It’s been almost 25 years since the release of Groundhog Day, a film with a perfect comedic premise: a crappy guy is stuck in a small town purgatory and is forced to relive the same day ad infinitum until he learns to be a good person. It’s genius. The concept has since been replicated a few times. In 2014, Edge of Tomorrow gave the notion a sci-fi/action twist to great effect; earlier this year, Before I Fall did the same with the teen drama genre. And Blumhouse’s newest movie Happy Death Day is doing it for the horror movie crowd. And I gotta say, it looks pretty great. Enjoy the trailer below!
I always thought 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” was a sinister song, but it’s that much more upsetting as the movie is using it to signify a reset in the main character’s timeline the way the annoyingly upbeat Sonny & Cher song “I Got You Babe” did in Groundhog Day. Directed by Christopher Landon and co-written by him and Marvel comics staple Scott Lobdell, Happy Death Day looks like it captures the inherent humor in someone living the same day over and over again, but adds the elements of mystery and masked-killer slasher flick.
And it’s her birthday, too! I mean, what a bummer. “I can’t believe I have to solve my own murder on my birthday.”
Sure, the premise is unoriginal, but we’re getting to the point in movies where just having a bit of fun with time-tested tropes and images can garner good results. And I for one think Happy Death Day looks like a great deal of fun, and maybe even adds a few twists–for instance: it appears the lead young woman is showing signs of the injuries she receives on the previous days.
We’re sold, but are you? Happy Death Day will make for an early Halloween present when it hits theaters on Friday, October 13 2017.
Image: Universal/Blumhouse
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and the host of the horror documentary series One Good Scare. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
