Stars: Melissa Sue Anderson, Matt CravenBudget: $3.5-4.7 million
Directed By: J. Lee Thompson
nearly every holiday has a horror film based around it, but who ever thought that you most sacred of holidays, personal even, would be haunted by a killer nutcase.
The 80's was indeed a time of basing multiple horror films on holidays, from Halloween to even Friday the Thirteenth. Later things like even valentines day would see slashers based on them.
Made on quite a large budget for an 80s film, people like I wrote earlier say this film might be influenced from other slashers, but being released in 81 it was actually in pre-production before those films were released.
Unfortunately this film was seen as a video nasty and also was widely panned by critics. It has since gained a cult following like most things do as time goes by.
A lot of the money was used in promotions too which was a big foe-par. the studio did think they had something akin to Ft13TH on their hands.
So we join a group of students who are totted as the top ten in their school, each excelling at their chosen academics. This makes them appear privileged and popular to other students. The first kill is one of these students who is chased and harassed until she plays dead in her car, then running again she bumps into someone she apparently knows and gets herself murderised.
The rest of the gang become concerned when she, Bernadette doesn't show up to the pub, as they are all swots and generally never miss anything even a pub trip. It's quickly glossed over though. They leave the pub later and get silly playing chicken with a raising bridge.
Later our main girl Ginny stops in a graveyard to pay respects but as she is another member Etienne break int her room and steals some of her underwear. When Bernie fails to show for school the next day they all realise something is very wrong now, she wouldn't miss classes.
We also find out Ginny has a troubled past, she has repressed memories that keep surfacing to trouble her. We also find out she had some kind of operation after an accident with a drawbridge, which is why she was so freaked out earlier.
The rest of the top ten start to get murdered in a variety of different gory ways, one gets his scarf caught in a motorbike wheel. Another gets his neck crushed. The film tries it's best to put the blame of killer on a variety of other folk in the picture. Some, well most of which end up murdered themselves. Even Ginny at some points. But the film does end with a very odd twist that pretty much comes out of no where.
Which is where THN stops I though Happy birthday to me was okay, it's nothing special when compared with other slashers but I can see it being quirky enough to gain the following it has gained, you know I don't do half stars here so it does unfortunately miss out on 3 out of 5 for me, but really it's worth a watch if you haven't seen it then chalk it up to how you feel about.
put it in your menagerie of films
or
chalk it up to i've watched it now status.
THN awards Happy Birthday to Me a strong 2 out of 5 with recommendation to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment