In the wake of Happy Death Day, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions has another idea for a horror movie that could use the comedy treatment: Pretty Women. The classic 1990 film is a twist on Cinderella and originally starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The story of Pretty Woman centers on high-end escort Vivian Ward and her relationship with Gere's Edward Lewis, a businessman who hires her to be his date for several functions.
The film sold the highest number of tickets for a romantic comedy at the time. Adjusted for inflation, it currently sits at number four, according to Box Office Mojo, behind Hitch. Amid all of that, however, Blum thinks that there might be something there to make a horror film out of, and he's probably right.
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Speaking exclusively to ScreenRant, Blum discussed the tone of the upcoming Happy Death Day. The film takes the same motif used in Groundhog Day and applies it to a horror film. Happy Death Day isn't funny, but when asked what other "comedy" deserved the horror movie treatment, Blum mentioned Pretty Woman:
That’s a good question. Another comedy that there could be a horror version of it? Pretty Woman would actually make a great one. I’m going to go with that one. I love that idea.
The plot of Happy Death Day follows Tree, a sorority girl who spends her birthday stalked by a serial killer in a baby mask. When she "dies," she wakes up again and is forced to relive her death over and over unless she can find her killer. Its trailer is pretty unsettling, and for a trope that's mostly used in comedy movies, Blumhouse is using it to good horrific effect.
Admittedly there's a lot that could be done with Pretty Woman. Blumhouse's track record has turned to timely horror films like the blockbuster Get Out and dark thrillers like Split. Turning Pretty Woman into a horror film dealing with consent and ownership could turn the concept behind the fourth highest grossing romantic comedy into a timely social story. There are a lot of directions that the story could go in - either a thriller, a social, or a purely horrific direction. Here's hoping for horror fans' sake that Blum holds onto the idea and makes something interesting out of it. In the meantime, fans can check out Blumhouse's Happy Death Day for just what happens when horror and comedy films collide and judge for themselves if it works or if it doesn't.