Happy Birthday to Me DVD

Happy Birthday to Me
Certainly the low point in Glenn Ford's acting career, this Canadian production is, nevertheless, one of the slickest-looking slasher films from that subgenre's early-'80s heyday. The plot (what one can make of it) involves an unseen killer stalking a group of college students at the prestigious Crawford Academy. The well-staged murders are mysteriously linked to the slightly off-kilter Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly of Little House on the Prairie), whose disturbing past holds the key to the killer's identity. Though this film brought nothing new to the psycho-horror field, it did feature one of the more interesting ad campaigns of the period. One-sheets loudly boasted, "Six of the most bizarre murders you've ever seen!" and barred all late-arriving patrons from entering the theater during the final ten minutes (a promotional stunt stolen from Psycho). This hype proved less than apropos since the murders in question are not particularly bizarre or original (aside from the shish-kabob impalement depicted in the ads), and the film's climax is so painfully contrived that latecomers may be more able to comprehend it than those bemused viewers who watched the film from the beginning. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Cast Melissa Sue Anderson as Virginia Glenn Ford as Dr. Faraday Tracey E. Bregman as Ann Jack Blum as Alfred Matt Craven as Steve Lenore Zann as Maggie David Eisner as Rudi Lisa Langlois as Amelia Lawrence Z. Dane as Hal Frances Hyland as Mrs. Patterson Sharon Acker as Estelle Michel Rene LaBelle as Etienne Richard Rebiere as Greg Lesley Donaldson as Bernadette Earl Pennington as Lt. Tracy

Crew Huguette Gagne - Costume Designer J. Lee Thompson - Director Debra Karen - Editor Lance Rubin - Composer (Music Score) Bo Harwood - Composer (Music Score) Earl G. Preston - Production Designer Miklos Lente - Cinematographer Stewart Harding - Producer Andre Link - Producer John Dunning - Producer Richard Lightstone - Sound/Sound Designer John Saxton - Screen Story John Saxton - Screenwriter Peter Jobin - Screenwriter Timothy Bond - Screenwriter John Beaird - Screenwriter

Happy Birthday to Me
Happy Birthday to Me stands out from the slasher movie pack of the early '80s because it pushes all the genre's elements to absurd heights. The murders, plot twists, and, especially, the last-minute revelations that are dished up in the final reel don't just deny credibility, they outright defy it. However, this quality doesn't make Happy Birthday to Me unwatchable. In fact, this film can be quite entertaining if viewed in the proper tongue-in-cheek frame of mind. The background performances suffer from the thin characterizations they are saddled with, but the lead performances are quite good. Melissa Sue Anderson wisely plays the material straight and comes off quite sympathetic, and Glenn Ford's solid work as Dr. Faraday lends the film a much-needed element of credibility. Behind the camera, J. Lee Thompson allows the pace to be a bit too slack, but brings an old-fashioned "studio director" sense of polish to the material and stages the film's show-stopping murder scenes with gruesome aplomb. Most importantly, the screenwriters work overtime to create a story line that will keep viewers guessing, despite its often ridiculous excesses, and pepper it with plenty of solid shocks (squeamish viewers should beware the infamous shish-kebab scene). The end result is often quite silly, but anyone with a soft spot for 1980s horror will find it difficult to take their eyes off the screen. Ultimately, Happy Birthday to Me is probably a little too over-the-top and relaxed in its pacing for most modern audiences, but it provides an interesting history lesson for new horror fans who think the slasher genre begins with Scream. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
 

Bo Harwood: Genie Awards, Best Score (nominated) Huguette Gagne: Genie Awards, Best Costume Design (nominated) Lance Rubin: Genie Awards, Best Score (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, Spanish, Japanese Sound Processing: DD: Generic Dolby Digital (unspecified format) Additional Features: none specified DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 110 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Start 2. Stalking Virginia 3. Head Trauma 4. Poor Little Bernadette 5. At Each Other's Throats 6. The Bell Tower 7. Red Memories 8. Misdirection 9. Kebobbed 10. Twisted History 11. Mother's Influence 12. Happy Birthday to Me