Happy Birthday to Me

(1981)**1/2

Virginia is a student at Crawford Academy, a prestigious college in upstate New York. She is part of a group called “The Top Ten”, apparently the ten richest (snobbiest) elite at the college. Essentially The Top Ten = “We’re better than you”. Life is grand for Virginia until her friends start dying in horrible, violent ways (take that, snobs!). Over time Virginia begins to believe that these deaths are somehow connected to her murky past, a past she cannot recall due to a traumatic brain injury she suffered in a car accident. With the work of a shrink she begins to recall repressed traumatic memories. How are the current deaths of her friends related to different pieces of Virginia’s past; a car accident, a birthday party, mom’s mental illness, secret research…


I couldn’t quite give this 3 stars although it is certainly better than a lot of the 80s slashers. The budget looks slightly bigger and there appears to be some attempt at cinematography. Although this is a who-dun-it that will keep you guessing, there were too many red herrings and plots twists. By the time all is explained I said, “Huh?” loudly and had to rewind to try to understand what the hell was going on - truth be known I’m still a bit confused. The big reveal is a bit of a cheat along the lines of the Mission Impossible film series. Despite my utter confusion over the final act, there is enough gore to keep this horror hound happy.