Happy Death Day (2017)

A college student must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer's identity.

Director:

Christopher Landon

Writer:

Scott Lobdell

Stars:

Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Rothe	...	Tree Gelbman
Israel Broussard	...	Carter Davis
Ruby Modine	...	Lori Spengler
Charles Aitken	...	Gregory Butler
Laura Clifton	...	Stephanie Butler
Jason Bayle	...	David Gelbman
Rob Mello	...	John Tombs
Rachel Matthews	...	Danielle Bouseman
Ramsey Anderson	...	Keith Lumbly
Brady Lewis	...	Frat Brother
Phi Vu	...	Ryan Phan
Tenea Intriago	...	Student Protester
Blaine Kern III	...	Nick Sims
Cariella Smith	...	Becky Shepard
Jimmy Gonzales	...	Police Officer

Storyline

A teenage girl, trying to enjoy her birthday, soon realizes that this is her final one. That is, if she can figure out who her killer is. She must relive that day, over and over again, dying in a different way each time. Can she solve her own murder?

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Plot Keywords:

stabbed to death | trapped in a time loop | time loop | slasher flick | parking garage | 

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Taglines:

Die. Repeat.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Christopher Landon tested wearing the option of a baby mask for the killer in the office and scared a worker, confirming his choice.

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Goofs

The hospital should not have lost power with the rest of the campus when the power went out, as all hospitals are fitted with a backup generator to ensure the safety of the patients in the event of power loss. It is possible that the killer sabotaged the generator, but there is no way that they would have known the power would go out so this would not seem to be beneficial to them.

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Quotes

[Tree storms into her room. She hastily starts packing her belongings]
Lori Spengler: She finally rolls in...
[Lori looks at Tree, puzzled]
Lori Spengler: Going somewhere?
Tree Gelbman: Yes. As far away as possible.
Lori Spengler: Tree, what's wrong?
Tree Gelbman: [continues packing] Me. I was wrong. I thought that if I stopped running that I could beat it. But it's never gonna stop.
Lori Spengler: Tree, you're freaking me out.
Tree Gelbman: Hello, that's me, a freak!
[Lori takes the cupcake, lights the candle, approaches Tree and hands her the cupcake]
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Rather than "The End", the film concludes with the quote "Today is the first day of the rest of your life".

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Deja Vu Movies to See on Groundhog Day (2019)

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Soundtracks

99 Bottles of Beer
Written by Traditional

User Reviews

Happy Death Day: Enjoyable stuff

I've been looking forward to this ever since I saw the teaser trailer, sadly it's taken me this long to get around to it.

So did it live up to expectations? Not entirely, but I walked away happy regardless.

For those unaware it's Groundhog Day (1993) with murder as we see a girl repeatedly being killed off only to start to day anew. Personally I loved this idea and was curious with where they were going to go with it.

The traditional slasher tropes are all present, some great dark humor is in the script and the cast are all on point. Notable especially is our leading lady Jessica Rothe who was excellent though I spent half the movie baffled by just how much she looks like Melissa Benoist.

I'm not sure the finale was up to the same quality as the rest of the film and that is perhaps why it's receiving a 7 not an 8. Something about it just felt inferior and saw the movie go out with a bit of a fizzle.

Regardless I can see why the film was so successful, congratulations to everyone involved because though I didn't find it as mind blowing as I'd hoped I can't deny that this is a very inventive fun little film.

The Good:

Jessica Rothe

Cast are all great

Fantastic concept

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Weak soundtrack for a movie of this ilk

Finale was underwhelming

Hearing the same dialogue repeatedly can get frustrating

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Half to Death

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,039,025, 15 October 2017

Gross USA:

$55,683,845

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$125,479,266

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Digital Riot Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1