Kernel Emma reviewed this surprise horror movie back in October. I labelled it back then “The Cliched Horror Movie we Need Right Now.” And this continues as HAPPY DEATH DAY released this weeks on DVD, Blu Ray and Digital from the fine folks at The Viewing Lounge. To celebrate the release the folks at The Viewing Lounge and Hidden Characters sent us some fun things to get freaky with – and thanks to them we have 5x Copies to giveaway on Blu Ray. Check out how to win after Kernel Emma’s review. All the best……………..Salty. 

BY EMMA BISHOP

If you are a slasher genre guru, fourteen years old, and love when history repeats itself, HAPPY DEATH DAY is the film for you. This is an entertaining, easy watch and is unlikely to offend any of its likely audience, although fans of gore will be left disappointed. With a masked villain, scream queen, and characters who live up to all the clichés, the film follows slasher genre conventions in all the right ways. The trashy premise of HAPPY DEATH DAY works to its advantage, and the result is equal parts frightening and fun. HAPPY DEATH DAY will provide any viewer with an entertaining experience, and it includes just enough cheap laughs for a good dose of escapism!

 

 

HAPPY DEATH DAY

When college student Tree Gelbman wakes up in a random male’s dorm on her birthday, she has no idea that this is a morning she will experience again. Tree’s birthday is a relatively ordinary college day; she bumps into old dates and arrives at her lecture hungover. It isn’t until evening kicks in that things take a wild turn for the worst. As Tree leaves her sorority house for a party, she encounters a masked villain in a secluded tunnel. Turning slasher tropes on their head, within half an hour of the film starting the “final girl” is dead.

Waking up mid-scream, Tree finds herself back in the dorm. A phone call from her father reminds her that it is, one again, her birthday. Quickly realising all of her experiences are not new, Tree begins to panic. From the conversations shared to the order of events, history repeats itself. This time, however, Tree makes it to the party, where she is stabbed in a hilarious disco death scene.

Starting her day for the third time, Tree realises the only way to stop her reoccurring death is to uncover the identity of her killer. Taking hold of the situation and applying some high school sass, she creates a list and day after day gets closer to finding her killer. While a typical slasher would see Tree’s group of friends eliminated one after another, leaving the final girl to remain, HAPPY DEATH DAY kills its final girl over and over again – with exceptionally comedic results.

 

 

LAUGH OUT LOUD. SCREAM OUT LOUD.

Right from the film’s opening scene, HAPPY DEATH DAY is filled with opportunities to laugh. Casting all the roles typically seen in a teen high school film, the characters fit all the classic clichés. We have dumb sorority girls, football heads, and a professor who sleeps with his students – all of whom are trashy enough not to disappoint. With daily death imminent, Tree takes the opportunity to teach her fellow classmates a lesson. From tipping chocolate milk on her sorority sister to showing her seedy professor who’s boss, the cliché humour just keeps on coming. Watching the increasingly annoying, yet somehow likeable, final girl get murdered and continue to save herself is both satisfying and entertaining.

 

 

HORROR IN REPETITION, OR NOT.

Initially in doubt about the repetitive structure, HAPPY DEATH DAY’s plot device works perfectly when it comes to providing opportunities for laughs and occasional frights. As history repeats itself the audience becomes more and more relaxed, while the story becomes more and more crazy. Creating twists and turns where it feels the killer’s identity will never be revealed, the audience is taken on a big guessing game – and no one is out of the question. With a noticeable gap in blood and guts, HAPPY DEATH DAY is instead a cat and mouse chase, using comedy as opposed to horror to drive the plot. Those who are looking for plenty of frights will definitely be left disappointed by this film.

 

 

IN CONCLUSION:

HAPPY DEATH DAY is an entertaining film that provides exactly what it promises – trashy fun. I found myself enjoying the experience much more than anticipated and certainly had a good laugh. The film could have done with an injection of horror to take it from good to great. Opening to significant success at the box office, I have no doubt that HAPPY DEATH DAY will enjoy plenty of strong weeks in the cinema.

 

 

HOW TO WIN A BLU RAY OF HAPPY DEATH DAY:

With special thanks to THE VIEWING LOUNGE and HIDDEN CHARACTERS to win one of the 5 COPIES OF HAPPY DEATH DAY you need to either like and share/ retweet this post on Facebook/Twitter/ Google+/ Pinterest/ LinkedIn/ Flipboard or Instagram (all the links to follow us are on the homepage). Further to this you then need to leave a comment below stating the answer/s to the following questions:

What is your favourite TRASHY HORROR and why? TV or Movies will be accepted.

If you do not have social media then you can still enter, leave your entry below in the comments and then email me at jking@saltypopcorn.com.au telling me you don’t have social media (you still need to enter on the website).

This is a game of skill and selected purely on the thoughts of the judges. 

The prizes will be drawn on or before Thursday January 25th. Good luck! Oh, and minor housekeeping – huge apologies for overseas readers, this competition is only available to Australian residents.

 

 

YOUR REVIEWER:

Kernel Emma is documentary mad and also loves foreign and arthouse films ! She is Salty’s honorary NooooZealanderrrr writer, but she hides out in Sydney saying sex, fush and chups to everyone’s amusement.

** Images used are courtesy of various sources on Google or direct from the distributor or publisher Credit has been given to photographers where known – images will be removed on request.