Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

18 May 2023

Rating: 3.5/5

A girl walks home alone at night, accosted by someone with black gloves. When she thinks she’s found a friend, she sees the black gloves on them and a straight razor in their hands — we don’t see to whom the black gloves belong

Cut to Melissa Sue Anderson (Virginia) showing up to the bar late to meet her friends, soon followed by Jack Blum (Alfred), who is bullied by the rest of the group. The group pulls some hijinks with the Shriners at the bar and drives off in their fancy cars — save Alfred, who putters off on a moped

Later, we learn that Virginia’s mother is dead and that she is repressing the memories, so to help her remember her father and her move back into their old home where they all lived together. From there, the movie speeds off into insanity

The movie is a murder fest, each one with a creative flare, twisting and turning as much as possible to keep you off the scent

Is it Virginia disassociating? Is it Alfred getting revenge? Is it Steve who seems to be stalking Virginia? Get ready to tune out occasionally, then check back on the movie and say, “What the hell?”

It’s all pretty silly, and they really go out of their way for some misdirects, but if you go in knowing that, it’s an enjoyable experience. You won’t marvel at the filmmaking, but if horror is a comfort food, this is a treat

I would love to watch this again with friends

strAy thoughts


See Review on Letterboxd