Happy Death Day isn't particularly scary, and clearly isn't meant to be - the pleasure lies in the games it plays with its basic storyline, along the way tossing in enough offbeat humour and whodunnit twists to keep us entertained.

| Nov 9, 2017

If you can't enjoy [Happy Death Day], give up on film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 30, 2017

On another level, Happy Death Day is a low-key celebration of cinema. Landon and Lobdell revel in how their story could only happen in the movies, piling on preposterous complications with self-aware glee.

| Oct 26, 2017

One of the most breezily enjoyable teen movies of recent years.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 22, 2017

Landon's scary movie offers a short, sharp shock to the system. Let it make your day.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 20, 2017

The whole thing is basically Gossip Girl as seen through the lens of Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence, only not as fun as that sounds.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 20, 2017

Director Christopher Landon and screenwriter and comics veteran Scott Lobdell maintain modest tension and humor as they deliver tried-and-true genre standbys like loud music jump-scares, an unnaturally deserted hospital and red-herring suspects.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 19, 2017

Happy Death Day might be the cheeriest slasher film ever made. It doubles as a romcom, trebles as campus satire, quadruples as anything else you like, really.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 19, 2017

But the film doesn't just find a clever way to refresh a maybe-calcified genre. It also overturns some of the genre's more puritanical tendencies.

| Oct 19, 2017

While Happy Death Day isn't perfect by a long shot, the film definitely does a great job in making its audience hanker for all those '90s slashers nobody seems to be interested in making nowadays.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 19, 2017

It is ingeniously structured in its own right, even if some of its plot twists and contortions don't entirely stack up.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 18, 2017

It's all a humorous gloss on teen self-discovery.

| Oct 13, 2017

One of 2017's most unforeseen gems, this freewheeling bit of slasher craziness is an amusing genre miracle worth celebrating.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 13, 2017

There's a spunky charm to the Scream-meets-Groundhog Day thing, and the film is well-built. The problem is its chipper message.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 13, 2017

Anyone looking to enjoy some scares while trying to figure out a very clever mystery should plan on seeing Happy Death Day.

| Oct 13, 2017

The movie is no big deal, but its Groundhog Day conceit is kind of irresistible, and the genre blend seems right for this age of women seeking stability and empowerment.

| Oct 12, 2017

What makes Death Day feel so fresh is that this is all played with a whopper of a wink, pulled off by the considerable comedic talents of star Jessica Rothe, who successfully juggles the horror/comedy mash-up.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 12, 2017

This is one movie that no one needs to relive.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 12, 2017

Doesn't seem to enjoy its own ridiculous concept enough, and yet refuses to stage any set pieces that feel honestly scary either.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 12, 2017

The reveal is a bit predictable, but a couple of fake-outs keep things interesting along the way.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 12, 2017