Movies
Happy Birthday To Me
“Under Thompson’s direction, the film manages to look a bit more polished and less amateurish looking than most other 80s slasher flicks. And then, of course, there’s the ingenious death scenes – which is really what makes the film memorable – but out of respect for everyone who hasn’t managed to see it yet, I won’t spoil any of them.”
On a chilly fall night in 2003, I was living in a dormitory during my freshman year of college in a sleepy, little town. Since the main attractions in Rome, GA consist of not one, but two Wally Worlds and a movie theatre/bar combo that none of us were old enough to get into yet, we spent our weekends either traveling to Atlanta for concerts, clubs and general mischief or we stayed indoors watching whatever weird oddities we could find at the local Mom and Pop Rental Shack. This Friday night in question started off innocently enough, with me roaming the horror section in search of something that would be as equally outrageous as Sleepaway Camp, which we had watched a few days earlier. After a few minutes of browsing, I stumbled upon a VHS box that had a guy getting a shish kabob shoved through his mouth on the front cover and a tagline that read, “Six of the most bizarre murders you will ever see!” The film in question: Happy Birthday To Me. The probability that I was going to take this home: 100%.
The film starts out with Bernadette (Lesleh Donaldson) making her nightly trip to The Silent Woman Tavern, a pub near Crawford Academy, where she meets with the Top Ten (a group of the most popular students attending the school). In true slasher fashion, she’s dispatched right off the bat by a killer whose face cannot be seen; not unlike a giallo, only their hands and feet are visible throughout most of the film, following in the footsteps of well known horror hits such as Halloween and Friday The 13th.
Moments later, we’re introduced to the Top Nine as it were, who seem to be moderately concerned that Bernadette hasn’t shown up but quickly get over it and play a prank on a local lodger involving a mouse (soon after, we find out that the group is notorious for playing pranks, which explains why they weren’t concerned with their friend’s disappearance). The rest of the film shifts the focus on Virginia “Ginny” Wainwright (Melissa Sue Anderson of Little House on the Prairie fame), a member of the clique who has an on-call psychiatrist (Glenn Ford) who helps her deal with her repressed memories of brain surgery and a car crash. While she’s attempting to piece her life together, the rest of the Top Nine are murdered in, as the cover states, “bizarre” ways. All of this leads to a climax that was hailed as “a confusing mess” by my dorm neighbors but really, it isn’t a very difficult movie to figure out. In fact, the most puzzling aspect of the film isn’t the ending but rather how someone got Oscar-nominated director J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone) to direct a slasher flick!
Happy Birthday To Me is a fairly typical entry in the body-count horror sub-genre: the kids are mostly unlikable with one or two sympathetic characters thrown into the mix; the plot is simple but tries to overcomplicate its presentation to be “smart”; and body are shucked like ears of corn at a harvest festival. But, under Thompson’s direction, the film manages to look a bit more polished and less amateurish looking than most other 80s slasher flicks. And then, of course, there’s the ingenious death scenes – which is really what makes the film memorable – but out of respect for everyone who hasn’t managed to see it yet, I won’t spoil any of them.
Happy Birthday To Me originally arrived on DVD back in 2006 but its release was somewhat compromised. First off, the cover art was probably one of the worst Photoshop jobs I’ve ever seen in my life. Not only did it feature a girl with glowing eyes, but it also had the outline of a castle that could be seen through a window in the background, neither of which are in the actual film – the birthday cake and knife are safe from scrutiny, though. Luckily, after the cover art popped up online, Columbia included an insert with the film’s original poster after fans cried foul. But, perhaps the greatest sin was replacing the film’s original soundtrack with a disco-themed one. There are two plausible theories as to how this came about: one is that the studio didn’t want to pony up the money to buy the music rights so they replaced it with something cheaper. The other is that this new soundtrack was from a very early version of the film before it was rescored and Columbia just used the wrong one on accident. Although that might seem a bit far-fetched, the scenes do match up to the alternate soundtrack quite well, more so than other films which have been tampered with in the same way.
I’m happy to say that none of that matters anymore since Anchor Bay has rereleased the film with its theatrical soundtrack and used the original poster as the cover art for their DVD. And, on top of that, the DVD actually has the original theatrical trailer included, which was an omission that was but a minor sin on the original release. So, if you’ve never check out the film before, now is the time to grab this disc and check out Happy Birthday To Me in the way it was meant to be seen!
This week’s big new horror release is of course Evil Dead Burn in theaters later in the week, but you don’t have to wait until this weekend to inject fresh nightmares into your eyeballs.
