Happy Death Day is hopefully a nightmarish saying you will never have to endure. The movie of the same name however embraces the macabre thought of marking the day you die. Happy Death Day follows Jessica Rothe (La La Land, Mary + Jane) as she goes about her day on what was supposed to be her birthday but once she gets home to get ready for her party, she’s brutally murdered. Now it sounds as if the whole plot has been given away, but Jessica’s character Tree Gelbman get’s a reprieve. She is able to relive her birthday over and over again as she must race to figure out who her killer is and save herself.
Groundhog Day has unintentionally spawned it’s own genre. The 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray has been the inspiration for quite a few films as of late, with the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow (Live, Die, Repeat) and now Happy Death Day. It’s surprising to see the smaller comedy, that is almost 25 years old, have such a profound effect on the industry. The concept while not novel is however going to be interesting now that it is mashed up with the horror genre. Happy Death Day has a chance to cash in on what will seem like a fresh concept to horror fans if it does it right and successfully plays with repetition formula.
Happy Death Day is headed up by horror genre veteran Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity series, Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) and being produced by the same studio, Blumhouse, as last year’s horror standouts Get Out and Split. With a veteran director and a seasoned production house behind the movie Happy Death Day has a chance to be another hit for Blumhouse. Happy Death Day premiers everywhere Friday October 13th of this year.