User reviews

I saw a pre-screening of Happy Death Day and let me tell you, it was one of the most fun theater experiences I've had. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, which is definitely for the best. If anyone walks into a movie about a sorority girl living the same day over and over and being killed over and over and expects it to be some genre-defying horror perfection, that's on them.

However, that doesn't mean this is a bad movie by any means. Jessica Rothe as Tree Gelbman and Israel Broussard as Carter Davis are fantastic as the two leads. They have excellent chemistry and make us root for them. Rothe's character wasn't the typical horror movie sorority girl, either. She was cunning and badass. She made us believe she could actually figure this mess out. If you don't change your mind on who the killer is at least twice throughout the film, you aren't paying attention.

There are curveballs thrown left and right, which made my theater gasp and yell numerous times. You think the movie is about to end on at least two different occasions. The script is smart, there's horror, there's comedy, there's drama. Happy Death Day takes you in numerous directions, while also making sure you have fun along the way. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite campy horror flicks out there. It even pokes fun at Groundhog Day, which it very clearly took some inspiration from. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror; again, it doesn't redefine the genre and there are definitely an abundance of clichés. With that, though, there are still a handful of clever moments I certainly was not expecting.

I think people going to see this movie are expecting wayyyy to much from a slasher movie. I'm rating it based on what I expected, and I was certainly impressed. This movie wasn't trying to be anything more than another murder movie, but what made me want to see it was the idea of taking Groundhog Day (which it fully admitted to ripping the idea from) and turning it into a slasher film. I was actually surprised it held back on gore and blood. I was fully expecting it to be all the tropes of gross-out killings, but it was instead focused more on character development and the story. I admit the characters are a bit one-dimensional, but again, it's a slasher movie. It's trying to win any academy awards here. In many ways I think it's parodying those one-dimensional characters of college trope characters and the "last girl" in horror movies because it goes all-in on establishing the main characters as somebody you're meant to hate at first. The ending genuinely took me in a direction I didn't anticipate, and then it took me back to what I was expecting, but did it in a way that I felt fresh. All in all, I had fun watching this movie, which I think what this movie was meant to be: Fun.

Jessica Rothe shines through in this tongue in cheek horror. It's a film that doesn't take itself too seriously, the characters, means of death, and outlandish humour move it into the horror comedy genre.

I loved the reference to Groundhog Day at the end of the film, I would imagine there was some sort of in joke there, and of course any film that involves the loop storyline will have reference to the great Bill Murray film.

There were some great twists and turns, the best one coming at the end. This was very enjoyable. 7/10

Saw 'Happy Death Day' as somebody who was fascinated by the concept, found the advertising interesting and good enough to warrant a view and who appreciates horror when done well. Seeing it just before Halloween as part of my Halloween celebrations, will admit to not being as bowled over by the film as would have liked but enjoying it a good deal.

As surprisingly interesting as the advertising was (and there has been some dreadful advertising this year, a notable recent example being the completely mis-marketed 'Geostorm'), it is also misleading. One would expect a truly frightening film judging from the trailers, but actually 'Happy Death Day' happened to be much more than what was indicated and wasn't what one would call terrifying or sleep-with-the-light-on-for-a-week. The good news is that 'Happy Death Day' actually makes the most of its concept, refreshing having seen films recently that had concepts that they didn't do anywhere near enough with. The not so good news is that as enjoyable as it was it did feel like something was missing.

It is easy to see why lots of people will like, and have liked 'Happy Death Day'. It is just as easy to see why it will be, and has been, a let-down for others. My opinion has shades of both, leaning towards the former. 'Happy Death Day' may be somewhat standard (while the concept is a pretty unique one, some of the story elements aren't), superficial (other than the lead character, the characters are developed very flimsily) and some parts don't make as much sense as they could and feel unfinished.

Was expecting more from the killer twist reveal, which is not as clever and surprising as one would like and the whole ending felt rather silly and rushed to me (the killer's motive also came over as really trivial for an elaborate set-up). A little slow to begin with too, it's once the concept kicks in when 'Happy Death Day' properly comes to life and maintains that energy for the rest of the film.

For all those faults though, 'Happy Death Day' is also refreshingly self-aware, almost very much aware of its standard-ness and superficiality and acknowledges it, and manages to be lots of fun, creepy-suspenseful and surprisingly thought-provoking. Gruesomely funny sums it up very well.

'Happy Death Day' is a long way from amateurish visually, the photography is stylish rather than slapdash, the editing has suitably unnerving moments and the lighting is atmospheric. Christopher Landon never lets it get too heavy while not diluting the fun or scares, and the at times haunting and at others times funky soundtrack adds a lot.

