Happy Death Day Ending Explained

Happy Death Day (2017) : Movie Plot Ending Explained

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Happy Death Day is basically Scream meets Groundhog Day. The film is directed by Christopher B. Landon and stars Jessica Rothe in the lead role of a person who relives the day of her death in loops. She needs to find out who her killer is to break free. If you liked films like Edge Of Tomorrow, Source Code or Triangle, you’ll like this pleasant brutal comedy. Here’s the film Happy Death Day explained, spoilers ahead.

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Happy Death Day: Plot Explanation

Theresa or Tree (Jessica) is a b*tch. Ever since the passing of her mother, she’s become an a-hole, even to her dad. That’s how she’s been dealing with her situation. Lori is her roommate. Tree keeps sleeping with Gregory, who is Lori’s guy. Actually, he’s not, he’s a married prof. Lori is a medical student and is also, crazy. She decides the best way to sort out matters with Tree is by killing her. Unfortunately for Lori, Tree’s day loops back to the start every time she tries killing her. Of course, we, the audience, are told that Lori is the one only at the end of the film.

After a wicked night of partying, Tree wakes up in a random dude’s (Carter) dorm room. It’s her birthday. She doesn’t celebrate it anymore because she and her mom shared birth-dates, and her mom’s no more. She gets back to her room. Lori has baked a cake and poisoned it. Let’s go through Tree’s loops…

Loop 1

  • Tree tells a guy, Tim, that that she had a horrible date with him.
  • Doesn’t eat the cake, throws it in the garbage.
  • Gets killed by Lori, in a baby mask, under the bridge.

Loop 2

  • Tree avoids Tim.
  • Doesn’t eat the cake.
  • Takes a different route that evening.
  • Gets to the party. Goes into a room with a dude called Nick.
  • (The audience is made to think Nick is the killer)
  • Gets killed by Lori in the room, who also kills Nick.

Loop 3

  • Tree avoids Tim.
  • Doesn’t eat the cake.
  • Barricades herself in and stays at home.
  • Gets killed by Lori, who is hiding in the bathroom.

Loop 4

  • Tree tells Carter about her looping.
  • Gets a suggestion from him to keep looping till she finds the murderer.
  • Find out Tim is gay.
  • Gets stabbed by Lori, by Tim’s window.

Loop 5

  • Tree suspects Gregory’s wife, Stephanie
  • Is killed by Lori, by drowning.

Loop 6

  • Is hit by bus and killed.

Loop 7

  • Prances around naked.

…

<other loops we are not shown>

…

  • Killed by a shot to the head with a baseball bat, again by Lori.

Loop 8

  • Tree wakes up and faints.
  • (The wounds from all of the loops are beginning to take their toll)
  • Gregory is monitoring her. He’s made to look like the killer.
  • Lori shows up in the hospital and kills Gregory.
  • Tree escapes in a car, gets stopped by a cop.
  • Lori shows up, kills the cop, blows Tree up in the cop car.
  • (Notice the birthday candle used here to light the fire)

Loop 9

  • Tree tells Carter again.
  • Sees the news of John Tombs who’s being treated in the hospital where Gregory works.
  • Thinks it is Tombs who’s been killing her.
  • Goes to the hospital and runs from Tombs, who has been set free by Lori.
  • Carter comes to save her, gets killed by Tombs.
  • Tree knocks out Tombs and runs.
  • Realizing she needs to reset the loop else Carter will be dead, she hangs herself and dies.

Loop 10

  • Tree believes this is her final loop and she’s going to get Tombs.
  • Talks to Tim and says it’s okay to be gay.
  • Apologizes to Lori for being a b*tch.
  • Dumps Gregory.
  • Meets and apologizes to her dad.
  • Gets to the hospital, kills Tombs.
  • (Of course, cops in this town are cool with that kinda shit)
  • Spends the night with Carter, eats Lori’s cupcake.
  • (Lori doesn’t give it to her this time, she picks the cake up on her own)
  • Dies in her sleep.

Happy Death Day: Ending Explained: Final Loop

  • Freaks out that killing Tombs hasn’t worked.
  • Decides to beat town.
  • Realizes the cupcake killed her, poison.
  • Fights Lori. Kills Lori.
  • (Again, cops are chill with that, dorm fights happen)
  • Makes peace with everyone again.
  • Film ends with Carter saying this situation is like Groundhog Day.
  • An alternate ending for the film is that Tree wakes up on the following day in a hospital with her dad and Carter standing besides her. Once they leave, Stephanie (Gregory’s wife) shows up and kills Tree.