Happy Birthday To Me DVD Review
Happy Birthday To Me DVD Review
Don't lick the red frosting!
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When Happy Birthday To Me was first released in the early 80s, it couldn't hold a candle to its wider-released contemporaries such as The Fog, Friday the 13th and The Evil Dead. But now, thanks to DVD and a lovely restoration, we horror fans can have our cake and eat it too.
Something very, very bad happened on young Ginny Wainwright's 16th birthday. Something which led to the death of her domineering mom, and obviously led she herself down a path of nearly fatal hair perming, dyeing and blow-drying. Oh, and brain surgery of some kind.
Ginny (the doe-eyed Melissa Sue Anderson from "Little House on the Prairie") may be a half-orphan, but her daddy is rich and with the incident behind her, she is now one of the elite "Top Tenners" clique at the local prep school. At Crawford, where the dress code insists on long, striped scarves (take that, Harry Potter!) and black leather gloves (deal with it, Dario Argento!), grades are nothing and partying is everything. Especially birthday parties.
The film starts out with the brutal murder of one of the Top Tenners, setting up a chain reaction of death and disappearances which sets the townies, parents, teachers and teens on edge. Could the dark, stalking presence be in the clique? (Which is, incidentally, certainly one of the most non-discriminating: Even bespectacled, bug-eyed Alfred, a nerdy, rat-petting, blade-brandishing creep is allowed to frolic amongst the blonde debutants and buff jocks.)
With death scenes which encompass nods to everyone from Isadora Duncan (you knew those scarves would come into play, right?) to Kermit The Frog (it's not easy being green in this movie), this 80s slasher flick lives up to every crazy cliché you can concoct.
Directed by L. Lee Thompson (whose uneven ouvres extended from the classic Cape Fear to the crappy Death Wish 4) with kitchen-sink abandon, Happy Birthday To Me is one of the more fun films of that era. Along the lines of My Bloody Valentine (also 1981), it's sickly-sweet, bloody, goofball fun. (And film legend Glenn Ford is in the movie! A lot! What more could you ask for?)
The picture renovation is meticulously done, and it's nice to see some old-school cinematography "horror-style" with a play of light and shadow. Aside from a restored scene (incorporated into the film), there aren't any special features on this disc. (Too bad… I really would love to hear a commentary from Anderson. Somebody's gotta explain that hair.)
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson