![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdb7YYFav2_rrlSop-oURlkQV7BRDUN2RGm1W2tzrraC0hSAjk3Na46B68Yv9ZJzJN_BzPuwJhs-Ruq5QV8yCBNPCzUc_Rm247tcPTfAZ8lufjb2v-8zrnEGiXqKS_fxUv5Qs1Sh_ZCtdB/s320/happy-death-day-poster-by-matt-talbot.jpg)
And also, and I suppose crucially, because I'm always up for a horror film, in the vain hope that it might be a good one. And this was.
Basically it's Groundhog Day re-purposed as a slasher movie. Every morning our heroine Tree Gelbman (played by Jessica Rothe) wakes up and lives through the same day, which culminates in her being killed by a masked assailant.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtW4t75wLwM5wzPRdYvBykvLLmivBcxMMA3yQzDzsnpc6wO-3zhv7ixlBoJcWxwF3QcLMGeGSQ1ghixprdXAtyXDf3SVO1W1f8EH5Y0bLel1n4WJjSAOutqwDr9GCK402kmJaXeT1xxpi4/s200/Poster-2017-Happy-Death-Day-V2.jpg)
But it gets around this, and garners lots of brownie points, by openly acknowledging the influence ("You've never seen Groundhog Day?").
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDW4mjh83ZJoQCEg_UeCjkrEtDnffqrtazovxmJ-QXdWkvvhD2Qz5MK5TCiUI8YkciI5xLHCQuius7xRRI1UcRle9V5LK9bZNeEbQ9NnNx2xVEfaEfg1fEg-OoIjrv-l2uXwY3wfpVpQs/s200/happy_death_day.jpg)
Jessica Rothe is terrific. At first I didn't like her, but I was just making the rookie error of confusing the actress with the character she played. Tree Gelman is very unlikable, and Rothe does a great job of making this believable.
But as Tree's plight continues, her behaviour changes, and we warm to her — and Rothe gets to demonstrate the range of her talent.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HPI_MMwc8hE1b26EYUQmxBTz04cMuEqm9WiC1KAmgxeyklY63Q5kp_2gu6ksLjWtotNmmzeFf58KV1LBNCGqIfMsAcIJ7CuEgKdewR1T4buXHsEVvkMX9369OHC0C9KsdZ4GO2YC1CX-/s200/happy_death_day_ver2.jpg)
The movie is written by Scott Lobdell who has a background in scripting Marvel comics, and TV animation series. He's done an excellent job here as has the director, Christopher Landon, who's done a lot of work (as a writer as well as a director) on the Paranormal Activity series.
These guys have come up with a very clever device: the movie is set at Bayview University (actually Loyola, New Orleans) and the football team is called the "Bayview Babies" and fans wear these cartoon baby-face masks.
The killer adopts one of these, and it's mega-creepy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FiIQOt3E3ZqT3VDDij6NTLaMz1J6wpawojU2aKt8senxj2p2Ol0c_PYBmpC28pOe51kXXPosLg8rhAZJY86hCQdAOT7kKKMeZ4dQ1f-HMQY0cZ8TRrBgYkPbL7HBNLvytfUVxhhM5jgu/s200/happy+death+day+dvd+cover.jpg)
Because it's an imaginative, fun little movie. And it has the best title sequence I've seen in a long time (which plays at the end of the film).
If you're a fan of horror movies, especially ones with an element of comedy, then I think you'll enjoy this. I'm only sorry I didn't see it in time to recommend it for Halloween.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJMCH5Sjl0NNINZJ_0O8tltbu2-LiF6Mu3orDnEMnC5ADN09j9drccWfQ0TP_kkfC96gqA1F1Yz7HDmhUfAf1BwuZhw8k__bxaAw6etImbxGvNL75wRozZheq6RbPSW6RAd9R3ctmtgX9/s200/Jessica+Rothe+by+Jan-Willem+Dikkers+cropped.jpg)
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