Happy Death Day (5 Stars)

When I watched this film in the cinema last year I only gave it four stars. "Only" is a relative term, because I wholeheartedly recommend any film that I give a four star rating. In my rating system, the difference between three and four stars is a bigger chasm than the difference between four and five stars. A five star rating means that the film has a little extra something that makes it better than good. It has an essence of brilliance, something that goes above and beyond what a film should achieve.

Maybe I didn't give "Happy Death Day" the top rating last year because it lacks spiritual depth. Maybe it was because it's never explained why Theresa Gelbman, nicknamed Tree, has to repeat her birthday. Maybe it was just because I watched the film dubbed into German and missed the subtleties. Whatever the reason was, I can fully appreciate it now.

Tree is a student at Bayview University, a fictional university in a sunny environment. The film was made in New Orleans, but it could take place anywhere in America. The date is September 18th 2017, and it's Tree's birthday. After a night of heavy drinking she wakes up in the dorm room of Carter, a student she's never met before. She rushes back to her sorority house, where she's told the embarrassing details of what she did last night. In the evening she walks through a tunnel where she sees a birthday present lying for her. When she goes to inspect it she's attacked by a man in a mask. He stabs her. She's dead. The end.

Except it isn't the end. She wakes up in Carter's room again. The day's events repeat themselves. At least, they repeat themselves as long as she acts the same way. To avoid being killed she goes to a party. When she goes upstairs the killer is waiting for her, and she's killed again.

And she wakes up in Carter's room again. This time she barricades herself in her room in the evening. But the killer is waiting in her closet. Stab! She's dead again.

This carries on again and again. Whatever she does to change things the killer always finds her in the evening. It might be a different place, but he always finds her. She enlists Carter's help. She convinces him with her pre-knowledge of events that she really is reliving the day, and he gives her advice on how to escape the loop. If she finds out who the killer is, she can escape him, so she follows the possible suspects, one each day.

If you know there will be no tomorrow there are no consequences to your actions. Tree can walk naked on campus, and nobody will remember it.

Tree can even kill those she suspects of wanting to murder her. If she's wrong with her suspicions they'll come back to life when the day repeats itself.

The trouble is, there might not be an endless number of repetitions. A medical examination reveals that she doesn't restart each day with a blank slate. Her body shows evidence of internal injuries from her previous deaths. Each day she wakes up weaker.

There's an underlying character arc in the film. Tree is presented to us as someone who isn't necessarily a good person. She's stolen her friends' boyfriends, and she's currently having an affair with a married man. She's unfeeling and shallow. After repeated deaths she begins to change her ways. This is partially an attempt to avert her next death, but she's also beginning to feel remorse for her previous life style.

The Blu-ray disc contains an alternative ending for the film. When I saw it listed I was excited. I always like to see other possible endings. "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" has an alternative ending far superior to the film's official ending. If you watch it you'll see what I mean. "Joy Ride" has a few alternative endings, all of which are equally good alternatives. "Chloe" has several alternative endings, each of which says something different that adds to the film; in fact, I'd say that you need to watch every alternative ending to understand the film properly. I pity the people who only watch films on Netflix or other streaming services. They're missing out.

However, I can't say the same for Happy Death Day's alternative ending. It's awful. It changes the film in a way that removes its logical beauty. It's not worth watching. It's so bad that it shouldn't have been put on the disc.

Success Rate:  + 23.5

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