Happy Deathday

Den Erfolg von diesem Teenager-Möchtegern-Slasher verstehe ich nicht. Am Anfang ein interessanter Plot mit der Wiederholung des Tages, in dem die Hauptheldin ermordet wird. Schließlich wurde daraus eine sich wiederholende Banalität ohne Steigerung und mit einer "Überraschung“, die auch nicht weiterführt. Einen sehr schwachen dritten Stern gebe ich nur für das bildhübsche Gesicht von Jessica Rothe. (29.07.2020)

Ein amüsantes Horrormärchen mit dem einfachen Motiv einer Zeitschleife, von denen ich schon ein paar in den Kinos gesehen habe, doch wohl nur einmal im Falle eines Horrorfilms. Jessica und ihr hübsches Gesichtchen, hinter dem sich zwar ein oberflächliches, unangenehmes Püppchen verbarg, das dafür jedoch seine Gründe hatte, tat mir fürchterlich leid. Ganz sicher eine bessere Leistung aus der diesjährigen Horrorproduktion. (28.11.2017)

Ein entspanntes Mash-up aus besseren und gut vollendeten Filmen, der von Landon sich gut entfaltenden Regie, dynamischer Schnittarbeit und einer so richtig knusprigen "Biotch" in Form von Jessica Rothe in der zweiten Hälfte aufgebaut wird, wo sich das Drehbuch nicht mehr auf geklaute Ideen verlassen kann und der gesamte Bogen seine Pointe finden muss. Zeitgleich beginnen dem Ganzen jedoch die Beine in alle Richtungen auseinanderzulaufen. Ein guter Spaß ist das allerdings, ein starker Dreier. (01.11.2017)

At the end of the year, there will definitely be talk about how successful horror films have been. Most of them have taken the top spot at box office, most Stephen King adaptations in one year, and this year also belongs to teen horror, which seems very modern and I've liked them all so far, with the smart Better Watch Out, the fun The Babysitter, the scary It, the upcoming lauded Tragedy Girls, and now the group is expanded by Happy Death Day. Happy Death Day meets Edge of Tomorrow and Scream and it's mostly great fun. Jessica Rothe's alluring hottie and pretty bitch is having the biggest nightmare of her life. She's being chased by a killer with a very disturbing mask and razor blade who keeps killing her as she finds herself in a time loop from which she can only escape if she can guess the killer's identity. I'll mention at the outset that the biggest issue is the lack of gore, which with a premise this enticing is a bummer and will put off a lot of gore fans, but if you can get past that you're in for a decent time. It's very nicely shot, decently suspenseful, the soundtrack is great, the murders – although bloodless – are quite imaginative (the scene with the cop is one of the best), there is room for humor and the biggest attraction is the game of detective to guess the killer before the main character, which requires 120% attention because the final twist and reveal was very surprising. The director fucks with the viewer 360° and makes it clear that there are indeed intelligent filmmakers behind who definitely deserve success. The scene where the main character goes out into the yard naked and starts having an incredible time, I was wide-eyed like all the actors in the film. It won't suit everyone, but those who like to play with the genre and like Scream should be satisfied. 80% (25.10.2017)

This likable, silly guilty pleasure ranks among the Blumhouse’s best (over)productions. The film proves that it’s hard to keep a straight face with a time-loop narrative, even (and perhaps especially) in the case of a slasher flick whose repetitiveness turns Happy Death Day on its head. Death is followed by a do-over and a new start, so we’re entertained by the protagonist’s (the great Jessica Rothe) endless dying instead of fearing for her (though that comes up a few times, but it’s really not the main point of the film, or rather I wouldn’t blame it for not making you fearful enough). Thanks to that, the classic “whodunit” formula plays first fiddle together with the relationships between the characters and the transformation of the protagonist from being terribly oblivious into a rather fine girl (so you can see the deep message in that – when confronted with one’s own mortality, one starts to behave sensibly). In the end, Happy Death Day is pretty much a high-school comedy in which the protagonist dies a few times on the way to finding love and self-confidence. Though the story outwardly starts from the beginning, the film holds together excellently thanks to its adherence to the classic narrative structure. Each successive variant is a response to those that came before it, we learn new information (or rather individual suspects are eliminated), the protagonist undergoes a transformation, thus giving the impression of smooth development. At the moment when the formula could become boring, a change occurs that reflects the culmination of Tree's transformation from prey to hunter. Yes, it’s a goof that doesn’t take itself seriously and quickly fades from memory, but it is definitely not a dumb movie. 70% (30.10.2017)