Ten films that ripped off Groundhog Day

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Harry Fletcher8 February 2019

Director Harold Ramis might have made the perfect film when he released Groundhog Day in 1993.

It's one of the funniest and most touching films of the decade and as it turns out, it's one of the most influential too.

The film's premise, in which Bill Murray's character must repeat the same day until he's able to break the cycle, has, fittingly, been replicated many times down the years, though no other film has quite managing to capture Ramis' magic.

From twisty horrors to sci-fi epics, here are 10 films that ripped off Groundhog Day.

Edge of Tomorrow

Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise star in 2014’s sci-fi movie Edge of Tomorrow, which takes the idea of repeated time cycles to epic new levels. Cruise’s military commander must battle invincible aliens and relive his death over and over again in the movie. However, he learns more about his enemy each time, and uses this learned information to beat them, narrowly avoiding a gruesome end.

12 Dates of Christmas

When Wizzard sang “I wish it could be Christmas every day,” did they really mean it? If 2011 drama 12 Dates of Christmas is anything to go by, revisiting December 25 every day would be a pretty harrowing experience. The ABC TV film sees a woman (Amy Smart) re-live December 24 again and again, dating the same man a dozen times.

Happy Death Day

Groundhog Day meets Scream in sparky 2017 horror Happy Death Day. The films added a killer twist to the repeated day premise, with college student Tree Gelbman destined to suffer the same grizzly fate until she can learn to break the cycle.

Before I Fall

Before I Fall is another 2017 movie which borrows heavily from Groundhog Day’s central set up. It sees high school student Samantha Kingston relive the same day over and over, each time culminating in a horrifying car crash. Nice. Even for a Groundhog Day rip-off, this is one of the most unoriginal films released last year.

Triangle

Liam Hemsworth stars in this twisty-turny horror film, where group of youngsters are trapped in a terrifying time loop after being shipwrecked. Unlike many others on this list, the British-Australian film is actually a pretty compelling watch and makes a pretty refreshing change from the usual jump-scare horror fare.

Naked

Is Hollywood just getting lazier, or is the time-loop premise enjoying a real comeback? Naked is yet another another film released last year which ripped off Bill Murray's finest hour. Not to be confused with the hard-hitting Mike Leigh film of 1993, the lightweight and entirely unenjoyable Naked revolves around a man who wakes up naked in a lift on the morning of his wedding, with no memory of how he got there. He goes on to repeat the day over and over until he breaks the cycle – sound familiar? Think Groundhog Day meets the Hangover, but without the laughs.

50 First Dates

While Adam Sandler’s 2004 romcom 50 First Dates doesn’t borrow directly from Groundhog Day, the premise follows a remarkably similar pattern. Sandler must take amnesiac Drew Barrymore on a series of first dates, as she suffers short-term memory loss and forgets their meeting every night. Whether you like him or not, it was released at the height of Sandler’s 00s fame and remains a favourite amongst fans.

Source Code

A rare misstep in Jake Gyllenhaal’s career, Duncan Jones’s Source Code focuses on a government computer programme which allows Gyllenhaal’s Captain Colter Stevens to transport himself into the body of a passenger of a train, with only eight minutes to track down a terrorist planning to set off a bomb. The process is, of course, repeated over and over again, and while it might be a touch unfair to call this a certified rip-off, it certainly borrows pretty heavily from the 1993 movie.

12.01

While 12.01 was only released a few months after Bill Murray’s film in 1993, the film sees a scientist relive the same 24 hours after coming into contact with a particle accelerator. Interestingly, the film is an adaptation of Richard Lupoff’s short story 12.01pm, which was itself then adapted for the 1990 TV movie 12.01pm. Perhaps, then, Groundhog Day actually ripped off 12.01?? Let that one sink in.

The Last Day of Summer

Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother Jansen stars in this Nickelodeon TV movie as a young boy who wishes every day was the last day of his summer holidays. The plot, if you hadn’t guessed, sees the day repeat itself over and over, until he learns to conquer his greatest fears (yawn). Bill Murray, we have so much to thank you for...

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