Happy Birthday to Me (1981) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Happy Birthday to Me (1981) |
| Original Title | Happy Birthday to Me |
| Director | J. Lee Thompson |
| Screenplay Writer | John C.W. Saxton |
| Story By | Timothy Bond, Peter Jobin |
| Based on Novel by | — (Original screenplay) |
| Producer(s) | John Dunning, André Link |
| Executive Producer(s) | — |
| Lead Actors | Melissa Sue Anderson |
| Cast | Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane, Tracey E. Bregman |
| Genre | Horror, Mystery |
| Subgenre | Slasher Horror |
| Release Date | May 15, 1981 (United States) |
| Runtime / Duration | 1h 50m (110 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$3 million |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$10 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | Canada |
| Production Company | Canadian Film Development Corporation |
| Distributor | Columbia Pictures |
| Filming Locations | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Music By | Bo Harwood, Lance Rubin |
| Cinematography | Michel Brault |
| Edited By | Yves Langlois |
| Production Design | Anne Pritchard |
| Costume Design | Denis Sperdouklis |
| Special Effects | Practical slasher gore effects |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 |
| Sound Mix | Mono |
| Format | Color |
| Themes | Trauma, revenge, identity, psychological instability |
| Setting | Elite private school and suburban Canada |
| Notable Trivia | Famous for its shocking twist ending and elaborate death scenes |
| Critical Reception | Mixed reviews initially; later became a cult slasher favorite |
| Home Media | VHS, DVD, Blu-ray |
| Sequels / Franchise | None |
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Virginia has issues but she is also a member of the “Top Ten”, the coolest kids in school. Too bad someone seems to be picking the members off one by one. Virginia starts having weird flashbacks about her mothers’ death and the subsequent brain surgery she had after, and I must say, it’s a pretty good trick to have flashbacks of a brain surgery you were laid out on the table for but your flashback covers the entire process. A gory little process it is too.
This movies tagline was something about the six best kills ever. If you take into account it was done in 1980 I guess a couple of them are unique, especially the shish kebob that was employed on the original box art. The girl on the box isn’t one of the actors and there is no reason for her eyes to be glowing, there are no glowing eyes in this movie.
The actors are a mixed bag of so-so and fabulous and with most of the characters they avoid the cardboard stereotypes employed by the majority of slashers, although as with most socially elitist groups you wish death on them anyway.
This movie clocks in at 120 minutes which is about 20-30 minutes too long for a slasher but there is a lot of plot twisting and turning all over the place, enough that I didn’t notice the length as much as I thought I would. I guarantee you won’t figure out who the killer is and why they’re doing the killing but the sheer DRAMA of the ending reveal will have you cackling with glee. All in all Happy Birthday to Me is a fun ride with some slow parts but enough backstory to keep you involved.
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