Happy Death Day- Groundhog Day meets slasher tropes in this unremarkable but decent PG-13 horror fare. Great central performance by Jessica Rothe, but the storyline is a bit too predictable, indulging in way more cliches than it overturns. Watchable and by no means terrible, but unmemorable. Nicely brisk, funny in places, and has fun with its central gimmick, but is rarely scary.
Fermat’s Room- Mark Kermode amusingly quipped that instead of Saw, this is more like Slide Rule. A group of mathematicians are trapped in a room which contracts as they answer puzzles. Needless to say, as an English major who’s terrified of math, it was horror movie to me 😉. Made by a pair of writer-directors bred from the world of TV and made for what looks like my credit card limit, it’s hardly the most cinematic movie, and while it’s wise enough not to overstay its welcome, it’s still a hard premise to stretch to feature length. But it’s a neat little high-concept B-movie while it’s there. Recommended for a rainy afternoon.