Happy Death Day - wikipedia Happy Death Day This article is about the horror film. For the Saddolls album, see Happy Deathday. Happy Death Day Theatrical release poster Directed by Christopher B. Landon Produced by Jason Blum Written by Scott Lobdell Starring Jessica Rothe Israel Broussard Music by Bear McCreary Cinematography Toby Oliver Edited by Gregory Plotkin Production company Blumhouse Productions Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date October 13, 2017 ( 2017 - 10 - 13 ) ( United States ) Running time 96 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $4.8 million Box office $122.6 million Happy Death Day is a 2017 American slasher film directed by Christopher B. Landon, written by Scott Lobdell and starring Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, and Ruby Modine. The film was produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. It follows a college student who is murdered on her birthday and begins reliving the day over and over again ; at that point, she sets out to find the killer and stop her death. Originally announced in 2007 under the title Half to Death, the film was released on October 13, 2017, by Universal Pictures. It has grossed $122 million worldwide on a $4.8 million budget and received generally positive reviews, with critics deeming the film entertaining while acknowledging the familiar premise, and describing it as `` Groundhog Day meets Scream ''. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Pre-production 3.2 Writing 3.3 Filming 3.4 Alternate ending 3.5 Music 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 4.3 Home media 5 Sequel 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Plot Theresa `` Tree '' Gelbman wakes up on her birthday on Monday, September 18, 2017 in the dorm room of classmate Carter Davis after a drunken binge the previous evening. Tree goes through the day being self - centered, dismissive, and condescending to her classmates and previous hook - ups, ignoring her father 's invitation to a restaurant, throwing away a birthday cupcake given to her by her roommate Lori Spengler, and having an affair with Dr. Gregory Butler, her professor. That night, while going to a party, Tree is lured into a tunnel where she is brutally murdered by a hooded figure wearing a mask of the campus mascot. Tree wakes up the next morning back in Carter 's bed with the previous day 's events repeating. Unnerved, she relives the day and avoids the tunnel, instead heading to a fraternity house for a surprise party. However, after becoming intimate with her classmate Nick, the masked killer murders him before killing Tree once more. Tree realizes that she is in a time loop and tries to avoid her death by barricading herself in her room. However, she is murdered again when the killer hides in her bedroom. Upon waking up again, she relays her story to Carter, who suggests that she take advantage of the loop in order to figure out who her killer is. She spends the next several iterations trailing suspected classmates and dying each time. After Tree dies from being bludgeoned by a baseball bat, she passes out shortly after waking up. She awakens in the campus hospital where she learns that her body shows evidence of recovery from multiple, massive, traumatic injuries, meaning she has retained damage from her previous murders even after waking up fully healed every time. Tree escapes the hospital room only to be chased by the killer until she manages to flee in Butler 's car. While driving, she is pulled over by a police officer and volunteers to be arrested in order to be spared. While held in the officer 's squad car, the killer runs over the officer and blows up the squad car by igniting the fuel tank with a candle. Waking up in Carter 's bed again, Tree convinces Carter of her predicament by showing that she holds foreknowledge of the day 's events. In Corky 's, Tree admits to Carter that she does not like who she has become as she is distant from her father in the wake of her mother 's death three years ago. Tree catches a local news report on John Tombs, a serial killer who is being held in the hospital on her campus. Concluding that Tombs is her killer, Tree rushes to the hospital to warn of his escape. Tombs breaks free and nearly kills Tree, but Carter follows and rescues her. Tombs snaps Carter 's neck before chasing Tree to a nearby bell tower where she manages to subdue him with a crowbar. Realizing that Carter will remain dead if she does n't restart the loop, Tree hangs herself in the tower. During the next iteration, Tree sets out to be a kinder person by ending her affair with Dr. Butler and meeting with her father to resolve her inner grief. That night, she prepares to stop Tombs. He manages to get the upper hand on her until Tree utilizes a campus - wide blackout that occurs during the loop to disarm him and shoot him to death. Relieved to finally be free, she celebrates her birthday in Carter 's room and eats the cupcake given to her by Lori. However, the next morning Tree wakes up again on her birthday. Confused and distraught over the fact that killing Tombs did not stop the time loop, Tree returns to her room where Lori offers the cupcake