I was going to cover Happy Death Day in neo-slashers. Since horror comedies seemed to be of interest to H³, it got bumped up on the list. If you’re not familiar, Happy Death Day delivers its slasher formula with a helping of Groundhog Day.

• Directed by: Christopher Landon
• Written by: Scott Lobdell
• Starring: Jessica Rothe. Israel Broussard. Ruby Modine

Time Loops

Like all good time-loop movies, the first act is mostly devoted to establishing what a terrible person Tree, the main character, is. While Happy Death Day is a true slasher, filled with suspense and a pretty creepy killer, the character work is what makes this one of my favorites. 

Time-loop movies have an arc, and there is an art to delivering this skillfully. The movie has to establish the ordinary world, and the incident that causes the loop.  Small details matter more, but audiences won’t know which ones.  

The Characters

The best part of any loop movie is the small ways the characters change. Interactions that play out slightly differently that alter their perception of the world and then make them a better person.  Tree takes a slightly different approach. Her focus is on solving a murder, not self-improvement. That part does come, and it’s surprisingly emotionally resonant for a slasher. 

Tree is more than just a vapid sorority girl. After her first loop, we immediately start to see reasons why she has a mean outer shell. Even without the time-loop gimmick, these would be well-written characters. That doesn’t mean they are good people.  At first, all these characters are hard to like. Which works well, since we need a strong character arc and a pretty lengthy list of suspects.  

Carter is the other standout character. He’s nice, but not a pushover. I love his optimism and willingness to push back on Tree.  At the same time, he’s not a major presence in the movie. This is all about Tree.  

Editing

The editing in this movie is the most important thing. There are several clues and hints given with the cuts. Happy Death Day doesn’t rest on the gimmick and improves on a rewatch. I’d say more but I don’t want to get too far into spoiler territory.

The Horror

Happy Death Day establishes its loop, then raises the stakes by putting a ticking clock on Tree’s loops. Her deaths have a physical cost. She can’t keep looping forever.  Now, this isn’t really explored other than putting a deadline on her experience, which is fine.  In the end, this is firmly in the category of good starter horror.  Most of the kills are off-screen and none of the scares are too extreme.  

And yes, this is a slasher. Tree is stalked by her killer in every loop. Mostly at night in isolated areas like construction areas or suspiciously empty hospitals. We don’t get much on the killer’s background but Happy Death Day hits enough of the tropes to qualify.

H³’s Take

The Ghoul had mentioned this movie to me a few times previously, and after how much I had enjoyed Tucker and Dale vs Evil, suggested it as a gentler movie that she’d put in the “starter horror” category, as she mentioned above. 

After watching it, I’d agree with that characterization. It’s definitely a time-loop movie first and foremost, and there are comedic bits that come along with that. Then, the slasher element, which is integrated really well into the story. I feel like there are movies where two disparate elements like time-loops and slashers would clash more than complement. The writing is really good and well thought-out. Bravo!

As it’s a looper first (but not Looper), as the Ghoul mentioned, the horror elements are rather mild. There’s some great tension as Tree makes her way through each iteration of the day, wondering where the killer is lurking each night. The killer’s getup is suitably creepy, using a fictional mascot mask for the Louisiana college where the movie is set (and seriously, fictional college, you should reconsider your mascot choices). While there is some minor blood spurting at times, the violence is really pretty tame. I’ve seen far worse on network television.

Pacing

One comment I will make, not really a criticism: it felt like a long movie to me, even though the runtime is only 96 minutes. I mentioned that to the Ghoul after we watched it together, and she commented it was because of the time-loop structure, which makes sense. You must establish the world and the characters first, and that takes time to do properly. Then, you start layering in the slasher elements, which need their own time and space to set up, adding additional time. 

So, the first bit feels like it drags a bit, especially since you’re waiting for that first loop to kick in (assuming you know it’s coming, of course). Once the first loop hits though, things pick up considerably, with the time between loops getting shorter for each trip (as per usual in these kinds of movies).

I really enjoyed Happy Death Day. Turning Groundhog Day into a slasher (more or less) was an interesting choice, and I thought it was done remarkably well. Audiences thought so too, apparently, since it made north of $125M at the box office (on a roughly $5M budget) and spawned a sequel (which I understand leans more into science fiction, on top of the looping and slasher elements). I’d recommend it for folks who have a similar aversion to horror but want to enjoy a different take on a time-loop trope.

Happy Death Day is available on streaming