When it comes to the script, 'Happy Death Day' is full of knowing humour and never removes its tongue from its cheek, instead keeping it firmly intact throughout which proved to come off really well. It also really makes one think. The story execution is not perfect, but it's never dull and has some neat twists and turns that stops it from being predictable and repetitive.

Jessica Rothe should become a bigger star after her excellent lead turn here, she has been acting a few years before this but this is the first time where she really held my attention and allowed me to take proper notice of her. Israel Broussard is also very believable and the two have great chemistry together. The acting on the whole is solid but essentially it's all about Rothe and she is one of the main reasons why 'Happy Death Day' is worth a viewing.

Overall, a long way from perfect but quite enjoyable. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I've been looking forward to this ever since I saw the teaser trailer, sadly it's taken me this long to get around to it.

So did it live up to expectations? Not entirely, but I walked away happy regardless.

For those unaware it's Groundhog Day (1993) with murder as we see a girl repeatedly being killed off only to start to day anew. Personally I loved this idea and was curious with where they were going to go with it.

The traditional slasher tropes are all present, some great dark humor is in the script and the cast are all on point. Notable especially is our leading lady Jessica Rothe who was excellent though I spent half the movie baffled by just how much she looks like Melissa Benoist.

I'm not sure the finale was up to the same quality as the rest of the film and that is perhaps why it's receiving a 7 not an 8. Something about it just felt inferior and saw the movie go out with a bit of a fizzle.

Regardless I can see why the film was so successful, congratulations to everyone involved because though I didn't find it as mind blowing as I'd hoped I can't deny that this is a very inventive fun little film.

The Good:

Jessica Rothe

Cast are all great

Fantastic concept

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Weak soundtrack for a movie of this ilk

Finale was underwhelming

Hearing the same dialogue repeatedly can get frustrating

Jessica Rothe is amusingly pithy and savvy playing a selfish college beauty, a spoiled sorority sister who rules the school until she is stabbed and killed on her way to a surprise birthday party by a masked lunatic. But fate plays this campus cutie an unusual hand once she discovers she's living her birthday over and over again, each time attempting to cheat death but always running into her attacker. Screenwriter Scott Lobdell isn't trying to sneak a slasher variant of "Groundhog Day" passed us--he's upfront about the similarities, even exalts in them, while toying with all the possibilities such a scenario can offer. It takes Rothe three tries to fully comprehend what's happening to her; once she formulates a plan (creating a suspect list), Lobdell mixes things up, so that the movie rarely feels repetitive. Our heroine, snarky to start, follows Bill Murray's example and becomes a better person on her twisted journey (reestablishing contact with her father, apologizing to her roommate, even causing her own demise on one occasion to prevent the cute nerd from the boys' dorm from losing his life). Director Christopher B. Landon deserves credit for delivering a modern-day thriller with lots of action but no gore and no nudity. If it isn't quite a family-friendly slasher flick, it certainly is a squirrelly, sassy one, with some big laughs counterbalancing the suspense. Good show! *** from ****

On the day of her birthday, the college student Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) awakes in the male dormitory on the bed of Carter Davis (Israel Broussard). She learns that she was totally wasted in the previous night and she leaves Carter to meet her snobish Kappa friends. Then she despises Carter that brings her bracelet that was forgotten in his room; ignores the calls of her father that wants to have lunch with her; visits the office of her professor Gregory Butler (Charles Aitken), who is married and is having an affair with her; and despises her roommate Lori Spengler (Ruby Modine) that gives a cupcake to her. During the night, Tree goes to a party at the Sigma house but is murdered by a hooded masked man while crossing a tunnel. Out of the blue, Tree wakes up on her birthday day on the bed of Carter and relives the day, when she tries to find who might be the killer.

"Happy Death Day" is a surprisingly good film, with the combination of horror, romantic comedy, mystery and thriller genres. The most important is the humor and Jessica Rothe´s performance is great in the role of the cynical Tree Gelbman. There are jokes also with "Groundhog Day" and teenage slashers and campus movies that work very well. Her list of suspects is hilarious and the dark humor of the alternate ending is a plus of the DVD. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Te Dá Parabéns" ("The Death Gives Happy Birthday")

Note: On 15 April 2023, I saw this film again.

This type of movie has been done many times before and rarely succeeds, but this one was a hit for me!

Jessica Rothe's performance is what kept me interested... she nailed her character and was convincing and funny as well.

