first couple deaths, she starts viewing life with a more playful perspective and takes advantage of each opportunity that comes her way. That is until she realizes she may only have a limited amount of lives to solve her own murder, thus ending the loop. Tree struggles with finding where she belongs and tries to become a better person with each reset of the day.
Character development was such an important part in making Tree likeable and relatable. She starts out as a typical sorority girl, snobby and looking down on everyone else. Through traumatic death after traumatic death and the realization that no one is invincible she really blossoms into a better person and someone who is more accepting.
Plot twists and jump scares hold you at the edge of your seat, trying to piece together the puzzle with Tree of who her killer is. You find yourself so captivated in the movie that when she gets scared, you do too. Thankfully the whole movie didn’t revolve around jump scares.
The actors and actresses were spot on with portraying their character and each part of their personality. There was never a moment when I thought, “That was some bad acting.” which is easy to find when you’ve been in theatre. Even though directors usually have the opportunity to make sure their actors are doing their job well, some still have their bad moments. I can without a doubt say that this cast excelled in that each line was delivered very natural as if they really were their character.
I would give this film a 5-star rating and recommend it to those who enjoy controlled fear, suspense, and a slight feeling of caution after being so deeply into this thriller.
Picture Credit: The Athena Cinema