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The dependency on jump scares, stereotypes and just simply a lack of creativity is the reason why modern-day horror and slasher films leave a lot to be desired. The point of watching these movies is to get scared, to feel fear coursing through your body, but finding a movie that creates those reactions are very hard to find.
Happy Death Day, directed by Christopher B. Landon, is about Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe), a college sorority girl forced to relive the same day over and over like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. The big difference is that someone continues to kill Tree each time and she needs to figure out who it is and why.
Now, the first time I saw the trailer for Happy Death Day, I admit that my expectations for the film were very low. I’m not extremely picky about the Horror movies I watch, but I do believe that there are some aspects in this kind of genre that the audience expects to see, like feeling scared or at least a semblance of fear. For me and other horror movie fans out there, Happy Death Day was very enjoyable to watch and while it wasn’t terrifying, I was kept at the edge of my seat throughout the film and couldn’t keep myself from constantly checking the background waiting for the killer to appear.
Courtesy: assets.fastcompany
This film is more accurately defined as a slasher film, which is a subgenre of horror films. Slasher movies almost always have a psychotic serial killer and/or stalker as the villain and heavily depend on tropes. For example, in stereotypical slasher movies, the protagonist, Tree Gelbman, would be the typical “slutty, dumb, blond girl” who never stands a chance against the killer/monster and dies gruesomely. She would be the antithesis of the “final girl” trope who is always a virgin.
Characters like Casey Becker in Scream (1996), Jules Louden in “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012), and Lynda Van Der Klok in Halloween (1978) are just a few examples of the stereotype. However, while Tree may appear as the stereotype, she doesn’t behave like it.
*MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD*
Instead, she is the final girl who manages to survive in the end, even though has died multiple times throughout the film.
Courtesy: medias.spotern.
Another aspect that I enjoyed as I watched the movie, was that every time Tree was murdered, it wasn’t too gruesome or violent and it was almost like I got to feel the pain that she felt whether she was getting stabbed in the stomach, being hit over the head with a baseball bat, or hung by a rope in a tower. While most horror films focus more on how the character is being killed and how gory to make their deaths, Happy Death Day successfully made the audience experience the death with Tree instead of simply watching her die. The only other horror film that I can remember that does the same thing is Hush (2016).
As I mentioned above, horror films do depend a lot on cheap jump scares which make the movies boring and predictable. When the music starts to slowly rise and turn into a long, piercing note, you know that a jump scare is coming. This article makes a strong point as to why modern-day horror films are so disappointing.
Jump scares do not scare. They startle. Being startled is not the same thing as being scared. Being startled is like getting pinched — the pain is sudden and sharp, but you forget about it immediately. Being scared is like getting stabbed in the gut and having the blade twirl up your intestines like spaghetti — the pain is — quite uncomfortable. – Chris Stuckmann
Happy Death Day isn’t scary, it’s unsettling at best. For example, early in the movie, there’s a scene where Tree needs to walk underneath a tunnel that looks a lot like the tunnel that leads to the DeGraff dorm. Nervous laughter spread across the theater because most Florida State Students know how creepy that tunnel is late at night. This movie does a good job in making the audience feel uneasy but fails in executing genuine fear.
Tree Gelbman is an imperfect character that you quickly love because while she may have started off as the typical rude, blonde sorority girl, by the end of the movie she changes into a much better person. Overall, Happy Death Day is a great addition to the slasher subgenre and whether it scares you or not, I recommend it.
Scare-o-meter: 3
Stars: 4
Happy Death Day comes out Friday, Oct. 13, 2017.