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Showing posts with label Rachel Matthews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Matthews. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2019

MOVIE REVIEW: HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U







































Collegian Tree Gelbman wakes up in horror to learn that she's stuck in a parallel universe. Her boyfriend Carter is now with someone else, and her friends and fellow students seem to be completely different versions of themselves. When Tree discovers that Carter's roommate has been altering time, she finds herself once again the target of a masked killer. When the psychopath starts to go after her inner circle, Tree soon realizes that she must die over and over again to save everyone.

Director: Christopher Landon

Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Rachel Matthews, Suraj Sharma, Ruby Modine

Release Date: February 13, 2019

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for violence, language, sexual material and thematic elements.

Runtime: 1h 40 min

Review:

Happy Death Day was one of those rare surprises in the horror genre that just come out of nowhere.  It had a nice twist on the slasher genre and a likeable lead that carried the film well.  The sequel is sadly a bit of a downgrade in quality, since it’s sapped of the original’s fun tone in favor of a more convoluted and complicated story.  Christopher Landon switches up the first film’s trope by throwing in a sci-fi slant that could have led to some fun situations if they’d explored the concept a bit more than they do.  Jessica Rothe is still great in this entry, she’s such a fun actress who shows a healthy bit of range, more so than in the first film.  Sadly, her comedic talents aren’t used to their fullest extent here and it’s to the film’s detriment since it never as consistently fun as the previous film.  It’s a shame because you could see a healthy amount of possibilities in the concept and Rothe within this series.  Sadly, the sequel just ends up coming off as a pale imitation of the first film with far less pop and energy.   


C+

Sunday, October 15, 2017

MOVIE REVIEW: HAPPY DEATH DAY







































Tree Gelbman is a blissfully self-centered collegian who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of a student named Carter. As the morning goes on, Tree gets the eerie feeling that she's experienced the events of this day before. When a masked killer suddenly takes her life in a brutal attack, she once again magically wakes up in Carter's dorm room unharmed. Now, the frightened young woman must relive the same day over and over until she figures out who murdered her.

Director: Christopher B. Landon

Release Date: Oct 13, 2017
 
Cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Rachel Matthews

Rated PG-13 for violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity 

Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min. 

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Horror

Review:

Happy Death Day takes the Groundhog Day conceit and gives it a fun horror spin.  Christopher Landon directs his film with tongue placed firmly in cheek.  Those expecting some sort of a straight forward hardcore horror might be a bit let down since the film isn’t ever really scary or thrilling.  That being said, it’s still an impressively fun film that really never loses energy during its incredibly efficient runtime.  There are plenty of laughs abound as the day replays over and over again with Jessica Rothe delivering a great central performance.  Rothe has some impressive comedic timing and she puts it to great use throughout.  The central mystery isn’t all that difficult to figure out but that really doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment.  Horror fans have to trudge through a lot of garbage before something worthwhile pops up, thankfully Happy Death Day is a nice surprise.

B+
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