Posted in: Blumhouse, Movies | Tagged: blumhouse, freaky, happy death day, horror

Freaky Director Reaffirms Shared Universe with Happy Death Day

The new Christopher Landon movie is a nod to several concepts, including the quirky fun of Freaky Friday and a good vintage slasher film wrapped in one, starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton.

The film is part of a new direction we've seen Landon take, having previously worked on the Paranormal Activity franchise. The director enjoyed the meta, self-aware aspects of horror in Freaky and Happy Death Day. The two films have very similar ranges in heightened comedy and unexplainable events that typically create a lighter, bloodier atmosphere for a knife-wielding psychopath.

Landon recently spoke to Collider about Freaky (which just made over $4 million in a struggling box office). The director was directly asked about the potential of a crossover and the possibility of a shared universe. The director responded to the publication explaining to them, "Oh yeah! Totally! A hundred percent. I think that they exist in the same spiritual universe, so to speak. I think I could easily see Tree and Millie getting together and being like, 'Well, you won't believe what happened to me!' Because I think that tonally they're connected, I think thematically they're connected in a weird way. And yeah, I think it's an easy, easy buy for sure."

Happy Death Day (like Freaky) has a fandom that might not be mainstream horror but has been enough to survive. For Freaky, any box office turnout is a good sign, and Happy Death Day is the smaller horror gem that has fought its way for a sequel — and a potential third movie in the future. Sure, there has been talk of these films existing within the same world before, but this seems to cement the notion that Tree and Millie have the potential to be one strong duo. 

The notion of Landon helming a shared universe where horror and comedy are the two most consistent themes is enough to get us intrigued. What are your thoughts on the comparisons between the films? 

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