So, what's so significant about her late mother in the
context of time looping (and by extension, that bracelet)? It's worth
considering that Tree isn't as disconnected from her mother as she believed.
Assuming you're willing to think outside the box (and this movie definitely
expects you to/hopes you will), it's worth considering the fact that Tree's mom
isn't as far away as she seems. Perhaps she's pulling some strings from beyond
the grave... And while this might seem far-fetched, remember that we're talking
about a movie where the main character relives the same day over and over again
so that she can solve her own murder.
Ah, but this is no ordinary birthday, for at the end of the
day, Tree is stabbed to death by an assailant wearing a baby-faced mask.
Taking a page from 1993's time-loop fantasy "Groundhog
Day", Tree awakens in Carter's room with a major case of deja vu, as her
birthday -- make that "death" day -- repeats itself. She will
continue to relive the same day, with minor variations, always ending with her
murder.
During one loop, Carter (who, it is revealed, was a perfect
gentleman), accepts Tree's story and encourages her to play detective to
uncover the killer's identity.
Much like Bill Murray's obnoxious weatherman in
"Groundhog Day," Tree comes to see the error of her selfish ways, and
each time loop offers the chance for redemption. She takes Carter's advice to
heart: "It's never too late to change. Each new day is a chance to be
someone better."
That's an encouraging message, and Tree's growth is
extraordinary. But Scott Lobdell's script only goes so far. College-age viewers
(and younger) may conclude that anything which makes you happy -- even aberrant
behavior -- is a good thing. It's not.
The film contains moments of violence and terror, sexual
banter, brief rear female nudity, a benign view of drug use, pornography,
homosexual acts and masturbation, and some rough and crude language. The
Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films
whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture
Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some
material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
- - -
McAleer is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.
- - -
CAPSULE REVIEW
"Happy Death Day" (Universal)
A play on 1993's time-loop fantasy "Groundhog
Day," this slasher movie, directed by Christopher Landon, is an unlikely
mix of horror and humor with a message about self-improvement. A college
student (Jessica Rothe) awakens on the morning of her birthday in the dorm room
of a fellow student (Israel Broussard). At the end of her daily routine, which
essentially means being obnoxious to everyone around her, she is stabbed to death.
She instantly awakens back in the same dorm room, and will relive the same day,
over and over. While each new time loop offers the chance for redemption,
college-age viewers (and younger) may wrongly conclude that anything which
makes you happy -- even aberrant behavior -- is a good thing. Moments of
violence and terror, sexual banter, drug use, brief rear female nudity, a
benign view of pornography, homosexual acts and masturbation, some rough and
crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult
audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The
Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly
cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
This
time-traveling conundrum follows Samantha Kingston, a high school student who
has everything she could ever want in life. From amazing friends to a bright
future, there’s nothing more she could possibly hope for. However, things take
a drastic turn when she and her friends get into a deadly car accident after a
party. Just as she’s about to die, time rewinds, forcing her to relive the same
day over and over again. By living through the same day, she begins to unravel
the secrets of the people closest to her and slowly learns the truth about the
most important things in life. While Before I Fall is more of a dramatic take
on time travel, it’s still definitely worth watching if you’re looking for a
movie like Happy Death Day.
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Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) is a
sorority sister who finds her fate at the pointy end of a knife (or really any
other object with a sharp edge), but this isn't your run-of-the-mill whodunit.
Instead of meeting her maker after she dies, time mysteriously rewinds and Tree
ends up reliving her day over and over again on a seemingly endless cycle. On
one particular occasion, Tree refers to herself as a cat with nine lives—which
is as close to an explanation to this movie's finale as audience
can hope to expect.
While the first film had Tree
Gelbman successfully break the loop that saw her continuously killed, fate (or
$122 million of surprise box office success,) has concocted a repeat experience
for the chronologically-afflicted coed. Indeed, the stakes have been raised,
with the new masked killer not only dealing more obligatory deaths to Tree but
also stalking those close to her. Moreover, the sequel appears to tout – with
the same amount of self-awareness – many of the original’s meta-minded beats,
seemingly building to a game-changing crescendo in which Tree and company
attempt to science-up a solution.
“Happy Death Day,” a horror riff
on the “Groundhog Day” model, opens with the Universal logo stopping
and restarting, just as the company name is circling the globe. It’s a clever
riff on the fact that audiences know what they’re coming to see—a film in which
the same events repeat over and over again. It’s also the filmmaking team
recognizing the audience’s awareness of the goofiness for which they have
willingly plunked down money. “Happy Death Day” won’t really be that playful
again, and that’s the film’s biggest problem. It doesn’t seem to enjoy its own
ridiculous concept enough, and yet refuses to stage any set pieces that feel
honestly scary either, allowing it to fall into some weird, bland gap in
between. Worst of all, it wastes the meta-idea that a lot of horror films are
basically like “Groundhog Day” to an extent, as we watch relatively indistinguishable
counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, for example, get killed again and again.
The candle on the poster rests on
a red velvet cupcake, and if you've seen the first film, you know that the
cupcake has major significance. In Happy Death Day, Jessica
Rothe's Tree Gelbman is going about her birthday generally being a terrible
person when she is killed on her way to a party. Over the course of the film,
she dies and dies again, each time gathering information to try and discover
the identity of her killer, stop him, survive and break the loop.
The
original Happy Death Day put a
horror spin on the premise of 1993’s Groundhog Day (which
the film itself addresses), in which Rothe’s Tree relives a single day in a
perpetual loop, each time waking up next to Broussard’s Carter, culminating
with her murder at the hands of a mysterious assailant. While the film ends
with Tree finally discovering the identity of her killer and breaking the loop,
the sequel will apparently waste little time jumping back into the
time-whammying woe.
Of course, as with that logo bit,
director Christopher Landon and writer Scott Lobdell know that you
know what you’ve signed up for and so they very carefully and
somewhat cleverly introduce their suspects in that first day. Is it the snarky
rival sorority girl? The reserved roommate? The older man or his wife? Someone
else we spot that first day? Most viewers will be playing the guessing game
immediately, and here’s where “Happy Death Day” starts to fall apart. Pretty
quickly, you’ll realize there are no hard and fast rules to this silliness, and
trying to get ahead of it won’t do you any good. Without spoiling anything, it
doesn’t come together in a satisfying way like “Scream” or the other
great meta movies that played with audience expectations. It’s more of a “huh,
ok” than a “wow,” and actually borders on a “wait, that doesn’t make sense.”
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