Happy October and welcome! All 31 days this month, I will be reviewing all the films I watch in the month of October. They’re mostly a selection of horror or suspense films in my own library or films and shows that have been recommended to me.
Please enjoy and leave a comment!
And if you missed any of our past reflections, take a look:
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Psycho (1960)
The Haunting (1963)
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
The Other (1972)
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Halloween (1978)
Alien (1979)
The Shining (1980)
Halloween II (1981)
The Evil Dead (1981)
Halloween III – Season of the Witch (1982)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Teen Wolf (1985)
Aliens (1986)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Predator (1987)
The Monster Squad (1987)
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
The Lost Boys (1987)
Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
They Live (1988)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Predator 2 (1990)
The Addams Family (1991)
Alien 3 (1992)
Army of Darkness (1992)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Crow (1994)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Scream (1996)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Scream 2 (1997)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Scream 3 (2000)
28 Days Later (2002)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
The Ring (2002)
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Identity (2003)
AVP: Alien vs Predator (2004)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Alien vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Halloween (2007)
Grindhouse (2007)
Halloween II (2009)
Predators (2010)
Absentia (2011)
Prometheus (2012)
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Escape From Tomorrow (2013)
Oculus (2013)
Before I Wake (2016)
Hush (2016)
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Our next film is…
WATCHING: Happy Death Day (2017)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Landon, who writes more than he directs. He’s responsible for writing films like Disturbia, Blood & Chocolate, and nearly every single Paranormal Activity film, including the upcoming Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.
WHAT IS IT?: It’s basically Groundhog Day — but with a horror twist.
THE PLOT: A college girl named “Tree” (a nickname; her name is Theresa) wakes up on her birthday. She’s having an affair with one of her professors, ignores her father’s phone calls, and she’s just slept with a guy she wouldn’t normally sleep with…so it’s probably just as well that a masked serial killer has shown up to kill her — and does so, ending her miserable life.
A college girl named “Tree” (a nickname; her name is Theresa) wakes up on her birthday. She’s having an affair with one of her professors, ignores her father’s phone calls, and she’s…just slept…with a guy she…wouldn’t normally…wait a minute. And that serial killer is after her and…she’s killed.
A college girl named “Tree”…wakes up…ok…wait a minute…
WHAT DID CRITICS THINK?: The film got mostly positive reviews. The praise was directed toward the clever premise — but most complaints were toward the fact that the end result didn’t work out so well.
WHAT DID I THINK?: There’s no getting around it, Happy Death Day is Groundhog Day with a slasher in it. You’ve seen this sort of thing before. The day keeps repeating itself no matter what happens to the main character. So, why not make a slasher version of the thing?
Happy Death Day is extremely clever and fun and actress Jessica Rothe is the perfect person for this film, playing Tree logically: at first, arrogant, and then evolving, with fits of anger, frustration, and fatigue, before finally learning her lesson.
It’s also a fairly fun and clever murder mystery which is surprisingly well-written.
GRADE: B