I don't want to give too much away, but the twists towards the end were a nice surprise and earned a few extra points from me.

It's classified as a Horror, Mystery, Thriller but it's also a comedy as I found myself laughing a bunch of times.

Certainly a must-see entertaining film produced and executed very well, much better than many other films in this genre.

It's a well deserved 9/10 from me.

I had low expectations and I have to say they were totally exceeded .

This is an enjoyable Romantic Horror with more than a passing reference to GROUNDHOG DAY - and the occasional reminiscing of the 15 year old Shaun of the dead . Plus a bit of Scream , scary movie and a number of other slasher movies .

Jessica Roshe was brilliant in the starring role , you believe in her character , her charm was endearing and despite the 10 years between her character and actual age she played the combination of innocent romantic with a touch a modern feisty independent female in control of her own destiny .

The only poor point was how the inevitable twist was handled - that could have been slightly better but definitely worth seeing .

Pad.A 7/10

As a fan of Groundhog Day, Final Destination and Edge of Tomorrow, I was surprised how much I liked it. It was just well done and it worked on all levels. I watch a lot of movies and hate most of them, but this one worked for me.

Happy Death Day is fully aware of the kind of movie it is and has no qualms about poking fun at itself. It's this type of self-awareness and humor that makes the film enjoyable to watch. The film is somewhat original in putting a slasher spin on the great premise of Groundhog Day (although it is awfully similar to a classic episode of Supernatural...) and features an entertaining lead performance by Jessica Rothe.

I admire the clever application of a "Groundhog Day" experience to a thriller/horror genre, however if I'm going to see the same sequence of events repeating continuously, I don't want the entire plot to be utterly predictable. This film was straight up boring, punctuated by the fact that every character was unlikable and not worth rooting for.

Self-obsessed sorority girl Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) wakes up in a strange dorm room. She had spent the drunken night with Carter. She does the walk of shame home. Her roommate Lori gives her a birthday cupcake. She's having an affair with the married Dr. Gregory Butler. As night falls, she is killed by a masked perpetrator. She wakes up once again in the dorm room and it's a deadly Groundhog Day.

It's a terrific little high-concept horror. Jessica Rothe is great. Everything is great until the second to last repeat day. Once she discovers the serial killer, the next day should be nothing but gearing up to take down the killer. Instead, she goes around fixing everything which is unnecessary. She should go buy a gun or at least pepper spray. I kept waiting for her to go to the hospital during that one bad day. It does have a nice twist and the movie isn't torpedoed by that one day. This movie is a fun little surprise.

Happy Death Day comes from Blumhouse Productions, the studio made famous for the resurgence of horror in theaters (Get Out, The Purge, Insidious). However, this is the lightest of light thrills. Sure, it would fit in the slasher movie bin, but with its bubble gum aesthetics and goofy comedy, it's really more Freaky Friday than Friday the 13th. And in that sense, it's mildly charming…if not bright enough to be great. For starters, the premise is pretty stupid, and the execution of that premise isn't much better. A brash and awful sorority girl is forced to relive the same birthday over and over, each one ending in her own murder by a masked killer. Imagine Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow, but in the teen-screams genre and with a lot less complexity. In fact, most of its "originality" just comes in its blanket theft from other properties and throwing them all together: the youth world of Mean Girls; the comedy of "Scream Queens"; the protagonist from "The Good Place"; the scares from The Purge. It's not bad, just familiar, like we're reliving this recognizable movie just as the character relives her day. Once our girl starts trying to solve the whodunit-mystery, things get more assured and fun, as we find it easier to root for her and her insistence on not dying each day ad infinitum. Even though the deaths and scares are wanting, the other elements work, especially the humor and (gasp!) the heart. It's harmless and forgettable October fare, made more for people who hate horror than me. In other words, my wife will love it.

This movie keeps you on your seat for its full duration. It's a rollercoaster of comedy, drama and horror. And it works! The idea is a combination of Groundhog Day, the Butterfly Effect en Sliding Doors, but it delivers exactly what you hope it would after you read the description.

This would have been a mediocre film if it wasn't for Jessica Rothe. She starts as the prom queen, spoiled brat princess character but grows to be a good versatile actress. She puts this movie to a higher level.

The 'deaths' are good, funny and as the film progresses, we see Jessica getting more annoyed, aggravated and frustrated. The waking up scene and the walk along the campus that follows never bores, although you see it close to a dozen times. And all that because of the way our lead actress delivers.

The plot twist is a bit lame and the lack of motive even more, (which even Tree herself complaints about) but it was a nice ending.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable movie! Not top tier, but good.

