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From Amazon.co.uk
Happy Birthday to Me typifies the horror genre prior to the self-reflection and irony that saturated the genre in the late '80s and '90s. A solid cast, decent acting, a well-written script, and relatively high production values result in a solid movie that is engaging on its own in addition to offering a glimpse into the history of '80s horror. The plot follows the rules of the genre (later parodied in such films as the Scream and Scary Movie series). A number of teenagers (played by actors who appear visibly older than their characters) from an elite prep school get into mischievous sexual situations fueled by alcohol and pot smoking. As teens start to disappear, murdered in a variety of violent ways, the film suggests a number of suspects. Is the killer the troubled star played by Melissa Sue Anderson who lost her overbearing, social-climbing mother in a car accident that she survived? Or is it the stern school mistress, the wacky, cool social clown, the social misfit, or none of the above? The film keeps you guessing until the final scene. Happy Birthday is a must-see for serious fans of the horror genre and this release is a solid digital mastering of the movie. Hardcore fans should note that the DVD release was not able to secure the rights to the original soundtrack so this version features an alternate soundtrack of largely nondescript '80s electronic music. --Brian Saltzman
Synopsis
Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson) is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday, a grueling set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey. Could it be her? She suffers from balckouts due to a freak accident oneyear earlier. We soon learn the truth behind her accident and what is going on....
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. K. Arts
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
ok, this is a pretty famous slasher movie so most of you probably know the plot but for those unfortunates who have missed this high quality slasher movie here is a very brief rundown. Ginny (plated by sue anderson from little house on the prarie) is a poor kid going to a rich school thanks to the efforts of her upwardly-mobile mother, she's doing well and is friends with the clique of privalidged kids who previously shunned her. Everything is going fine until a drunken stunt sets of a chain of murders culminating in a goulish set piece at ginny's birthday party.
as those of you who've seen this movie before already know, this canadian made slasher, directed by J lee thompson (a fantastic director probably best known for the origional cape fear) is probably one of the best slasher films made and certainly deserves a place next to classier fare like the origional my blooy valentineMy Bloody Valentine [DVD] [1981] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] like that one the film contains character development an involving plot and suspense scenes that work making this stand apart from a lot of other slasher films from this era, plus it has a fantastic score, which leads me into qualifying this reviews title.
Ok.. so why SHOULD you buy this? Firstly the picture quality is amazing, as is the sound mix, the film never looked or sounded better (unless it ever hits blu-ray) Mainly though this is the first release since vhs to actually contain the films origional score.... Read more ›
as those of you who've seen this movie before already know, this canadian made slasher, directed by J lee thompson (a fantastic director probably best known for the origional cape fear) is probably one of the best slasher films made and certainly deserves a place next to classier fare like the origional my blooy valentineMy Bloody Valentine [DVD] [1981] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] like that one the film contains character development an involving plot and suspense scenes that work making this stand apart from a lot of other slasher films from this era, plus it has a fantastic score, which leads me into qualifying this reviews title.
Ok.. so why SHOULD you buy this? Firstly the picture quality is amazing, as is the sound mix, the film never looked or sounded better (unless it ever hits blu-ray) Mainly though this is the first release since vhs to actually contain the films origional score.... Read more ›
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Very good old school slasher movie which actually does have the original soundtrack. If you go to audio set up and change it to german and then play the movie you will notice the original soundtrack is playing, however, the movie is in german through out. I first watched it with the altered terrible soundtrack with them speaking english and then I watched it with the original soundtrack and them speaking in german but with subtitles. So there are two versions of the movie on this disc (original soundtrack and altered soundtrack).
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By William
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
HBTM is a forgotten horror classic from 1980 featuring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford. Melissa plays Virginia, a teenager who's friends are been killed off one by one in strange ways. Who is the killer? A few fine twists in this film will keep you guessing.
