Happy Birthday to Me
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Movie Reviews of Happy Birthday to Me
Movie Review: It Ain't Exactly Halloween, But . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
My feelings toward this film ranks both high and low on the scale of ambivalence. Obviously an attempt to cash in on the early 80s horror craze, it boasts unique murder scenes, a low budget (which can either benefit or derail the film, depending on what plot point is reached), and a surprise ending that no one but previous viewers will see coming. It's interesting to see Tracey Bregman, in her pre-soap days, as well as Canadian actor Matt Craven, practically immortalized as the young fellow pretty much impaled by a shish kabob.
Ginny's friends are systematically being knocked off in bizarre and brutal ways. Is she going off her rocker (she suffers from blackouts, due to her traumatic car accident which claimed the life of her mother), or is someone close to her committing the evil deeds? Her psychiatrist, David Faraday, attempts to assist her in unraveling her nightmare.
It's a pity that Glenn Ford was unable to find a better project to lure him back to his native Canadian soil. As he is usually a much better judge of scripts, it's a safe assumption that he was most likely in dire financial straits. The poor guy just looks lost - and who can find fault with him for that - although to his credit he tries to rise above the material, despite the atrocious dialogue he is often saddled with, and his character is sympathetic. But he never succeeds in looking comfortable, and in some scenes you can almost see that he's trying his mightiest not to fluster with embarrassment. And if you don't mind Miss Little House On The Praire seeming as if she's had a lobotomy in some sequences, you'll manage just fine. Melissa Sue Anderson's incandescent but sometimes vacant blue eyes make her ideal as the confused, helpless young heroine.
I'm giving this movie a 3 out of 5 rating because it is an unconventional attempt to imitate such slasher flicks as "Halloween", "Friday The 13th" and "Black Christmas". If you like these kinds of atmospheric, somewhat cheesy, campy but watchable scarefests with some good shocks (the surprise ending packs a real wallop), you will probably enjoy it. It is unnerving to watch alone at night. I am speaking of the video version as I have not seen the DVD (and I'm wondering if I should). If you're a fan of Glenn Ford, proceed with caution. It's painful to see this beloved veteran actor reduced to this, but he does give it his all.
Movie Review: Could have been shorter...
Summary: 3 Stars
[good things]
When I first watched this I was completely lost, I found myself rewinding the D.V.D. over and over, is that a bad thing? No.. I love to be kept in suspense. The story is well told with more twists than a Twizzler. The plot is clever, and even I couldn't figure this one out until the very end and even then there are questions (which are answered finally, when it is explained). I was asking... is it a split personality? Is it an evil twin? Or is she just crazy? The way the story was told it could have easily been either.
[the bad]
This movie is very hard to understand, and really it made me want to give up a few times. Finally at the end it makes you realise how clever it really is... if you can watch it for that long.
It seems that Virginia has flashbacks everything something bad happens (as in one of her friends get murdered) and then it is revealed that she is there, or doing it... So everything gets mixed up. Sometimes it is hard to decipher whether it is reality, a flashback, or a hallucination.
The gore in this D.V.D. seems to be cut, it looks like it could have been really good too. I, a fan of blood and gore, was not happy about that.
Since this story is very clever, of course it takes 111 minutes to tell the story, which is not needed in a movie like this.
[final thoughts]
For what it's worth this is a great movie, it is quite long and very hard to udnerstand, but after watching it once you know what the story is and it helps with the second viewing. It seems like the 2nd and 3rd viewing of this movie are the best.
This movie is quite old, but it doesn't have an old feel. The characters are really easy to like, pretty, and well done.
The only things I disliked in the movie is the duration, it was just way TOO long for me.
Movie Review: Let Me Get This Straight.....The Soundtrack was Altered???
Summary: 3 Stars
So what I am gathering after reading the 20+ reviews is that most folk aren't happy with changed musical score, and for some reason this is effecting the entire "Happy Birthday to Me" watching experience for them. Okay, if you have never seen this film, but like 80's slashers...the altered soundtrack won't effect your feelings about the film. If you saw the film when it was originally released back in the Reagan administration as I did, and can remember what the background music sounded like....I am damn impressed. I saw this flick when it first came out, and I can tell you that until I read the reviews of the DVD I had no clue anything had been altered. I mean it's not like the "Halloween" theme by John Carpenter where the film relied heavily on the music to set the tone. "Happy Birthday to Me" isn't too bad a flick....but even if the original soundtrack had been kept....it ain't that great either. I liked some of the originality in this movie, the mystery isn't bad, though the payoff is pretty "movie-of-the-week" goofy. Melissa Sue Anderson is fun to watch and could have really developed into a great scream queen if she chose to. Her scream ranks right up there with Jamie Lee Curtis' vocal power. There are some truly unique kills here as opposed to what is presented in most 80's slashers. But the price of the disk just seems too high for this movie. If you can find this one for $10 or less pick it up, but $20 is too steep a price to pay for this one.Movie Review: Better than I expected
Summary: 3 Stars
The story centers around some private school students at Crawford Academy. They start disapearing one by one by an unknown killer whos on the loose while the main character 'Ginny' is trying to figure out whats going on and where her friends went. In the middle of all this shes having blackouts and flashbacks from her mothers death and some brain operation she had in the past and trying to piece together the mystery of where everyone went and trying to figure out who the killer is.
This movie did have some different inventive murders though the ending was a little disapointing, though there was something about this movie. It was a little different than the regular stuff. I liked this movie but I think it had too many plot twists and was kind of hard to follow at the end. There was so much going on and different details and suprises though the whole atmosphere and who dun it thing kept me interested. I would recommend it to horror film lovers. You might like it.
Movie Review: Fine Thriller, Odd Choice in Soundtrack
Summary: 3 Stars
This release of the 1980 classic disappointed me for the same reasons others have written. When the film began, I expected the slightly warped music box tune which remained with me the first time I saw the film. Instead, the opening sequence played an unexpectedly different tune which for first time viewers, may not distract as easily as it did me. The transfer quality excels providing viewers with sharp visuals to this otherwise forgotten classic which one could argue influenced Craven's Scream series.
Happy Birthday to Me also reminds me that several films from that decade focused on wealthy families whose children, for various reasons, suffered as a result of their parents' neglect. The class critique seems slightly out of date except that the plot pivots on what is in fact, a clever piece of storytelling. Still worth viewing even if one knows what happens. I'd recommend watching it late one rainy evening with a friend or otherwise. Have popcorn handy.