Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

John C.W. Saxton (story)
John C.W. Saxton (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It'll be a killer party! [DVD]

Plot:

Virginia is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday...

Plot Keywords:

Accident | Student | Murder | Blackout | School

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Melissa Sue Anderson	...	Virginia 'Ginny' Wainwright
Glenn Ford	...	Dr. David Faraday
Lawrence Dane	...	Harold 'Hal' Wainwright
Sharon Acker	...	Estelle Wainwright
Frances Hyland	...	Mrs. Patterson
Tracey E. Bregman	...	Ann Thomerson (as Tracy Bregman)
Jack Blum	...	Alfred Morris
Matt Craven	...	Steve Maxwell
Lenore Zann	...	Maggie
David Eisner	...	Rudi
Lisa Langlois	...	Amelia
Michel-René Labelle	...	Etienne Vercures
Richard Rebiere	...	Greg Hellman
Lesleh Donaldson	...	Bernadette O'Hara
Earl Pennington	...	Lieutenant Tracy

Runtime:

USA:110 min | Argentina:110 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 (original rating) | Finland:(Banned) | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Peru:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | USA:R | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

Most ads and posters for film carried a photo of a young man about to be orally impaled on skewer of meat and vegetables, with the slogan "John Will Never Eat Skisk Kebab Again." However, there is no character in the movie with this name.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Virginia remembers the car accident at the bridge, we see the car fall into the water four times. The first three times, the car is upside down. The last time, it is dropped into the water wheels down.

Movie Connections:

References High Noon (1952)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to Me

Good in parts but gets confusing

Happy Birthday To Me started off looking promising, with a girl getting her throat slit, and the pace moving along nicely. But then things started to get confusing, as the girl has flashbacks, and you're left trying to figure out how this fits into the storyline. At the end of the film it starts making a little more sense, but then suddenly things take an unexpected twist (a twist too far if you ask me) and the film gets too far fetched, resulting in a spoilt film. If they had of left the twist as it was rather than adding the ridiculous second twist, it would have been a much better film. However, there are many good scenes which get points from me such as the flashback of the car falling off the bridge - it's very well done and we get to see the car falling in at different angles. The acting from Virginia's mother is also superb for her brief appearance. There are some unusual death scenes too although I must have seen the cut version because I didn't get to see much of them.

Overall, this film could have been a lot better without the elements that make it confusing, but it's still worth seeking out and is better than a lot of slashers out there.