again. Tree realizes that she had died in her sleep and also notes that this was the only time she had ever eaten the cupcake. Tree realizes that Lori is the true killer ; Lori had poisoned the cupcake, but when Tree did not eat it, she utilized her job as a nurse in the hospital to frame Tombs for Tree 's murder. Tree tries to coerce Lori to have a bite and when Lori refuses, Tree decides to take it to the police. Lori attacks Tree, locks the door and confesses that she was jealous of her affair with Dr. Butler. Tree manages to stuff the cupcake into Lori 's mouth before kicking her out of a window, sending her falling to her death. Tree and Carter muse over the day 's events back in the restaurant. He offers her his room for the night, also commenting her situation is a lot like the film Groundhog Day. Tree wakes up the next day believing herself to be in another loop, but it turns out to be a prank by Carter. The two share a kiss. Cast Jessica Rothe as Theresa `` Tree '' Gelbman Israel Broussard as Carter Davis Ruby Modine as Lori Spengler Rachel Matthews as Danielle Bouseman Charles Aitken as Gregory Butler Rob Mello as John Tombs Phi Vu as Ryan Phan Caleb Spillyards as Tim Bauer Jason Bayle as David Gelbman Laura Clifton as Stephanie Butler Cariella Smith as Becky Shepard Tran Tran as Emily Blaine Kern III as Nick Sims Dane Rhodes as Officer Santora Tenea Intriago as Student Protestor Missy Yager as Mrs. Gelbman Production Preproduction `` The movie was in pre-production or soft production at the time, and I came on and I loved the concept of the movie. I loved the idea of a girl, trapped in a time loop who has to solve her own murder. '' -- Director Christopher B. Landon about the concept of the film. The film was first announced in July 2007, with Megan Fox attached to star. The film was originally titled Half to Death, produced by Michael Bay and Rogue Pictures, and directed by Antti Jokinen. Christopher B. Landon was hired to rewrite the Scott Lobdell script, and while he liked the reworked script the studio decided to not move on with it. The project was only revived years later, as original producer Angela Mancuso had lunch with Landon and remembered about Half to Death. Landon decided to send the script to Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, with whom he had worked in the Paranormal Activity sequels, and he approved it, leading to a green - light by Universal Pictures. Blumhouse announced the project on October 11, 2016, with Landon directing and Jessica Rothe cast in the lead role of the film. On November 8, 2016, it was announced that Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken and Rachel Matthews had joined the cast, alongside Rothe and Israel Broussard. The film got eventually retitled Happy Death Day in June 2017. The mask was constructed by Tony Gardner, the same man who built the `` Ghostface '' mask from every Scream film, and its design was personal. Landon explains, `` During preproduction... I was expecting my first son. I do n't know if I just had babies on the brain, or if I was subconsciously scared to become a father, but that baby image was floating around in my head. Tony made us a pig mask, too, but when I wore the baby mask in the office, I scared a co-worker, and we thought... yeah, this is it. This is the one. '' Scream itself was listed among the influences Christopher Landon took for the film, along with Halloween ( 1978 ), Groundhog Day and comedies of the 1980s such as Sixteen Candles and Back to the Future, given he aimed to make a `` fun, silly horror movie ''. He also aimed to emulate the protagonist 's personal growth in Groundhog Day to comment on `` this age of social media and all the crappy things that kids do to each other. '' Writing Writer Scott Lobdell said he wanted to play with the tropes of the slasher genre, as according to him `` every slasher film opens up with the mean girl getting killed and the good girl living till the end. And I thought, ' How can I make the mean girl and the good girl the same person ? ' '' In the original draft, Lori and Dr. Butler were the killers together. Landon says, `` They were a psycho couple murdering Tree together. That ultimately did n't work for me. I thought Gregory was a great opportunity to be a suspect. To make him a killer, it did n't help me. That was a change I really wanted to make. '' Also, in the original draft there was no birthday, and no romance, which Landon added to humanize Tree. Landon decided to shorten the protagonist 's name Teresa into Tree, which also conveyed her character arc as `` trees need to grow and you see this character go from one person to another ''. Filming Filming took place at and around Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and it lasted 5 weeks. The scenes where Tree awakens in Carter 's bed after her death were filmed back to back in a span of two days. The scene after Lori dies was supposed to be at the sorority house, but the filming permit was over before production was able to shoot there, forcing the location to be changed into a Los Angeles diner also featured in another Blumhouse production, Split. Alternate ending In the original ending of the film, Tree is taken