The Birthday

I saw the movie at the SITGES FILM FESTIVAL 2004 in Spain (if you notice some noisy mistakes I really sorry… but I'm an Italian guy!!!) and I'm afraid this movie is not gonna be very successful at the box office… mainly because of his WILD NATURE!!!

I mean, I don't know how the guys who made such a THING like this are gonna sell it… but I'm afraid is not an easy task. THE BIRTHDAY is the kind of movie that you LOVE or you HATE!!! And that's great, from my point of view.

Leet's see. You can like it or not, but this movie is EVERYTHING but disappointing. You can't expect what's gonna happen, and I'm not talking about the plot… it's more about the APPROACHING. Actually, If you read the synopsis, you think you're gonna see a straight to video flick (specially when you discover that COREY FELDMAN is in it!!!) but, man… THE BIRTHDAY is a UNIQUE cinematic experience. I'm serious!!! I'm not a film geek!! It's incredible how fast you forget you're supposed to be seeing a "genre movie". The characters (Corey Feldman is GREAT in this one!!!), the length of the shots (the movie follows the real time policy), the sound design (oh my GOD!! You really have to HEAR the last 20 minutes of the movie!!)… everything is… different. Specially in the first half, where NOTHING IS WHAT YOU EXPECT. We exclusively see just what Corey's character sees but, besides that, we agree or not with his decisions. And that's the most exciting thing about this movie.

THE BIRTHDAY starts with a "PeterSelleresque" Corey that stumbles with everything and everybody he finds across his path… and at the end of the movie, he's a HERO. But you don't notice this evolution. It's like when you're living with your parents at home for years: you don't realize they are getting older until you take a look to some pictures of the family album … because you've been growing with them. That's the magic of this movie, from my point of view. The real time policy never goes against the movie. Man, we all spend a lot of time watching BIG BROTHER on TV… and I can assure you that THE BIRTHDAY delivers a more… intense and thought provoking experience, at least.

I must say that sometimes is hard to follow, and I understand that some people get lost, specially with the speed the different dramatic tones change. Sometimes you think you are seeing a black comedy… some other times you'd swear Corey Feldman is the guest star in a TWIN PEAKS episode… and some other times it smells like a JOHN CARPENTER movie!!! It's weird… and exhausting. The atmosphere of the movie owes his flavor to David Lynch (The girl in the movie has a lot to do with Laura Palmer), the Coen Brothers (It's easy to think in BARTON FINK'S hotel) and, Paul Thomas Anderson (specially PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, with a very similar main character).

I think I have a better example: The best and the worst you can say about this movie is that it could be a Brian De Palma movie, with outstanding scenes driven by a "bigger than life" cinematic passion… but weirdly disturbing as a whole. RAISING CAIN, SNAKE EYES & FEMME FATALE are good examples. That kind of De Palma movie, where the director explores his obsessions with TOO MUCH passion… forgetting he has to deliver a "movie". A good one. But I'd never say THE BIRTHDAY is not a good movie… it's a TERRIFIC experience. My opinion.

Well, I don't know what to say. There's something about this movie, no doubt about it. I don't know what's gonna happen, but I hope to see this one in a big screen soon. Happy Birthday!!!

* I updated my review from 2008 to when i just saw it again in 2023

In 2004, Corey Feldman made a movie called The Birthday, in Spain. It never made it to America besides a few film festivals.

Jordan Peele had a film festival this week at the Walter Reede Theater and he wanted to close it out with this film. This was essentially the US world premiere, almost 20 years later.

I had seen this movie probably a decade ago thanks to the internet, but it was a crummy German dvd rip and it really lost a lot of its detail and sound design. This screening was a 35 mm print and it looked and sounded amazing.

Corey and the director Eugenio Mira were both in attendance to speak briefly before the start and to have a 25 minute Q&A after the film ended.

The film itself is about a man named Norman (Feldman) who is attending a birthday party for his girlfriend's father at the hotel he owns. What starts out as a relationship plot slowly over time deviates into something more sinister. Throughout the movie, there is a building undertone of dread and mystery as the soundtrack drones on with weird ambient noises that sneak up on you from the background.

About a third of the way in, things start to get weird. Unfolding slowly is the real plot, involving a religious cult who believe that the beast that will usher in the end of the world is being born in that hotel that night.

I don't want to go too much further into the plot, but the last 15 minutes or so are so visually and aurally intense and there is so much chaos going on all at once. It reminded me a lot of some of David Lynch's work. Seeing it in the theater really brought out the sound design, which was one of my favorite parts of this movie.

Feldman is at his best here. He plays the character with a tinge of comedy, channeling Peter Falk (during the q&a, he claims he was doing a Pacino impression from Dog Day Afternoon but I'm not gonna agree). He's got a weird voice that is ridiculous at first but after two minutes I couldn't see him playing it any other way. He plays the opposite of his usual cool and confident characters as a meek nebbish pushover. This characteristic is a major part of the plot as he tries the entire movie to get his girlfriend aside to have a serious talk about their relationship but he's constantly being ignored.

The film has plenty of weird stuff going on, strange characters throughout and a lot of comedy at the expense of the weird. Feldman plays out a lot of slapstick comedy in this film and it works well. The entire film is set inside the hotel so you see the same sets over and over again but you never get bored of the scenery.

Feldman and Mira spent a good amount of time answering questions about the film after the film ended. A bunch of good stories were told and it was being filmed. Perhaps that footage will make it to a BluRay release at some point in the future.

Highly recommended.

In this movie definitely didn't happen what I was expecting (since I didn't read the summary).

The leading actor is darn good, even though u have to get used to his very unique type of cringy personality he's portraying. Some of his lines are pretty funny.

The events in this movie get out of hand at one point and in the end it had me leaving with the thought: "Okay... Did the world really need this movie ?! On the other hand, it really does have something about it."

So, maybe watch it, but don't be disappointed if it just leaves you shaking your head afterwards. The plot really is something else.

Welcome to Feldman's next career move, doing horrible Jerry Lewis impressions while pretending to have a sleeper hit movie as a comeback actor. I have no doubt that every 10 star review on this movie was written by the same crew he pays to flatter him daily.

Five minutes into this movie will give you an accurate understanding of the low grade trash you're about to subject yourself to for however long you watch.

Cut rate Corey aside, the script and acting is very trying on the patience. I get the distinct feeling those movie is another in a long line of Feldman ego projects. He's not a musician, he's not a guitarist, he's not a playboy, and he's definitely no longer an actor. He's sad. Corey is a sad desperate boy desperately seeking your approval.

There's not much that's really redeemable here, just cringe worthy performances that were either coerced or were done by sycophants too hopeful that even bad publicity is good publicity.

Watch it to see Corey, but don't expect to be even neutral afterwards about what a waste of time this is.

You may have noticed that the reviews for this movie or either really high or really low. This is weird in almost good weird way. First start off by saying that this is a very cool looking movie, it's shot well, but it's visually intriguing and artistic. You can tell it's low budget, but they make up for it in uniqueness and atmosphere.

This movie would be a lot more enjoyable if English isn't your first language I think, but if English is your language, I recommend watching it overdubbed in another language with English subtitles. I know that sounds crazy but let me explain.

The acting in this movie isn't great, mainly because Corey Feldman takes his character too far. He plays this really shy and nervous nerdy guy, but to the point where he's acting in a way no human would ever act. That alone is enough to make this movie frustrating. Even the scenes where he's talking to his girlfriend, and his friend, it's like he's talking to people he's never met in his life. It really makes you dislike him and everything that's happening, but there are so many little things that you will like and you keep watching.

The other thing I noticed was the way the characters talk to each other and what they're saying just doesn't work. And it's not necessarily the writing that's bad, because the premise is interesting enough, and quirky enough. This is a Spanish movie, filmed in Barcelona, Spanish director, and a lot of the actors and extras are from Spain as well. I think if I had watched this in any other language I would've loved it, but in English it's annoying.

It's not so much what they're saying but how they're saying it, and Corey Feldman's delivery. If you could find this overdubbed in any other language with English subtitles I say go for it. I would love to see someone remake this, literally anyone, but preferably someone remake it in another language.