Compleanno di sangue

With seasoned pro J. Lee Thompson behind the camera, well known TV actress Melissa Sue Anderson in the lead role (hoping to make the transition from the small screen star to movie star), and veteran actor Glenn Ford giving able support, Canadian slasher Happy Birthday To Me is a far more competently made film than many of its contemporaries: the direction, cinematography, editing, lighting and acting are all top notch.

Unfortunately, it is this very slickness, along with the rather convoluted plot, lack of gore, and very silly finalé, that prevented this from being as enjoyable as I had hoped; I guess I just prefer my 80s slashers to be simpler, cheaper, nastier, and just a little more willing to shock!

Anderson plays Virginia Wainwright, newest member of the 'Top Ten', a clique of rich kids at exclusive private school, The Crawford Academy. After a game of chicken almost results in a terrible accident, Virginia begins to have flashbacks to a similar incident which claimed the life of her mother and left her with terrible injuries to her brain. When a gloved killer starts to stalk and kill the 'Top Ten', Virginia begins to wonder if she is the person responsible for the grisly murders...

Thompson, the director of highly regarded classic Cape Fear, puts his obvious skills to use, making the most of the silly script and delivering some well executed scenes of mayhem: the road race at the beginning wouldn't have looked out of place in a modern action movie, whilst the first death is worthy of an Argento giallo. However, the plot is so silly that even a skilled director like Thompson, with over thirty years experience, struggles to hold things together. The film eventually becomes a mess of disappointing gore-less deaths (the MPAA apparently cut some of the bloodier moments before its original release) and silly red herrings, and at times it also feels rather restrained (there is no nudity, despite there being the obligatory shower scene).

Thankfully, there is a sufficiently twisted ending, with the manky murder victims assembled around a table to take part in a macabre birthday party, although the final revelation is so daft that any suspense or terror is quickly dissipated.

After Happy Birthday To Me, Anderson returned to TV, Ford was given flack from critics for his appearance, and Thompson's career went downhill (King Solomon's Mines, anyone?); despite all this, the film isn't THAT awful, and should be of some interest to fans of the genre, if only for the infamous shish-kebab scene that featured on the excellent poster.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

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.

A nearly 2 hour excuse to showcase some grisly deaths and silly plot twists, but that's not a bad thing. I did sometimes wonder if the film's content really supported the run time, but the pacing isn't terrible, so you don't spend most of the movie checking your watch. It's nice to see Melissa Sue Anderson in something other than Little House on the Prairie and she's really likable in this as the birthday girl with memory problems whose friends keep disappearing and she might be the one responsible. The finale is one of the silliest and most entertaining conclusions I've ever seen.

I enjoyed this movie, but I'm pretty sure a few trims wouldn't hurt it. There are a few plot lines that seem to go nowhere and the whole thing is a bit too convoluted for its own good. It's nice to see Melissa Sue Anderson as a bad girl and slasher movie final girl all in one and the makeup effects are great. That ending is completely ridiculous and I loved every second of it.