Happy Deathday

And daily greets the Grim Reaper: For young student Tree (Jessica Rothe), her own birthday turns into a real nightmare. Not only does she wake up completely hungover next to a one-night stand (Israel Broussard), but her roommate, her professor with whom she's having an affair, and her father, with whom she's had a very strained relationship since her mother's death, don't exactly sweeten the day for her. And to make matters worse, a masked stranger shows up in the evening to kill her - only for Tree to wake up that morning and relive the day over and over again. No matter what she tries, it always ends in her death. It's clear to Tree that to escape this vicious cycle, she must find out who might be after her life. But the list of potential killers is frighteningly long.

Happy Deathday isn't really a horror movie, even if the title and even parts of the trailer suggest it. Rather, it is a humorous teen variant of And daily greets the groundhog with slasher borrowings, which, however, have turned out so harmless that the FSK has even released the entertaining time loop from 12. The target audience between 12 and 17 years is then also served with a few nice gags, a solid dose of suspense and a good soundtrack properly. The fact that director Christopher Landon doesn't take logic very seriously - which can be called the understatement of the year - shouldn't be seen as a negative. Because apart from the fact that the time loop theme lacks any kind of logic, Happy Deathday is never about whether a new plot twist makes sense, but whether it can maintain the entertainment value of the film. And since it succeeds quite neatly, the many logic holes can be safely ignored.

Admittedly, it's hard not to frown at the myriad of clichés or be bothered by the extremely one-dimensional characters drawn. Also, the fact that Tree isn't actually a particularly sympathetic person, who you might not necessarily wish a movie death on, but just not necessarily a happy ending either, dulls the fun a bit. But again, since the film never pretends to be more than it is, and offers entertaining entertainment for a youthful target audience with its simple means, the quite justified criticisms don't weigh very heavily in the end.

Who has seen the trailer, knows exactly what he gets into. And gets then also exactly that offered. No surprises, positive or negative. Is that demanding? Hardly! Does the film leave a lasting impression? Absolutely not! Does it provide fun popcorn entertainment with a few good laughs and a tiny bit of thrills? Oh yes! And if that's exactly what you're willing to pay a movie ticket for, this murderous birthday can be recommended to you with a clear conscience. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp