Starring: Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane, Sharon Acker, Frances Hyland (II) Directed By: J. Lee Thompson Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 99 Release Date: October 26, 2004 Running Time: 110 minutes Theatrical Release Date: May 15, 1981
Amazon.com: 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
loved it! I purchased "Happy Birthday to Me." The movie was in excellent condition and was a great buy. Price was a little high but the movie made up for that. I really enjoyed it!
Cheezy I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and loved it to this day watching re-runs. I still have a hard time looking at the kids as adults. This movie is cheezy but, great because it showed Sue Anderson in another role. She did well.
4 stars for the movie, 1 star for the DVD "Happy Birthday to Me" is one of the classiest slasher films ever made; it's suspenseful, it has very high production values, and it has some pretty good performances from people like Glenn Ford and Melissa Sue Anderson, who was best known as Mary Ingalls on the TV show "Little House on the Prairie". Despite having a big-name director (J. Lee Thompson) and a major studio (Columbia Pictures) behind it, "Happy Birthday to Me" is mostly remembered for the hilariously exploitive poster art (shish kabobs, anyone?), which was also used as the cover for the 80's home video release. Why Columbia/Sony decided to replace that highly original and striking art with THIS is beyond me. There is a birthday cake in the film, and a knife, but there are no possessed girls or ominous castles to be found. I'm sure this misguided marketing attempt pleased at least two people: the clueless graphic designer and the lucky daughter who got to be a model for the day.
But even worse than the hideous new cover art -- which actually isn't new anymore, because the DVD has been around for four years now -- is the new soundtrack Columbia/Sony decided to slap on the picture instead of securing the rights to the score by Bo Harwood and Lance Rubin. Only the end credits song by Syreeta and a few music cues remain. The 80's dance score is wildly inappropriate for the movie and kills any suspense that was built up. The result is the cinematic equivalent of a lobotomy.
I bought this DVD knowing full well what a monstrosity it is, but I only paid $5. I can't imagine paying full price. The picture quality is good and the movie isn't completely unwatchable this way, but the original soundtrack is ten times better and makes the film a more memorable and enjoyable experience. Do yourself a favor and track down a VHS copy. Perhaps Sony will release another DVD edition with the proper soundtrack, but I wouldn't count on it.
man why ???? I just Brought This New Dvd Copy And I really Think They Destroyed It I Mean Why Did They Had To Redo The Music Score I Mean I Agree With The Others I Been Trying To Get This Movie On Dvd For A While Now And It's Not Worth It I'm Better Off Just Watching My Vhs Tape At Lease It's The Original I Only Give It Two Stars Because The Picture Shows A Lot Better Than My Vhs But At Lease It's a Lot Scary Than That Garbage That They Have On Dvd
One of the Slasher Greats! I am a slasher afficianado and have seen them all hundreds of times, but Happy Birthday to Me will always be in my top 10 because of it's storyline and imagery, not to mention the bizarre and wicked kills!
The unfortunate thing is that the original score was replaced...and the new score does not work with the film. I will never understand why they had rights issues with the original soundtrack, but the original score is a million times better than this one.
That aside, the film remains the same visually and this film actually creates a mystery element and almost feels like the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer" because you're trying to figure out who the killer is throughout.
Most slasher films of the era were similar, HBTM breaks some of the expected elements for some unique plot twists and creepy imagery.
I have the original theatrical poster which boasts "6 of the Most Bizarre Murders You Will Ever See" and they were not kidding. This movie has some of the most interesting and freaky murder sequences I have ever seen in a slasher film.
It's too bad they don't make horror movies like this anymore. Horror and low budget go together. Now with all this modern crap and big budgets, horror is not what it used to be, scary, effective and fun to watch. Thankfully low budget horror is still made, it just goes direct to video.
I recommend HBTM for any slasher film fan, but try and find the original release (thankfully I have 2 copies of the original VHS edition). Maybe the movie will be re-released later with the proper score.
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