Happy Times – Movie Review (3/5)

HAPPY TIMES is a new horror-comedy that you should definitely check out if you like the genre. Described as a “Jews Behaving Badly”-story, you will see so much blood and a lot of deaths. Solid entertainment of the truly wacky kind. Read our Happy Times movie review here!

HAPPY TIMES is a new horror-comedy in the “Jews Behaving Badly” subgenre. While the story plays out over one evening in Hollywood, the characters are all Israeli or Israeli-American. This also means the language spoken is a mix of English and Hebrew. Basically, it’s like watching the Netflix movie The White Tiger which was from India.

You might like: Our review of the Netflix movie The White Tiger here >

English is such an integrated part of these characters’ lives, that they constantly mix it with their native tongue. Hell, we even do that in Denmark, so it’s a global phenomenon by now. No matter the language spoken, the visual story is extremely universal and relatable. Oh, and completely crazy in all the right ways!

Continue reading our Happy Times movie review below.

Dinner party gone very wrong!

When an Israeli-American couple invites friends and family over to their Hollywood mansion for a Shabbat dinner party, the tension is only lurking a bit. By the end of this comedy-horror tension is all there is. Mixing alcohol, crazy macho egos, and raging lust combined with classic jealousy make for a deadly combination.

Okay, several accidents (often involving ordinary clumsiness) also play a big part. Still, the alcohol and personality clashes make for most of the deaths.

The core cast of Happy Times includes Israeli actor Michael Aloni (Out in the Dark, Netflix’s Shtisel), Shani Atias (Shameless, MacGyver) Guy Adler (The Angel, Big Bad Wolves). Finally, there’s Israeli TV star Liraz Chamami (Asylum City).

I don’t think I knew any of the actors before watching this, but especially Liraz Chamami made a huge impact as Sigal. She is tough as nails and comes across as part Wonder Woman (yes, because she’s badass and reminded me of Gal Gadot) and part character straight out of a Pedro Almodóvar movie. In other words; I loved her in Happy Times!

Watch Happy Times on DVD, Blu-ray or VOD

Happy Times is directed by Michael Mayer who takes quite the stylistic departure after directing the 2012 gay romance Out in the Dark. This time around, comedy and horror (meaning bloody murders) are at the heart of the genre line-up. It has been described as “decidedly raucous” which is definitely not saying too much.

Even though I liked the characters and enjoyed all the craziness, it did run a bit too long. With a runtime of just around an hour and a half, it’s right at the sweet spot. We’re only talking about tightening the pace a bit and it would have been stronger as a whole.

Still, I was definitely entertained and I expect most horror-comedy fans will enjoy the craziness. Unlike the Polish Netflix horror-comedy All My Friends Are Dead, the accidental deaths (and murders) happen throughout the movie. You won’t have to wait until the ending. If you like either movie, you should enjoy the other as well. They do share a lot of genre-DNA.

If we gave half stars here at Heaven of Horror, we’d end on 3½ out of 5. It’s definitely earned that much!

Happy Times will be out on DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD on February 9, 2021.

Details

Director: Michael Mayer
Writers: Michael Mayer, Guy Ayal
Stars: Michael Aloni, Shani Atias, Guy Adler, Liraz Chamami, Stéfi Celma, Iris Bahr, Liraz Chamami, Daniel Lavid, Mike Burstyn