Jessica Rothe and Israel Broussard star in a scene from the movie "Happy Death Day." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Universal)

By Catholic News Service

A play on 1993’s time-loop fantasy “Groundhog Day,” this slasher movie, directed by Christopher Landon, is an unlikely mix of horror and humor with a message about self-improvement.

A college student (Jessica Rothe) awakens on the morning of her birthday in the dorm room of a fellow student (Israel Broussard). At the end of her daily routine, which essentially means being obnoxious to everyone around her, she is stabbed to death. She instantly awakens back in the same dorm room, and will relive the same day, over and over. While each new time loop offers the chance for redemption, college-age viewers (and younger) may wrongly conclude that anything which makes you happy — even aberrant behavior — is a good thing.

Moments of violence and terror, sexual banter, drug use, brief rear female nudity, a benign view of pornography, homosexual acts and masturbation, some rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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