Customer Reviews

Happy Birthday to Me

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

okay so it isn't the best movie ever but it's fun and funny. i liked it.

My feelings toward this film ranks both high and low on the scale of ambivalence. Obviously an attempt to cash in on the early 80s horror craze, it boasts unique murder scenes, a low budget (which can either benefit or derail the film, depending on what plot point is reached), and a surprise ending that no one but previous viewers will see coming. It's interesting to see Tracey Bregman, in her pre-soap days, as well as Canadian actor Matt Craven, practically immortalized as the young fellow pretty much impaled by a shish kabob.

Ginny's friends are systematically being knocked off in bizarre and brutal ways. Is she going off her rocker (she suffers from blackouts, due to her traumatic car accident which claimed the life of her mother), or is someone close to her committing the evil deeds? Her psychiatrist, David Faraday, attempts to assist her in unraveling her nightmare.

It's a pity that Glenn Ford was unable to find a better project to lure him back to his native Canadian soil. As he is usually a much better judge of scripts, it's a safe assumption that he was most likely in dire financial straits. The poor guy just looks lost - and who can find fault with him for that - although to his credit he tries to rise above the material, despite the atrocious dialogue he is often saddled with, and his character is sympathetic. But he never succeeds in looking comfortable, and in some scenes you can almost see that he's trying his mightiest not to fluster with embarrassment. And if you don't mind Miss Little House On The Praire seeming as if she's had a lobotomy in some sequences, you'll manage just fine. Melissa Sue Anderson's incandescent but sometimes vacant blue eyes make her ideal as the confused, helpless young heroine.

I'm giving this movie a 3 out of 5 rating because it is an unconventional attempt to imitate such slasher flicks as "Halloween", "Friday The 13th" and "Black Christmas". If you like these kinds of atmospheric, somewhat cheesy, campy but watchable scarefests with some good shocks (the surprise ending packs a real wallop), you will probably enjoy it. It is unnerving to watch alone at night. If you're a fan of Glenn Ford, proceed with caution. It's painful to see this beloved veteran actor reduced to this, but he does give it his all.

Here is another horror movie classic. College kids like this one. Melissa Sue Anderson (Little house on the Prarie) and a gaggle of other university students are being killed one by one. Each one of the students are a little on the crazy side, so no telling whom the killer may be. Her mom had died. Eventually her dad and herself move back into town and the family house. "Virginia" is really down and bothered. But she is making friends in school and considers herself to be in the Top Ten. Cast also includes Tracy Bregman (Days Of Our Lives, Young and the Restless, Bold and the Beautiful) and Glenn Ford (Superman [1978]). Can you guess who the killer is? This RCA home video print is not too good. The color is faded. The film being Canadian might have something to do with that. But this is a good film worth watching and good acting from Melissa Sue Anderson.

5 out 5 stars when it comes to slashers! Clever plot twists, inventive murder scenes, and a great build up to the ending. Plus: Melissa Sue Anderson is great as our lead character, Ginny. Worth a watch!

1st off I loved it. It was hysterical. One of my favorite black comedy's ever! It's not scary at all. This was another entry in the early 1980s slasher cycle of films that began with Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), and like many of the copycat slasher films features a holiday date-themed titles. Happy Birthday holds some promise over the others in that it had a quite respectable director at the helm - none other than J. Lee Thompson, who had made films such as Cape Fear (1962), McKenna's Gold (1968), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Cape Fear, in particular, is a masterful film noir psychological thriller. The prowess that Thompson displayed there is something that should set any slasher film light-years ahead of the competition. But fails miserably and finishes with one of the funniest horror films ever. Not scary at all. 5 stars as a comedy.

Thanks to horror classics like Halloween, The Howling, and The Exorcist, the genre saw a resurgence in the 70's and 80's, not even matched by today's standards. More often then not though, most of them were just pale imatations of, the crazed killer stalking teens with raging hormones plot. Very few of these films broke away from the pack, comming up with a new spin, an exception is the mildly clever Happy Birthday To Me.

Thanks to severe head trauma, Virginia Wainwright, (Melissa Sue Anderson, who tried to shed her past role on TV's Little House, but hasn't done much since) part of her brain is damaged, to the point where she can't remember her recent past. When she returns to school at the Crawford Academy, she is welcomed into the Top Ten, a snooty social clique. Things turn deadly, as someone starts killing off the members of the group. With her 18th birthday approaching Virginia starts to doubt her own sanity, thinking that the killer's real identity, may indeed, be linked to her own forgotton past - or that she herself may even be the killer, acting out, during one of her blackouts.

Directed by Lee J. Thompson, who worked on the original Cape Fear and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, elevates the film a bit, and makes you (almost) forget that it's really just a slasher flick. The interesting twist of the possiblity that the heroine may be the murderer is also kinda fun. The film is also given even more credability, by the prescence of the great Glenn Ford, as Dr. David Faraday. The script has all the familiar horror film cliches, of course but as I said, it's still got enough there to make it watchable and even fun.

Happy Birthday To Me is not yet available on DVD. Therefore, VHS will have to do for now. It may be hard to find a copy of it. If you do...Rent don't Buy...It's worth a look for horror enthusiasts *** and a half stars