Plot: What’s it about?
Virgina Wainwright (Melissa Sue Anderson) attends a private school, one of the best and she is part of the popular crowd. In fact, she has all the things a girl her age could want, a kind of high school dream lifestyle. But then she is involved in a freak accident, which changes her life and leaves her in a fragile condition. She is able to survive the incident, but she now suffers from blackouts and has severe memory problems. But she tries to go back to her life and continue on as normal, but that isn’t possible now. She hasn’t been forsaken or left behind, but a force has kicked into motion that has she and her friends in real danger. One by one, her friends are turning up dead, killed in sick and twisted fashion. Not just simple murders to knock someone off, these deaths are brutal and hideous, as if to cause as much suffering as possible. The community of one of wealth and privilege, so no one is sure what to do, aside from bringing in the police, of course. The authorities do their best, but are unable to turn up any leads whatsoever. The list of potential suspects is deep, with even Virginia herself on the roster, thanks to her blackouts. But who is killing these teens and will the truth be uncovered before the entire school is slaughtered?
We horror fans do love creative kills and in the decade of the slasher, the magical 80s, few films were as creative with murder as Happy Birthday to Me. Of course, the ratings board made the filmmakers excise a lot of the graphic gore, but even what remains is impressive, though an uncut version promises to be all that and more. But Columbia has issued the theatrical edition here and while that uncut version would have been nice, I am just pleased to have this flick on disc. The kills are the main attraction and there is no doubt about it, Happy Birthday to Me has some of the coolest, most creative death scenes out there. Not just in concept either, as the murders are executed to perfection and are a blast to watch. A lot of times, movies will have a great idea for a kill, but botch the actual stunt, but not in this case. This film has more than blood and gore however, as director J. Lee Thompson (Mackenna’s Gold, The Guns of Navarone) provides excellent tension and while genre conventions are honored, he explores beyond the usual cliches. So some solid scares can be found here, thanks to Thompson’s attention to atmosphere. The performances are passable, though lead Melissa Sue Anderson (Tv’s Little House on the Prairie) is a lot of fun to watch here. Columbia’s disc is devoid of extras and sports an altered soundtrack, but for fans of the flick, I doubt we’ll see a better treatment down the road.
Video: How does it look?
Happy Birthday to Me is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The print is quite clean, with only minor grain evident and minimal nicks & defects. Some of the darker scenes display a thicker level of grain, but even then, the visuals don’t suffer. I did notice some color fades, but this seems intentional in most cases, so no reason for concern. The hues have a washed out appearance, but that is part of the visual scheme, not a flaw with this treatment. I was very pleased with the contrast here, as black levels are crisp and rich, though the grain does lessen things a shade or two, but only in the darkest of sequences.
Audio: How does it sound?
This release has sparked some controversy, as most of the original music has been replaced, by cheese laden synth score, no less. I am always on the side of original music, but I can’t dwell on the issue here, as this is our sole option. And Columbia isn’t likely to revisit a lower interest title like this one, especially since the decision to replace the score had to have a reason and not just to better market the picture. The audio here is basic in all respects, but as this is a low budget 80s horror movie, I didn’t expect anything else. The track has aged well, with minimal harshness or distortion and I doubt anyone will be let down here. The eerie music and assorted sound effects are in solid form, while dialogue is clean and never out of balance. You won’t use this disc to showcase your home theater, but it more than handles this material, which is what counts. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and Japanese.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