Five brand new horror movies have already released at home this week.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Tuesday, July 7, 2026!
Director André Øvredal’s (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) new movie Passenger is now available on Digital at home.
Here’s the synopsis for Passenger: “A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.”
André Øvredal told Bloody Disgusting in an exclusive chat, “It’s a road movie, which is what I really fell in love with. It’s totally unique for me as a horror movie. Bridging the road movie with a haunting, essentially, on the road. I think it’s the scariest movie I’ve made.”
The cast includes Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Tony Doupe, Bonni Dichone, Devielle Johnson, Jessica Cruz, Miles Fowler, and Alan Trong.
The screenplay is written by Zachary Donohue (The Den) and T.W. Burgess (Mister Howl). Former Warner Bros production executive Walter Hamada, who steered the Conjuring and It franchises, is producing via his 18hz as part of his first-look deal with Paramount. It screenwriter Gary Dauberman is also producing via Coin Operated.
Supernatural horror, psychological suspense, and an eye-catching creature take center stage in The Leaching, now available on Digital from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment.
“After waking up in a grave on her father’s isolated forest property with no idea of who she is or how she got there, Vivian must use her limited memory to piece together the nightmarish truth, all the while being tormented by the undead, a giant leech monster, and her ‘father.’
“Over the next few days, she will uncover the framework of a truly nefarious supernatural scheme, but will it be too late?”
The Leaching is written and directed by Evan Showalter (Ante Mortem, Bad Music Terry).
“The Leaching is an exploration of faith, the loss of self, and the monsters (literally) that emerge when people surrender themselves to something greater than they can understand,” says Showalter. “It’s an isolating horror film that plays with a very uncomfortable question.”
A film student finds herself trapped in a giallo nightmare in lo-fi horror movie City Wide Fever, which is now streaming exclusively on the Midnight Pulp streaming service.
The meta horror movie is from debut writer/director Josh Heaps.
In City Wide Fever, “Sam, a young film student, discovers a USB detailing the life and career of forgotten Italian horror director Saturnino Barresi.
“As she begins to investigate his mysterious disappearance, Sam finds herself pulled into a violent conspiracy eerily similar to those of the films she adores.”
Diletta Guglielmi, Angelica Kim, and Nancy Kimball star with Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood), Larry Fessenden (You’re Next), Carolyn Farina, and comedian Ian Fidance.
Paul Lê wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “This isn’t just a case of throwback filmmaking that’s been achieved with contemporary technology; the director used era-authentic equipment to help create this striking and nostalgic piece of modern horror. The end result is a movie… teeming with enough verve and style to make it feel fresh.”
A Gen Z slasher that pays homage to ’90s teen slasher movies, You’re Dead to Me is now available on Digital outlets at home courtesy of distributor Dark Star Pictures.
In the slasher film, “Three high school seniors skip prom for a secluded weekend party free from parents, school, and responsibility, but their escape turns terrifying when they learn one of their classmates has been brutally murdered.”
Denise Richards (Valentine) stars alongside Siena Agudong (Sidelined: The QB and Me, Sidelined 2: Intercepted), Jessica Belkin (“Baywatch” ), Ella Anderson (“Henry Danger,” Song Sung Blue), and Conor Husting (“Boo, Bitch”, Hollywood Stargirl).
The film was directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz.
You’re Dead to Me was co-written by Sarah Howard and Terry Castle, the daughter of the legendary producer and filmmaker William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler).
Steven Quale (Into the Storm, Final Destination 5) directed the supernatural thriller Black Box, which has now taken flight on Digital outlets courtesy of Aura Entertainment.
The film is based on the short film The Vessel, and an original screenplay from horror writer Stephen Susco (The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Hell Fest).
Black Box (Flight 298) follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines 298 from New Orleans to Seattle.
Tom Brittney, Holly Leena White, Betsy Blue English, Dane Whyte O’Hara, Kaja Chan, Asa Ali, Boadicea Ricketts, Ceallach Spellman, Georgina Leonidas, Molly Belle Wright, Hanneke Talbot, Danny Mack, and Weronika Rosati star in Black Box.
Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (Barbarian, Boy Kills World) and Jon Oakes (Drive, The Guilty) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Warren Zide (The Final Destination, American Pie), and Susco. Ruzanna Kegeyan and Roman Viaris of Capstone, and Clark Baker (Vessel) will executive produce.
What happened to Flight 298? Find out on Digital outlets now.
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