VOD Spotlight: Happy Death Day

Happy Death Day © 2017 Universal Studios All Rights Reserved Credit: Patti Perret/Unive

VOD Spotlight: Happy Death Day

As horrifying as murders are, imagine getting murdered multiple times. That is the story for Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) in Happy Death Day as she relives the day of her murder, trying to get to the bottom of who killed her.

Bending the passage of time has long fascinated storytellers, and the construct of a time loop proves exceptionally compelling in filmmaking. A plot device in which hours or days are repeated and re-experienced by the characters, this loop offers the protagonist some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Multiple films across various genres have elegantly pulled it off — from Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow to Richard Curtis’ About Time — and Scott Lobdell’s screenplay for Happy Death Day tackles this premise with surprising results.

Once director Christopher Landen read Lobdell’s story of Happy Death Day, he couldn’t help but think of a certain 1993 time-loop classic: “When I read the script, I had the immediate reaction that everybody does: ‘This is the horror-movie version of Groundhog Day! Why has this not been done before?’” he asks. “That was when the light bulb turned on, because the concept alone was a slam dunk to me — it was just really clever.”

Known for his innovative work on Marvel Comics’ X-Men titles (“Daredevil,” “Fantastic Four”), Lobdell offers that it was his aim to craft a story in which the lead had to solve her own murder. The writer explains: “Most teen slasher movies feature a series of victims being picked off throughout — once you are terrorized and killed you are never heard from again. I was interested in the idea of a character who gets to react to her death — one who can stalk her killer and who is given to opportunity to make the most of the last day of her life.”

Landon reflects on the challenges of a lead character reliving the same day repeatedly: “When you have to keep experiencing the same day over and over again, it is easy to fall into a trap. We establish the day and then we repeat it, so that the audience and the character understand what is happening. Once we do those things, we immediately take Tree off course. She starts to try to outsmart her own death — and in doing so — the story takes the audience to different places and gives them unexpected experiences.”

Lobdell adds, “Like most horror fans, I noticed the staple where the bad girl dies in the beginning of the story and the good girl is left to stand alone against the killer. I was intrigued by the challenge of writing a movie where the bad girl and the good girl were one and the same. As we get to know Tree, and she gets to know herself through the horror of her experience, we are caught up in her struggle — so by the end we cheer her on.”

Happy Death Day is available On Demand beginning Jan. 16. Check your cable system for availability.