I liked it. It was simple and fun. I didn't know it was PG-13 going in, so it was a lot more tame than I was expecting. It's almost not even a horror movie; maybe more of a scary movie, if that makes sense.
The lead actress is going to be a star, though. She's gorgeous.
i saw it yesterday. it was really fun. great date movie. i dont think ive seen the lead before but shes very charismatic...she'll be a star if shes not already.
edit: guess i should have read the post directly above before posting. but yeah she was good and her smile was mesmerizing
Tonally it was all over the place and the film was downright stupid in places, even if you forgive the admittedly outlandish premise.
And the film being PG-13 took away just about any edge it might have possessed.
What it felt like was that somebody, somewhere, came up with the pitch of Groundhog's Day as a horror film but then never bothered to imagine how to execute that concept in a creative or interesting way, as if the premise itself would carry it along. The film wasn't funny, wasn't scary, and vomited up just about every horror trope imaginable, including a "twist" ending that was as intellectually vacant as the rest of the movie.
I actually thought the ending was going to manage to pull off something cool or interesting when the "twist" was initially revealed but alas, no. Here's how I thought it might end:
I thought it would be revealed that her roommate killed her on the first day and everything since has been punishment; an endless, hellish purgatorial loop, which would have been a courageous and appropriate ending given what an utter shit the character is.
I thought it would be revealed that her roommate killed her on the first day and everything since has been punishment; an endless, hellish purgatorial loop, which would have been a courageous and appropriate ending given what an utter shit the character is.
This was fun. Probably not something I could sit through a second time but definitely enjoyable. It certainly doesn't feel scary like a Friday the 13th movie or Halloween though.
I actually thought the ending was going to manage to pull off something cool or interesting when the "twist" was initially revealed but alas, no. Here's how I thought it might end:
I thought it would be revealed that her roommate killed her on the first day and everything since has been punishment; an endless, hellish purgatorial loop, which would have been a courageous and appropriate ending given what an utter shit the character is.
Courageous ending, as in already done a million times. Please no
I just thought it was interesting how they pretty much told you who the killer was half way through the movie then went on a crazy tangent that you knew was wrong and then came back to the killer.
Courageous ending, as in already done a million times. Please no
I just thought it was interesting how they pretty much told you who the killer was half way through the movie then went on a crazy tangent that you knew was wrong and then came back to the killer.
Maybe, but that convoluted trash ending wasn't any better.
There were a lot of interesting things they could have done with the premise but since they opted to try and sell it to the PG-13 crowd, it was what it was.
But hey, if it worked for some of you, that's fine.
Maybe, but that convoluted trash ending wasn't any better.
There were a lot of interesting things they could have done with the premise but since they opted to try and sell it to the PG-13 crowd, it was what it was.
But hey, if it worked for some of you, that's fine.
I'm not the type to call somebody out for their tastes.
I just love horror and PG-13 horror is the bane of the genre. Most of it sucks because of how sanitized it is by design.
I think one of the missed opportunities of this film is that the actual deaths she suffers feel inconsequential because she essentially blacks out and wakes up immediately after they happen. At the very least, they should have delineated the trauma of each death and how horrific it would be to have to suffer through that multiple times.
The central conceit of the film isn't bad but the execution is just so predictably...mainstream studio flick.
I really enjoyed it. As others have said, it was self-aware enough not to take itself too seriously and there was zero gore, yet it was still tense.
I didn't mind the ending, what did bother me was
her sudden belief that this hospitalized fugitive was her murderer.
It made no sense given the conceit that the killer knew it was her birthday and the birthday card tie-in. He also clearly didn't match the demeanor of the killer during their initial confrontation (talking and taunting throughout). Add to that, when she went back to replay the confrontation, her entire plan was insane and would have absolutely landed her in jail (take a cop at gunpoint, murder a fugitive in protective custody). I understand they wanted a false finish, I just thought it was lazy and rather transparent setup.
.
That said, I greatly appreciate that
her failure to take her dad's call wasn't her major oversight that led to her death. They made a point of showing her ignoring the call so many times that it would have been a complete eye roll for that to be a decisive action.
