Horror Film Review #10

Happy Death Day

A movie marketed as a horror film that is brought to you by Blumhouse productions. A company known for producing all the ‘Paranormal Activities’, ‘The Purge’ and ‘Insidious’ films. The company’s model is to roll out films at a low to very modest budget, which has become a staple of its success.
Happy Death Day is no exception, given a PG-13 rating.

For violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity.

All of the criteria marked in its rating are correct; it is a horror movie without gore. It’s a film that is very much aware of its self and spins humor and above average intelligence into a story with an otherwise simple narrative.





The Premise: Sorority/college student Tree Gelbman discovers she is reliving the same day over and over again. It just so happens to be her birthday, and the day she gets murdered.  To break the cycle and survive to see the next day; Tree must solve who is trying to kill her, or is doomed to live, repeat, and fail.

The cast are all new faces, which works’, we the viewers can believe they are everyday average students, as the actors put in a set of solid performances, into a smart script. The screenplay can be argued and criticized, or the direction can feeling somewhat limited for not going further in horror elements. But with that in mind, it should be pointed out the film is set for a general audience with a 4.8 Million dollar budget.
The groundhogs day movie connection is obvious, but this movie  draws more from other contemporary time-looping films like  Edge of Tomorrow, 12:01,  and more closely to a Taye Diggs Television series called ‘Day Break’.

Happy Death Day was a financial success raking in over 55 Million dollars, that's nearly eleven  times it' estimated budget, and opening up in 1^st place on its opening day weekend.   Amazing when it you consider its entire cast are unknown actors.

Horror Film Review #9

Better Watch Out


By Hollywood standards, Better Watch Out is a horror film brought to us through a relatively new creative team. Writer/Director  Chris Peckover and Co-writer Zack Khan, has come to us with holiday home invasion movie that follows a horror trope, in which its' biggest twist is revealed at the end of the first act. 
The premise is Parents of pubescent teen named Luke (played by Levi Miller of  Pan) go out to a party and enlist a babysitter named Ashley (Olivia DeJonge of The Visit) who is 5 years Luke's senior to look after their child.  The film starts off with Luke and his best friend Garret (Ed Oxenbould of The Visit) discussing ways to lose their virginity, as Luke's parents prepare to leave.
Ashley, unaware that Luke will be attempting to get to second base with her; will be swatting away any advances he innocently and awkwardly tries, and as you can imagine everything is light hearted until they realize someone(s) have entered the house, where-upon the babysitter must now protect her young wards.
It is also around here at the thirty minute mark, that we conclude the first act and the twist gets dropped.  Peckover uses one trope of having a scene play out and then hold a few extra beats to allow us  the viewer to see and focus on an item that might be foreshadowing. For example a sound monitor under the bed, a pencil under the carpet, and the laundry room. All random, but done with deliberate intent with big or small pay-off as the movie progresses.  The approach to the film is refreshingly similar to A Cabin in the Woods where we find out what's going on at the beginning of the movie and then follow how it all plays-out. Better Watch Out draws and gives inspirational nods to the original Home Alone movie and sadistic home invasion movies like Funny Games, and a 90s Brian Bonsall starring film. The logistics of how every scene is played out can be argued.  The time frame from incorporating carolers to arrival of boyfriends and how acts and sounds happen almost in sync at completely different places; and with how the invader(s) motives and true nature can leave intent viewers scratching their heads.

The movie is for a genre specific fan base; it is elevated by rising above a conventional plot and if you can suspend a glaring disbelief in that plot. Better watch out should develop a cult like following and stronger appreciation in time.