to the hospital after her encounter with Lori. The doctor instructs her to stay away from pain medication for at least a day due to the extent of her injuries. After he leaves, a nurse comes in and tells Tree she is giving Tree something for the pain and Tree informs the nurse of the doctor 's orders. The nurse reveals herself to be Dr. Butler 's wife Stephanie, who says it is for her pain and then murders Tree in revenge for the affair between her and Dr. Butler. This version was shown in the test screenings for the film, and was received negatively by the audience, forcing the writers to come up with the theatrical ending. Director Christopher Landon also revealed Lori and Dr. Butler were the killers in the rough drafts, which later inspired the idea of the poisoned cupcake. Music Happy Death Day ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) Soundtrack album by Bear McCreary Released October 13, 2017 Genre Film score Length 39 : 57 ( Standard album ) 44 : 16 ( Bonus track version ) Label Back Lot Music Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Soundtrack Dreams Bear McCreary is the composer of all tracks. Standard album No. Title Length 1. `` Day One '' 5 : 26 2. `` Day Two '' 6 : 05 3. `` Day Three '' 4 : 18 4. `` Day Four '' 2 : 17 5. `` Hospital Pursuit '' 5 : 55 6. `` The Bell Tower '' 3 : 30 7. `` Righting Wrongs '' 3 : 40 8. `` Tree Takes Control '' 4 : 30 9. `` The Cupcake '' 4 : 16 Total length : 39 : 57 Bonus track No. Title Length 10. `` Happy Death Day End Title Credits '' 4 : 19 Total length : 44 : 16 Reception Box office Happy Death Day grossed $55.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $67 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $122.6 million, against a production budget of $4.8 million. In the United States and Canada, Happy Death Day was released alongside Marshall, The Foreigner and Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and was expected to gross $15 -- 20 million from 3,130 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $1 million from Thursday night previews at 2,450 theaters, similar to fellow Blumhouse release The Visit ( $1.05 million in 2015 ) and $11.6 million on its first day, increasing weekend projections to $26 million. It went on to debut to $26 million, topping the box office, making it the third Blumhouse Productions film of 2017 ( after Split and Get Out ) to do so. It fell 64 % in its second weekend to $9.4 million, finishing in third behind newcomers Boo 2 ! A Madea Halloween and Geostorm. Critical response On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71 % based on 119 reviews, with an average rating of 6 / 10. The site 's critical consensus reads, `` Happy Death Day puts a darkly humorous sci - fi spin on slasher conventions, with added edge courtesy of a starmaking performance from Jessica Rothe. '' On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating `` mixed or average reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` B '' on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 52 % `` definite recommend ''. Critics noted that although the film makes laudatory attempts at merging genres -- including romantic comedy, horror and `` campus satire '' -- the end results were mixed. Jamie East from The Sun likened it to a `` slasher Mean Girls, '' while Chris Agar of Screen Rant said that the `` fun, if silly, blending of genre tropes... ends up being a double - edged sword. '' Home media The film was released on digital HD on January 2, 2018 and was released on DVD and Blu - Ray on January 16, 2018. The home release features the original ending. Sequel Main article : Happy Death Day 2 Director Christopher B. Landon has talked about the possibility of a sequel, focusing on why Tree went into a time loop. Jessica Rothe stated that while most horror sequels retread the original, Landon 's pitch instead `` elevates the movie from being a horror movie into a Back to the Future type of genre film where the sequel joins us right from where we left off, it explains a lot of things in the first one that did n't get explained, and it elevates everything. '' Filming is scheduled to begin in May 2018. On May 1, 2018, it was announced that Rothe and Israel Broussard will be returning for the sequel, reprising their roles as Tree Gelbman and Carter Davis, respectively. In addition, Suraj Sharma and Sarah Yarkin have been cast. See also List of films featuring time loops References ^ Jump up to : `` Happy Death Day ( 2017 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 9, 2017. Jump up ^ Miska, Brad ( April 20, 2017 ). `` Get Scared ' Half to Death ' This October ''. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 20, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Giles, Jeff ( October 12, 2017 ). `` Happy Death Day Is Familiar but Fun ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 13, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Anthony D'Alessandro. `` Blumhouse Has Plenty To Smile About As ' Happy Death Day ' Scares Up $26 M+ Opening ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` How it took nearly 10 years to make the horror movie ' Happy Death Day ' ''. October 4, 2017. Jump up ^ `` EXCLUSIVE : Megan Fox Joins Half to Death ''. Beyond Hollywood. July 15, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Jump up ^ McNary, Dave ( October 11, 2016 ). `` Jessica Rothe Starring in Horror Movie ' Half to Death ' ''. Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2017. Jump up ^ McNary, Dave ( November 8, 2016 ). `` Ruby Modine Joins Horror Movie ' Half to Death ' ''. Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2017. Jump up ^ Universal, Blumhouse Retitle Film ' Half To Death ' To ' Happy Death Day ' Jump up ^ `` THE STORY BEHIND ' HAPPY DEATH DAYS CREEPY BABY MASK AND TREE 'S BEST LINES ''. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day Influences : 10 Movies That Inspired the Director ''. ^ Jump up to : Fitz - Gerald, Sean. THE GUYS BEHIND ' HAPPY DEATH DAY ' TALK TIME - BENDING ENDING & SEQUEL IDEAS ( October 13, 2017 ), Thrillist ^ Jump up to : `` ' Happy Death Day ' Ending : Director Shares Sequel Plans for Part 2 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 2017. ^ Jump up to : The director of ' Happy Death Day ' answers all the questions you have after watching the movie, Insider Jump up ^ Production Notes for Happy Death Day Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day 's Jessica Rothe On What It Means To Be A Scream Queen in 2017 ''. Jump up ^ Tom Philip ( October 18, 2017 ). `` Happy Death Day Star Jessica Rothe Explains What It 's Like to Die a Dozen Times in the Same Movie ''. GQ. Retrieved October 19, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day Shot An Original Ending That Made Test Audiences Furious ''. Cinema Blend. 2017 - 10 - 16. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) ( Bonus Track Version ) ''. iTunes Store. 2018 - 10 - 13. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 16. Jump up ^ `` ' Happy Death Day ' expected to unseat ' Blade Runner 2049 ' at the box office ''. Los Angeles Times. October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Blumhouse Makes a Wish for Another # 1 Opener with ' Happy Death Day ' ''. Box Office Mojo. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Anthony D'Alessandro. `` ' Boo 2 ! A Madea Halloween ' Reaps $21 M+ During October Dumping Ground At The B.O. '' Deadline.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day ( 2017 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 13, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 21, 2017. Jump up ^ Robey, Tim ( 2017 - 10 - 19 ). `` Happy Death Day review : slasher Groundhog Day gives us a scream queen for the ages ''. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307 - 1235. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Like a slasher Mean Girls, Happy Death Day nails comedy and horror ''. The Sun. 2017 - 10 - 19. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Happy Death Day Review ''. Screen Rant. 2017 - 10 - 13. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 20. Jump up ^ From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment : Happy Death Day Jump up ^ Acuna, Kirsten ( October 1, 2017 ). `` ' Happy Death Day ' is n't out yet, but the director already has an idea for a sequel ''. Business Insider. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Jump up ^ Jessica Rothe on ' Forever My Girl ' & a ' Back to the Future ' - Esque ' Happy Death Day ' Sequel, Collider Jump up ^ `` ' Happy Death Day ' Sequel Reportedly Filming This Summer ''. March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018. Jump up ^ `` ' Happy Death Day 2 ' : Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard Return ; Suraj Sharma & Sarah Yarkin Joining Blumhouse Sequel ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2018 - 05 - 01. External links Official website Happy Death Day on IMDb Happy Death Day at Box Office Mojo Films directed by Christopher B. Landon Burning Palms ( 2010 ) Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones ( 2014 ) Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse ( 2015 ) Happy Death Day ( 2017 ) Happy Death Day 2 ( 2019 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Happy_Death_Day&oldid=839228286 '' Categories : 2017 films English - language films 2010s comedy horror films 2010s horror thriller films 2010s mystery films 2010s serial killer films 2010s teen comedy films 2010s teen horror films 2017 horror films Adultery in films American comedy horror films American films American horror thriller films American mystery films American serial killer films American slasher films American teen comedy films American teen horror films Blumhouse Productions films Films about birthday Films about death Films directed by Christopher B. Landon Films produced by Jason Blum Films set in 2017 Films set in Louisiana Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Louisiana Mystery horror films Mystery thriller films Romantic horror films Time loop films Universal Pictures films Hidden categories : Pages using div col with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar 日本 語 Português Русский Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 May 2018, at 03 : 17. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who keeps killing tree in happy death day
Answer: Lori