1981 seems to be the year of the great slasher film. Today we look one of the best. Hey! Glenn Ford is in it. The same Glenn Ford that swapped spit with Rita Hayworth in "Gilda." Melissa Sue Anderson is in it. Yep, the babe from "Little House on the Prairie." They aren't just in it...they legitimately star in it. Oh, Lesleh Donaldson is the first gory kill. I saw this in 1981...then again today. Maybe the fact that it was mixed in with a thousand other slasher films with similar tropes kept its merit as a fine film from being recognized. In 2025...we can look at this one as a fine horror film. Shocking! Gory! Gratuitous! Today we look at "Happy Birthday to Me," directed by J. Lee Thompson.
In 2025, when watching this film, we see it without being jaded by a deluge of slasher films also debuting. I forgot this is also a science fiction film with a mad scientist trope, an inappropriate relationship between teen Virginia (Anderson) and her psychiatrist, Dave (Ford). Some taboo plot lines, too. Oh, this movie will also have you covering your eyes during the brain surgery scene. In short, Virginia is recovering from a really bad accident that took her mom's (Sharon Acker) life. Her brain is injured and a mad scientist, using highly experimental techniques and gadgets, puts it back together. She recovers...sort of. Now, at an exclusive prep school, Virginia is in a club with nine other elites. One by one, starting with Bernadette (Donaldson), they are murdered horribly. The death scenes are elongated and gory.
Suspects abound, but Virginia is our number one suspect. Why? Well we saw her do some of the murders. Too easy? Not so fast. Virginia's friends are hunks and babes. Her bestie is Anne (Tracey E. Bergman). She's a doll and we hope she will be the final girl. Shish-kabob skewers, motorbike wheels, and razors are some of the neat weapons. Slit throats, having a face filed off, and gutting are some of the ways the babes and hunks are killed. Virginia has episodes where she blacks out. Glenn Ford, er David, is very supportive of her recovery and gets closer to her as the film goes on. More and more details about the accident emerge, and also more details about the surgery emerge. Uh oh...is Virginia the killer?
Usually when an A-list actor or actress has his or her name on a movie poster in a slasher film, they are mere cameo performances. This was the case for Rod Steiger ("American Gothic") and William Shatner ("Visiting Hours") in slasher films around the same time this one opened. Not here. Glenn Ford, who doesn't do horror, and Melissa Sue Anderson, who doesn't do horror, are indeed the stars of this film. You would think Glenn Ford, after lip-locking Rita Hayworth, would keep his distance from Melissa Sue Anderson. I'm not saying Melissa Sue Anderson is no Rita Hayworth, but...well, never mind. For a fascinating, surprise filled, gory slasher film...see "Happy Birthday to Me."
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