Synopsis
Erstwhile Little House on the Prairie fixture Melissa Sue Anderson is recoveringfrom the death of her mother and her own brain injury. She seems to be doing okay, despite aloss of memory, for which she seeks the help of psychiatrist Glenn Ford. She is one of thepopular kids at her college. All is not well, however, as the friends start being killed one by one.Who has it in for the Top Ten?
Happy Birthday to Me has no more plot than the usual slasher, b…t this Canadian flickclocks in at 111 minutes, easily twenty minutes longer than any slasher should be, and the extrarunning time is painful. The characterization can best be described as random, and the plottingvaries from the sluggish to the demented in the closing act. Points for the whacked ending, then(and there is some genuine delirium here), and for a few imaginatively gruesome murders, butoverall, this is a below-average entry from the height of the initial slasher craze.
Audio
The sound is mono, and is perfectly serviceable. There is an instance or two of minordistortion, but for a cheap, 24-year-old film, this is hardly worth mentioning. The sound is clearand gets the job done. That’s about it.
Video
The print is in excellent condition. There are only a couple of very minor speckles. Thecolours are strong, as are the contrasts, and the blacks are deep and spooky. The grain is asminimal as the speckling, and is completely in line with the film’s period. There is some veryminor softness, but basically this looks as good as the day it was first projected.
Special Features
Trailers/teasers for a few horror thrillers. Bare bones stuff, as is the menu.
Closing Thoughts
Mediocre film, but still it has its part to play in the history of horror and Canadian film. Niceprint.
Special Features List
- Trailers
