Christopher Landon

  • Freaky (2020)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2021) Considering my overall loathing of slasher movies, I approached Freaky with reluctance. A body-switching horror/comedy in which a young woman switches bodies with a serial killer? Eh… But once it gets going, Freaky gets more interesting than I expected. Much of the film’s success goes to a smart script, decent direction and excellent casting. This is not the first movie to play off Vince Vaughn’s size, but few have done it so well, and none has even made good use of both his potential for intimidation and his gift for comedy — by the time he plays a cheerleader in a massive body (which is most of the film — Freaky doesn’t spend all that much time with him as a serial killer), we get some unusual acting. This also goes for Kathryn Newton, playing a bulky man learning how to use a young teenager’s body. (The film’s much-better original title, Freaky Friday the 13th, sums up much of its premise.)  The high school setting is almost used in interesting ways, with the script taking occasional pokes at the usual clichés. Freaky is also interesting that it is (one of?) the first body-switching film in an age of greater transgender acceptance, and that shows up in a few scenes that would not have been played the same way ten years ago. Some decent dialogues and characterization wrap it up (even if the camp gay character is a bit on-the-nose at first), although that’s not so much of a surprise coming from writer-director Christopher Landon, who seems to be carving a niche in spinning familiar premises into horror after the two Happy Death Day films. Where I reach my limit for my appreciation of Freaky is the choice to go equally hard on horror as comedy — there is a lot of gore here, and it does get in the way of enjoying the film as a romp. It also takes up one slasher cliché too many in adding a redundant climax-after-the-climax. But then again, you’d suspect a body-switching movie reviewer if I didn’t end up taking a few potshots at slashers in a slasher review.

  • Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

    Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2019) The first Happy Death Day was a tricky mixture of comedy and horror, and it took a while before it started firing on all cylinders. Happy Death Day 2U isn’t that different, although the first few minutes do promise a more interesting sidequel than the outright sequel it ultimately settles on. But there’s only so much deviation that a series can tolerate, and this sequel does ultimately change the tone and genre of the series a bit, going for a thankfully more comedic approach and reaches for outright science fiction (even if nonsensical) as an explanation for its time-looping weirdness. Jessica Rothe once again captures our attention as the heroine (once again hitting the film’s peak during a bouncy montage), especially given how Happy Death Day 2U unusually digs deeper into her dramatic back-story and provides her with a heartbreaking choice. The result is fun bouncy entertainment with enough depth to it to keep things interesting. Toning down the serial killer shtick only improves the sequel, and while it does fall prey to a certain sense of deja vu, it’s an impressive continuation by itself. Writer-director Christopher Landon is a clever filmmaker, and the results here outdo anything we may have hoped for a sequel.

  • Happy Death Day (2017)

    Happy Death Day (2017)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2018) Derivatives of Groundhog Day’s time-loop premise are now commonplace, and it takes a little bit more to avoid charges of being derivative. Happily, Happy Death Day eventually gets there: A comedic horror take on the reliving-a-day idea, it’s a film that eventually finds its groove and runs with it. It doesn’t start that promisingly, what with a college student waking up next to a one-night stand and going through a school day (that happens to be her birthday) before being brutally murdered … and starting over again. The expected scenes of time-loop movies are there, but there is a sharp edge to the horror element as our protagonist gets murdered time and time again. While the first half-hour of the film is a bit perfunctory, the film eventually improves, roughly at the same time as we gain an appreciation the lead actress. Jessica Rothe doesn’t have much name recognition, but this is going to change with her performance here, as she goes from an obnoxious sorority girl to a likable protagonist over the first half of the film and then keeps our interest for the remainder of the story. The “Confident” song montage is when the film finally comes into focus. A dark comic sense of humour from director Christopher Landon and writer Scott Lobdell certainly helps keep things interesting despite the film’s low-budget. Unhappily, the film eventually starts ignoring its own plot points (not much is made of the protagonist becoming weaker throughout the loops) but the ride is a fun one despite some third-act weirdness. I ended up liking Happy Death Day more than I thought at the beginning, and even more than I thought after twenty minutes of it. Even as a Groundhog Day derivative, it’s actually worth a look.