Happy Death Day is an interesting flick. The trailer paints it as some sort of horror or slasher movie, but in reality, it's more a comedy than a thriller. In fact, I'm adding "comedy" to the tags for this film. Another Groundhog Day genre film (can I call it a genre?) Happy Death Day feels mixed in with Edge of Tomorrow, with the "reset" based on the death as opposed to a 24 hour period. The premise has been rather overdone in the last few years, but the film is fully aware of what it is, and it embraces it fully, even making some self-referential jokes.
Jessica Rothe plays Theresa "Tree" Gelbman who wakes up on her birthday and ends up reliving the same day over and over again as she tries to determine the identity of someone that is trying to kill her. The premise alone removes any real threat from the film, as you feel no fear for the protagonist when they are just reliving the same day over. No matter what happens they get to redo the day. That is actually one of the things you just have to let slide with the film, as our protagonist takes the long route in finding answers. The loss of a threat and any sense of danger is what makes it a purely brilliant choice to make the film more comedic.
Happy Death Day has some fun, dark humour, and while it follows so many of the tropes, it does so in a creative manner with some spot-on comedic timing. The premise gives it the opportunity to give you every potential solution and provides hints throughout to allow the viewer their own opportunities to figure out what will break the cycle. With so many false endings, you never truly know when the film is over.
The film relies heavily on Jessica Rothe, and her performance is exceptional. She has that bratty sorority white girl attitude but her character is actually given character development, backstories, and an arc. It's clear that she didn't just phone-in her performance. She put in all the effort and the film prospers because of it. Israel Broussard does well as the male counterpart in the film but could not escape from the shadow of Rothe's performance.
There is a certain amount of suspension of belief needed to really enjoy the film, and with so many unlikeable supporting cast members, and predictable plot points, this could easily be a bad film if you think about it too much. But the timing is really well done, and Jessica Rothe's performance is incredibly engaging for a comedy/slasher. Can't wait to check out the sequel.