Don't watch it if you are in for a gory slasher, but if you like a bit of suspense with (teenage) humor, you're in the right place. Watched this movie with a smile on my face, but I was still interested int he mysterious side of the movie.

Movie with the time loop concept is interesting but really need many good elements in it. It must contain good story, morale message, and also the brilliant plot twist is a must. And what makes this movie great ? Yeah it because Happy Death Day has all of the important element. Simple story with popular girl in university, with good directing, the repeated scene because of time loop doesn't seem boring. They can make the audience to be curious and sometimes with extra comedy it makes this film really great !

No doubt you will like this horror thriller movie because it is not similar like usual horror movie with some ghost, devil, or mysterious phenomenon. Its more like thriller movie with mysterious psychopath that kills you and you just cant escape from it. Even if I think this movie is brilliant, I admit that with this film concept like this, I like better if the movie genre is drama because it can offer you much more emotional, dramatic, and better morale message.

A movie with so many plot holes you can drive a truck through it.A talented director could cover the holes up but alas that doesn't happen. A script that makes very little sense even for a horror film. Sometimes it seems like they where thinking about making a spoof. Yet the director could not make up his mind what he was going for.The actors do try their best and that's why it gets 2 stars.

When I saw the trailer for this movie I admit I rolled my eyes and groaned that they were trotting out the circular time gimmick again. It was of course classic in Groundhog Day, but never seemed to click since then. I was dubious, but after seeing it with my own eyes, I can say I had a great time. I'm not sure if Blum House intended it to be funny, but it had a lot of humor in it, enough I would say to qualify it as a dark comedy. The cast was superb and while it didn't offer anything groundbreaking in terms of murders/deaths, I didn't mind because the story was so well connected and it really had me guessing right up until the end. Another litmus test for the quality of this movie is that the audience was rather quiet during the presentation. I've been to enough of these films to know that when you get a young audience seated in the dark and the film is a snooze, they'll start to talk and whisper and just annoy the Hell out of you. This movie managed to hold the attention of the entire audience and in this day and age I must say, that is an achievement in and of itself. I wasn't prepared to enjoy Happy Death Day as much as I did, but even I can admit when I was wrong. It worked from start to finish. I wasn't aware that Scott Lobdell wrote the script, but when I saw his name in the credits, I realized another reason I enjoyed it. I am familiar with his writing in the comic book industry and he is one of the more notable scribes. It's good to see the skills transfer.

Although I did have a few eye roll moments during this movie, I still appreciated the comedy and horror mix. The groundhog meets the slasher in this fun filled flick that made it entertaining to me. Im usually not one to like this kind of horror movie but...I was pleasantly surprised with the fun horror ride it gave. I also loved the lead actress! She's awesome:)

Wow..this is really a rip-off of Groundhog Day--they even acknowledge it in the movie. It also had wooden acting, inconsistencies galore and zero scare factor (the PG-13 rating was a dead giveaway as that's as bad sign in a horror movie). The lead actress looks like she could be on her way to some success...but just not in this. The most irritating part for me (not giving anything way due to trailer) is that no matter how long or short she 'lingers' on the repeated opening scenario...the next sequence of events are always in the same. That just wouldn't be the case IRL. Anyway. I wanted to like it as it had good premise, but it just didn't do it for me.

My wife and I watched this at home on BluRay from our public library. Honestly I probably would not have watched it but when I noticed it had zero hold requests I thought, "What the heck" and got it.

Much of the college scenes, at least the outdoors parts, were filmed in New Orleans along St Charles Avenue, an area I love. Jessica Rothe plays the part of a stuck-on-herself college student Tree Gelbman. I had not seen her in anything before and she carries the movie very well.

The story is a derivative of the story in "Groundhog Day" and they even make reference to it, and Bill Murray, in an in-character conversation. But they only borrowed some concepts, most of the story is very original.

Basically Tree is stalked and gets killed at night by a person in a clown mask, but immediately after that she re-awakens on the morning of that same day, in a boy's room after a night of drunken partying. She is killed several times, in many different ways, each time starting the day fresh again. Why this day? Maybe because it is her birthday.

So Tree reasons, the only way to stop all this is to figure out who the killer is, so that is the running storyline. In the process she realizes the error of her ways and also becomes a changed person. In the end the identity of the killer is a surprise to most of us.

We found it to be enjoyable entertainment, and what contributed is the lack of foul language and overt sexual references, so common in so many of today's movies. This one is relatively clean and that makes it much more enjoyable.