The DVD release of HBTM is long overdue, and unfortunately it is not a perfect release. Unable to obtain rights to the original score used (and known by fans), Columbia Tristar altered the score to a disappointing effect. For example, the original introduction 'haunting' score has now been replaced with disco music. This hardly sets the required mood to watch the film. Similar situations occur throughout the film. The closing music is the only original music used on this DVD.
This aside, the transfer to DVD is great, and very clear. It has been cleaned up well, and is widescreen anamorphic. Fans who were only used to the cropped video version, will enjoy seeing the film this way.
Despite the altered soundtrack, HBTM is worth owning if you are a collector of the genre. Hopefully a Canadian company will see fit to re-release it oneday with the original score.
If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well???
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Anyone who knows anything about horror will of course be fully familiar with this superior slasher, if not then i recommend you buy it now as this is one of the very best of all the 80's slashers. The film starts in excellent fashion with a great stalking and death scene filled with suspense and style. The film continues to be atmospheric and stylish throughout and often dark with lots of tension and good inventive deaths. The cast is decent, music effective and story is pretty good too. I always have childhood memories of this and can remember when i was about 10 seeing some of it on vhs and always remembered the dumbbell and kebab deaths. It was many years later when i finally saw it again with the UK release and i was suprised to see it was a 15 certificate. But this US release is the one to get as the picture is superior and the great original soundtrack present. Some complain of perhaps the one twist too many and it being a bit too long, but make no mistake this classy slasher is a must have for any horror collection.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Paxtell
Format:DVD
Happy birthday to me is one of those films that got people talking when it was shown in the cinema during the 80s. Despite it's age, it's still as good as if not better than most horror films today.
The method of execution is varied and ingenius with a real twist at the end. Definately one to watch.
The method of execution is varied and ingenius with a real twist at the end. Definately one to watch.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
whatever happened to the fantastic original score to this film?it has been replaced by an inferior soundtrack,which begins with a pop song with the first murder.This is my only complaint cause the transfer to dvd is excellent,much clearer colours etc.Shame that there are no extra's not even the trailer to the movie.The original soundtrack is much preferred so seek it out on video and you'll know what i mean.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Party Pieces!
Poor Virginia wants her birthday to be a success, but with her annoying friends disappearing at the rate they are, she's going to be lucky if she gets any presents at all. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Arch Stanton
5.0 out of 5 stars
John will never eat shish kebab again.....
Happy birthday to me is an almost perfect slasher film, the film is sort of like a combination of murder mystery and slasher film so that's what makes it slightly different from... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Puzzle box
1.0 out of 5 stars
A fairly average horror film, you need to be college age.
We heard adverts for this film on a radio station in the eighties. It had a fella with a deep deep voice and creepy soundtrack making out it was the scariest film going. Read more
Published 16 months ago by coolsimon
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a terrible way to treat friends!
If you are the sort of film fan who likes watching classic horror films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Black Christmas, April Fools day and My Bloody Valentine or more modern... Read more
Published 22 months ago by j.r
4.0 out of 5 stars
"You'd be proud of me now, mother. All the kids like me."
Virginia (Melissa Sue Anderson) goes to Crawford Academy where she is part of the 10, the top 10 students at the school who all belong to rich and successful families. Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2011 by West25
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remake needed
Plot is a bit slow in parts and they dont explain Ginny's background very well,but it has a great twist to the end. This should definietly be remade.
Published on 12 Jun 2011 by Mazz71
2.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon - your reviews are getting mixed up!
I have a copy of this DVD - for the record, that is the Columbia Pictures release ISBN 1-4049-5980-7, It has the dreadful cover art with the girl with the weird eyes holding a cake... Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2011 by Coastin Bear
3.0 out of 5 stars
An OK slasher flick that gets too complicated.
The movie is quite strange, in my opinion, for a slasher movie. I found that Virgina's background wasn't explained clearly enough at times, I found myself getting confused with... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2010 by L. Cross
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lucky me!!
I just finished watching HBTM and, even though I've seen this movie in the theatre about 25 years ago, it's still a lot of fun to watch. Surprisingly the altered score is horrible. Read more
Published on 13 May 2006 by rüsselpest
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