Rating PG-13

Score: 9 out of 10

On October 13, 2017, Happy Death Day was released. It is a thriller-comedy with a hint of romance. The movie stars Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, and Ruby Modine.

In Happy Death Day, Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe), wakes up in a college dorm room on her birthday with fellow student, Carter (Israel Broussard) and goes throughout her day normally. At the end of the day while making her way to a party, Tree encounters a strange figure and is attacked. She wakes up again in Carter’s dorm, unharmed. However, the same events that happened the day before occurring and Tree feels as if she’s already been through this day. She is again found by the strange figure and is attacked, and later wakes up again in the dorm room. Tree lives through the same day over and over, trying to solve her own murder, going through possible suspects, motives, and perspectives.

Happy Death Day follows the same concept as Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, and more. The movie was almost like a Scream-meets-Groundhog Day film. I enjoyed the spunky characters and the comic relief throughout. The plot was also well thought out and there was a hint of a life lesson or message at the end, but I thought it wasn’t delivered quite right, since I’m not sure what it was. Although lacking in the sappy life-lesson department, Happy Death Day succeeded with its thriller-type content and comic relief.

This movie could have easily fallen under pressure after high expectations since it has the same endless lives concept as other similar movies, but I think Happy Death Day did well. It came out just in time for Halloween, and gets you in the spirit. The movie was realistic with a good plot and plot twists towards the end. I have to say, director Christopher Landon and screenwriter Scott Lobdell had me gasping and saying “What?” at least three times throughout the film. I would give Happy Death Day an 9/10 because of the unclear message to take away after seeing the film, but it had witty characters and a good, realistic plot.