Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

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 | Blackout | School | Murder | Student

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) | New Zealand:R16 | 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:

When certain cast members were stuck in their gore make-up for numerous hours, they decided to walk around the neighborhood scaring the wits out of people.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where the inspector pulls up to Virginia's house to inquire about Ann, he states that her car is in the road, which is shown just before. However, as the inspector's car stops in front of her house, Ann's car is visible in front of the house, in the passenger side window.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to Me

Reasonable slasher with a silly finalé that takes the cake!

With seasoned pro J. Lee Thompson behind the camera, well known TV actress Melissa Sue Anderson in the lead role (hoping to make the transition from the small screen star to movie star), and veteran actor Glenn Ford giving able support, Canadian slasher Happy Birthday To Me is a far more competently made film than many of its contemporaries: the direction, cinematography, editing, lighting and acting are all top notch.

Unfortunately, it is this very slickness, along with the rather convoluted plot, lack of gore, and very silly finalé, that prevented this from being as enjoyable as I had hoped; I guess I just prefer my 80s slashers to be simpler, cheaper, nastier, and just a little more willing to shock!

Anderson plays Virginia Wainwright, newest member of the 'Top Ten', a clique of rich kids at exclusive private school, The Crawford Academy. After a game of chicken almost results in a terrible accident, Virginia begins to have flashbacks to a similar incident which claimed the life of her mother and left her with terrible injuries to her brain. When a gloved killer starts to stalk and kill the 'Top Ten', Virginia begins to wonder if she is the person responsible for the grisly murders...

Thompson, the director of highly regarded classic Cape Fear, puts his obvious skills to use, making the most of the silly script and delivering some well executed scenes of mayhem: the road race at the beginning wouldn't have looked out of place in a modern action movie, whilst the first death is worthy of an Argento giallo. However, the plot is so silly that even a skilled director like Thompson, with over thirty years experience, struggles to hold things together. The film eventually becomes a mess of disappointing gore-less deaths (the MPAA apparently cut some of the bloodier moments before its original release) and silly red herrings, and at times it also feels rather restrained (there is no nudity, despite there being the obligatory shower scene).

Thankfully, there is a sufficiently twisted ending, with the manky murder victims assembled around a table to take part in a macabre birthday party, although the final revelation is so daft that any suspense or terror is quickly dissipated.

After Happy Birthday To Me, Anderson returned to TV, Ford was given flack from critics for his appearance, and Thompson's career went downhill (King Solomon's Mines, anyone?); despite all this, the film isn't THAT awful, and should be of some interest to fans of the genre, if only for the infamous shish-kebab scene that featured on the excellent poster.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.