Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

Good movie but grossly overrated

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The early 80's were a fertile time for the slasher genre: Friday THE 13th, MANIAC, GRADUATION DAY, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, PROM NIGHT, etc. All inspired by the great success of John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN a few years earlier. Canada's entry into this genre is HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Heavily advertised on TV at the time, it warned its potential viewers that they will witness some of the most bizarre crimes imaginable. I was a HUGE fan of slasher flicks during this period, but I will be the first to admit that most of them have unfortunately NOT aged well (MANIAC and HALLOWEEN being one of the few). If there's one thing that HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME had going for it was its slightly better acting and a pretentious plot to make it look more intelligent than say, Friday THE 13th. But where Friday THE 13th lacked in finesse it more than made up with its sheer violence and gore. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, while featuring some "imaginative" murders, falls short from its gorier counterparts like MANIAC or MY BLOODY VALENTINE.The movie's plot is contrived in that the reason behind all the killings and murders is pretty lame and senseless. As with most slasher flicks, the killer seeks vengeance for some horrible misdeed (MANIAC and HALLOWEEN again, being some of the few exceptions to the norm. The killers there were truly sick in the mind). The ending was supposed to have a "twist", yet this "twist" comes out of nowhere. The audience is never given the slightest clue as to why the killer ended up being the one shown up on the screen.The few gory scenes (yes, very few) are at least done with style by Make Up master Tom Burman.All in all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME might've fared better if the story had been more engaging. The title is really sinister so I think the producers and director could've done a far better job with what they had in hand. It still is a slightly more cerebral slasher flick than others from that era. In an age of rehash, perhaps HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME would benefit from a remake.

My friends and I just recently watched this film, so this review is coming from a 30 year-old millennial! Spoilers may happen. The movie takes awhile to get going, and guessing who the killer is early on in the film is a moot point. The film runs longer than the usual slasher film, so it involves quite a few twists and turns, well worth the wait!There will be a lot of confusion, but if you are patient, you will enjoy Happy Birthday To Me. My only spoiler: Why is Amelia standing in the rain!?!?! Seriously, things like this don't usually bother me, but the stuff was hitting the fan and she stands out in the rain dumbfounded. Minus 1 star for that!

I had seven this once before , years ago but I just could not remember much from it , only remember one thing.This was fun slasher movie, I really enjoyed it There some nice dark humour added to mix with some one liners I really liked how the kills played out.I liked the plot came to end, I really loved turns and twist in the movie You never see it coming at all A twist that actually worked well.The acting was decent 7 out of 10

This 1981 horror film stars Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane, Sharon Acker and Tracey Bregman. Anderson (Little House on the Prairie) plays Virginia Wainright who is about to celebrate her birthday. Four years ago, she was in a car accident with her mother, Estelle (Acker) and had to have surgery on her head. Soon, she starts having flashbacks of both while a mysterious killer starts slaughtering her friends. Virginia starts getting confused and begins to wonder if she's behind the killings or not. Dane plays her father, Hal, the late, Ford (Superman) plays Virginia's doctor, David Faraday and Bregman (The Young & The Restless) plays Virginia's best friend, Ann Thomerson. This isn't a bad slasher flick with a decent cast, gruesome killings and a clever ending. You should give this a try if you're a fan of the genre.