Happy Death Day (2017)
directed by Christopher Landon
Rated PG-13 (mild violence/gore, cussin’ and crude convos, and suicide)
For fans of whodunnits, Groundhog Day, and teen comedies (complimentary)
My rating: Gateway – I love horror and I want everyone to watch it, so I’m always excited about a PG-13 horror movie that works because I hope it gets younger people (and other curious folks) into the genre. I really love this film as a gateway because the time loop premise gives the audience a low stakes environment to experience the elements of a horror film–she dies a lot, but she always respawns! As noted in the MPAA approved rating above, there is a suicide, so warning for that.
Some thoughts: Today is Groundhog Day! I do recommend watching that film, BUT if you are like me and watched it last year, maybe switch it up with this one. I really do find this movie very charming and a perfect entry point to the genre. Briefly, it follows a young woman named Tree (sick ass name) who gets murdered on her birthday and then relives that day, death included, on a loop until she discovers the killer’s identity and, ya know, doesn’t die. There is a masked killer, blood, death, suspense, there’s even a twist! All of this on top of it being light hearted. But most importantly-
Look at that baby up there! That’s the killer! That baby!