Happy Birthday to Me

This was quite different from any other slasher that came out in the 80's. You could tell that they really wanted their death scenes to be set apart from all the other slashers. I mean, who can resist this movie after seeing the cover anyway? I was a little disappointed to see the 'actual' shish kabob scene as opposed to what they have on the movie cover. but hey, thats marketing for you. Although none of the characters were very likeable, the theme of the movie keeps you going. I would have hated the movie if they hadnt thrown in that last twist in the end though.

The teenager Virginia Wainwright (Melissa Sue Anderson) studies in the traditional Crawford Academy and belongs to a group of wealthy friends named The Top Ten. Virginia had a serious car accident a couple of years ago where her mother died. Now she lives with her father and is psychologically treated by the prominent Dr. David Faraday (Glenn Ford). She has also frequent blackouts but she is slowly recovering her memory. When one by one of her friends are murdered and disappears, Virginia starts to believe that she is the killer, but Dr. Faraday does not think so. Who might be the serial-killer?

"Happy Birthday to Me" is a creepy slasher with a good story with many twists. When it seems to have disclosed the killer and the motive, there is one last unexpected twist that surprises the viewer. The conclusion is extremely dark and makes this movie one of the best in the genre. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Feliz Aniversário para Mim" ("Happy Birthday to Me")

Note: On 30 Jun 2020, I saw this film again.

Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson) finds her friends from private school slowly disappearing. She was unconscious after a bad accident on her previous birthday. She recovered but lost her memories after some dangerous brain surgery. Now her birthday is coming up again.

There is a lot to like in this B-horror movie. The possibility of Virginia doing the killing is quite compelling. The kills are competent without being ridiculous. This is more of a serial killer movie than a slasher splatter horror. And I like the reveal of what happened in the previous birthday. Everything is working toward a very good B-horror. But then the ending pulls a Scooby Doo. It is really unacceptable to stupid it up like that.

Also Melissa Sue Anderson best known for 'Little House on the Prairie' doesn't have enough screen presence. She needs to own this movie, but mostly she remains the shy quiet girl in the background. The camera really needs to follow her more.

Happy Birthday To Me started off looking promising, with a girl getting her throat slit, and the pace moving along nicely. But then things started to get confusing, as the girl has flashbacks, and you're left trying to figure out how this fits into the storyline. At the end of the film it starts making a little more sense, but then suddenly things take an unexpected twist (a twist too far if you ask me) and the film gets too far fetched, resulting in a spoilt film. If they had of left the twist as it was rather than adding the ridiculous second twist, it would have been a much better film. However, there are many good scenes which get points from me such as the flashback of the car falling off the bridge - it's very well done and we get to see the car falling in at different angles. The acting from Virginia's mother is also superb for her brief appearance. There are some unusual death scenes too although I must have seen the cut version because I didn't get to see much of them.

Overall, this film could have been a lot better without the elements that make it confusing, but it's still worth seeking out and is better than a lot of slashers out there.

This is the story of Ginny, the aftermath of a car accident she was involved in and that cause her mother's death. It all started going bad before that, divorced parents, living with an abusive mother, Ginny wasn't popular, didn't have any friends, all in all a childhood to forget. Due to the car accident, she undergone extensive brain surgery, the consequence was frequent blackouts. Once at the Crawford Academy, she finally started getting along with the popular kids but not for long because they all started to mysteriously disappear. Who's to blame, are Ginny's blackouts related to this events??

I consider this to be a very good slasher movie. The cast is as good as it gets in this genre. The killings are original and imaginative. The death of Dr. David Faraday (Glenn Ford) is particularly bloody and Ginny's brain surgery is also pretty graphic and worth watching. The only negative aspect is the exaggerated amount of "twists", it is a good plot but taken a little to far in my opinion. Still a must watch slasher.