Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

At the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia's group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

John C.W. Saxton (screenplay) (as John Saxton), Peter Jobin (screenplay)

Stars:

Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane

3 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Virginia Wainwright is a spirited young woman who has returned to a private school having survived a deadly accident and regenerative brain surgery. She is proud that she belongs to the Top Ten - the school's inner circle with the best students - and attempts to resume a normal life. But her friends are falling prey to a grueling series of murders, and soon there will be no one left to attend her 18th birthday party. Could it be her? Striving to rekindle the memory of her nightmarish accident, Virginia suffers from memory loss and traumatic blackouts. We soon learn the horrible truth behind her accident and what is going on before her birthday party...

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Plot Keywords:

victim invited to dinner | birthday party | car accident | memory loss | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Someone's having a party for the top ten, the senior class snobs. Before they get to celebrate, six of them will die in the most bizarre ways you'll ever see.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ab in die Ewigkeit

Filming Locations:

Concordia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), Famous Players, The Birthday Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature debut of Tracey E. Bregman.

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Goofs

When the car flies over the drawbridge it sustains immense damage. The damage vanishes later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mrs. Patterson: [to her attacking dog] Winston! Winston! Winston, just stop it, bad boy. Sit down. Sit!
Bernadette O'Hara: Oh, Mrs. Patterson.
Mrs. Patterson: Bernadette O'Hara, do you have any idea what time it is? Where are you going?
Bernadette O'Hara: Well, I, I was just going up to the village to meet some of the kids at the inn.
Mrs. Patterson: You mean the second home for the Crawford top 10, don't you?

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Alternate Versions

The 1986 RCA/Columbia VHS release features the original print. The 2004 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD (with the "birthday girl" cover) uses a print with library music tracks and some differences in sound editing (possibly a temp soundtrack from the original production), though the closing Syreeta song is intact. The 2009 Anchor Bay/Starz Home Entertainment DVD (with the "shish kebab guy" cover) has the theatrical soundtrack, as does the Blu-ray from Mill Creek.

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma 3: 80s Horrorthon (2017)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

Much too clever of a slasher film for it's time.

I may take a lot of grief for saying this, but I firmly believe that Happy Birthday to Me is one of most intelligent and well acted slasher films of the 80's. I think the reason that it never made as much of an impact as films like Friday the 13th and Prom Night, which were released around the same time, is that is was just TOO intelligent for its time. It was released around the time when gore and body count is what made a slasher succeed. HBTM relied on plot twists and character development. This film is comparable to something that would be released and be successful today, where plot twists are what make a "slasher movie." Melissa Sue Anderson gives a excellent performance as Virginia, a member of the elite "Crawford 10" who suffered injuries in a car accident just months before the start of the film. At the approach of her 16th birthday, her fellow classmates begin to get butchered. Yes, a lot of things about this film are very confusing, and the ending can be tricky at best to figure out, but overall it plays out well and provides just enough gore and suspense to satisfy the slasher fans, but also tries to appeal to those who want more than just a bunch of murders on film. Highly recommended. Intelligent, and very well acted by Melissa Sue Anderson. Just remember this film was made in 1981. Way ahead of its time.