‘Happy Death Day’ Trailer: ‘Groundhog Day’ With A Lot More Murder
It’s official:Groundhog Dayhas officially become a template for other movies to borrow. The short-lived television seriesDay Breaktook the concept of a character reliving the same day over and over again and made it a police procedural.Edge of Tomorrowretooled it for a (pretty fantastic) science fiction action movie. And now,Happy Death Daylooks to make a slasher horror movie out of it.
TheHappy Death Daytrailer features a masked killer and a gruesome murder. It also features a masked killer and a gruesome murder. And then it features a masked killer and a–
While the whole “Groundhog Daywith a twist” pitch should be wearing thin by now, there are plenty of pleasures to be found in this preview.Jessica Rotheplays a snobby young woman who finds herself murdered at her birthday party…only for her to wake up the morning of her death, alive and facing the same day. Over and over again. And while it’s an awful thing to realize that you will continuously die every single day in a myriad of different ways, this does offer her a rare opportunity: she has time to solve her own murder and stop the killer. She’ll just have to get murdered. A lot.
While the film definitely borrows some traditional slasher movie iconography (including a disconcerting mask for the killer to wear), the trailer’s focus on this being a mystery that can be solved rather than an excuse for a body count is refreshing. It feels like the last major horror movie to take that approach would beScreamand its sequels.
And while some horror fans may take issue with the trailer’s youthful, millennial tone, I can’t help but find that charming. In a year that has brought us genuine horror masterpieces likeGet OutandRaw, a hip, modern slasher aimed at youthful viewers actually feels like a pleasant palate cleanser.
Happy Death Dayis the next movie from directorChristopher B. Landon, who helmed thesurprisingly goodParanormal Activity: The Marked Onesand the unsurprisingly dismalScouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Since Blumhouse (the production company specializing in low-budget horror movies that are generally guaranteed to turn a profit) has brought out the best in him before, I hope this movie is as entertaining as the trailer implies. Interestingly, the screenplay was co-written byScott Lobdell, a comic book writer best known for his work with Marvel and DC.Happy Death Dayopens on June 08, 2025. You know, Friday the 13th.
