Happy Death Day (2017) Dir: Christopher Landon
- Ridley Coote
- Jun 16
- 2 min read
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As regular readers of my film reviews can attest, I often enjoy checking out a totally random horror film, just to see what it's like, critical reception be damned. On this occasion, I chose to watch this Christopher Landon directed mystery horror, which looked to be yet another of those random Blumhouse productions that are kind of weird but usually watchable.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the film's cinematography. I thought there were actually a few really nice shots dotted throughout it. In particular, I was drawn to some really cool tracking shots late on in the film, which utilised the classic Dutch Tilt very effectively. The film wasn't groundbreaking visually or anything, but it was very solid, in any case.
As it pertained to the story, this was most definitely the horror film equivalent of 'Groundhog Day'. On that point, it was nice to see that the filmmakers actually acknowledged that in the film itself. I wasn't so keen on the first act, but the film really won me over by the end. There was a moment where I thought the writing had gone full-speed into a brick wall, but they managed to save it. I had fun with it.
Jessica Rothe started out a little shaky, but the more personality she was able to show, the more likable she was, and the easier she was to watch. In the end, I would I say I was a big fan of her comedic timing and screen presence - she made herself stand out pretty well from the rest of the cast, although, I have to point out that at no stage did she act like a student.
There were some decent enough performances from the various supporting cast members, most notably, I thought that Israel Broussard did really well to come across as an endearing young man. I liked him a lot, honestly. Meanwhile, I would have liked to see a little more out of Ruby Modine - she lacked a little versatility in her performance. I'll also give brief mentions to the pair of Rachel Matthews and Billy Slaughter for their small but fairly entertaining performances.
Overall, this horror comedy definitely won me over, despite its shortcomings. I think what mainly did it for me was how, quite simply, how entertaining it was. I found it very easy to watch, and the comedy hit just enough to make me laugh, without undermining the horror elements. For what it was, I thought this was a really pleasant surprise, personally. I thought it would be a lot more mediocre than it was. It definitely encouraged me to watch the sequel.
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