Happy Death Day is the Scream Queens feature-length I didn't know I needed in my life, providing a fun slasher-horror flick specifically aimed at a youthful audience.
The Blumhouse Productions release looks set to continue the studio’s blow-out success, following Split and Get Out's barn-burning runs earlier this year. They are experiencing something of an impressive streak at the moment, poised to the Disney Pixar of horror. Hoping to make an impact in the run up to Halloween and earn that prestigious tile, will Happy Death Day be the icing on Blumhouse's impressive cake of a year?
Happy Death Day follows Theresa Glenbman, who finds herself stuck in a time loop after being murdered by a masked-killer on her birthday. Waking up every time to relive the same day over and over again, she attempts to uncover her killer before her lives are up. Christopher B. Landon helms the teen-slasher to solid effect.
Unafraid to satirise itself and reference others, director Landon manages to ensure Happy Death Day's purposely-repetitive narrative remains surprisingly refreshing. With a new, exciting angle to play with for each cycle, Happy Death Day frequently bleeds fun as we explore Tree's fateful death day. It can feel overly-familiar and fails to provide audiences with anything new - but it's a blast from start to finish. You'll be hard-pressed not to have a good time.
With its teen audience in mind, Happy Death Day restrains its violence, placing a larger emphasis on the narrative over the gore - but it still remains creative with the kills, with a threatening, creepy villain. It incorporates a sharp humour the similar Fox television show excelled at, like a powerful combination of Groundhog Day and Mean Girls. The atmosphere is intense, magnified appropriately as Tree's situation worsens, becoming more dire and life-threatening. He infuses some impressive scene transitions and provides consistent scares; yes, he indulges in some cheap, jump scares but they are poppy and sensational enough to work.
Jessica Rothe looks set to be a star. Her journey across the film is well-dialled, balanced between this unlikeable, bratty sorority stereotype we first meet and the well-meaning broken soul that reveals herself as the film progresses. Rothe completely convinces, earning our support with an admirable performance that sells her fear and repentance very well. She is well-matched to Israel Broussard's Carter, who is charming and endearing. The pair form a genuine, believable chemistry that heightens the stakes and humanises Tree efficiently, breaking down the facade she is introduced with.
Despite a clunky twist it doesn't quite earn and some glaring plot holes - which is supposedly the basis of the theoretical sequel, should Happy Death Day's commercial performance justify it - Happy Death Day is recommended dumb, disposable fun. Lead by the charismatic Rothe and Broussard, Happy Death Day will entertain its intended audience, infused with heart, soul and humanity. It's light on bloodshed, so won't please all - but those after an effective horror with Halloween approaching, Happy Death Day could be something to celebrate.
Summary: It may be purposely familiar but thanks to solid direction from Christopher B. Landon and a star-making performance from Jessica Rothe, Happy Death Day is refreshing teen-orientated, horror-slasher fun from start to finish.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7/10)
Cotton candy coloured hues and bold, garish set designs seem to meet us at every turn in Netflix's The Babysitter, a terrific little teen-horror-comedy with a self-satirising bite.
The Babysitter indulges in genre conventions in the best way possible: by tackling them head-on and ridiculing common horror tropes, The Babysitter taps into a self-awareness that makes it sharper than most will probably give it credit for. Directed by McG, The Babysitter's cartoonish violence may not work for all, but it is a perfect vehicle for this director's bold vision: executed with gusto, a number of exciting set pieces and kills are paced efficiently across the 85 minute feature-length, illustrating a director with the confidence and energy to provide a continually-exciting thrill ride. The intensity and horror is peppered with sharp humour and subversive wit, simply bursting with fun.
The Babysitter's production department craft an exciting number of sets to be coated with blood, utilising striking colours and designs terrifically. Enhanced by Shane Hurlbut's solid cinematography, ensuring these colours pop and tension is heightened with some remarkable imagery, The Babysitter is a visual treat containing strong work from all the behind-the-scenes talents.
Brian Duffield's script can be disorientating at times, but mainly as a consequence of its giddy, fast-paced energy. It too embraces horror mythology and traditions, sprinkling the narrative with horror familiarity: for example, our characters purposely evoke archetypical figures in the genre and the kills are creative and gaudy. Alongside The Babysitters' all-out gore and consistent blood splashes is a surprising amount of poignancy. The central relationship between Bee and Cole is a wholly believable, layered one; coming-of-age elements run through the veins of this film almost as effectively as blood runs from veins. In a similarly impressive way to the much larger-scale It remake, Cole is a character you can actively root for and recognise.
Performed with gusto by the whole ensemble, Samara Weaving leads the cast with a career-kickstarting performance. Playing everything with wink and nudge, she helms the hell-for-leather horror with confidence and conviction, balancing the charming with the menacing perfectly. She's a very striking, skilled performer and elicits an emotional response in the film's barmy ending. If her performance here is anything to go by, she has a fruitful career ahead of her. Judah Lewis is charming and loveable, with a wide-eyed naivety that anchors the audience to him throughout. The supporting cast, consisting of Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne and Andrew Bachelor, go to town with audacious, purposely-exaggerated performances perfectly suited to the film's tone.
Maybe The Babysitter is too immature at times. While it's pleasantly surprising that satire is interlaced so prominently throughout, it can occasionally comes across as if its mocking the genre in a vicious way, rather than in a playful one. Some have taken particularly offence to its critical framing of the slasher genre. Furthermore, the difficulty of creating something purposely trashy is that it crosses the line into complete parody: The Babysitter does cross that boundary on a couple of occasions, and it's easy to see why people would dislike the film. As someone who loves and misses Fox's Scream Queens every day though, it's a solid blend for me.
The Babysitter embraces its barminess, allowing audiences to do the same. It avoids taking itself too seriously, lapping up the violence and fun and imparting it on the audience. Because of some impressive performances, solid direction and bold decisions, it's difficult not to have fun with Netflix's latest creation. It's perfectly trashy popcorn entertainment, with a distinctive vision and self-satirising bite; a lesson in embracing genre conventions rather than falling victim to them.
Summary: With an impressive vision and a sharp self-satirising tone, The Babysitter is a bold and garish teen horror-slasher production from Netflix, with career-kickstarting turns from Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7/10)