Bloody Birthday (1981) review


There just seems to be so many flicks I've missed out on. Here's yet another 80's flick I'm watching for the first time. I've seen the cover before but never around the time it was probably released.  Once again, and no I don't work for them (I wish), I watched this on Shudder. I know there's an Arrow Video blu-ray of this and it's on my wanted list for sure. Even more so now. Directed by Ed Hunt, this is a great addition to your 80's horror flick collection. It looked great on Shudder so I can only imagine how it must look on blu-ray.

This has a definite vibe of Children of the Damned, and I'm not the first to say that. The child actors in this are really good. The characters of Debbie (Elizabeth Hoy), Curtis (Billy Jayne) and Steven (Andy Freeman) are basically child slashers. Their murder spree spares no one, not family or friends. Everyone is a target and any character seems to be on the chopping block.

The killing starts with a young couple making out in a cemetery, as couples did in this town. Like most 80's horror flicks, this one is full of nudity, the way nature intended them. After they've gone into a freshly dug grave, because out in the open is just too much for her, they're both murdered. I guess that's what happens when you bang in a grave. We already know the killers are kids, but we don't know how weird they are until we see them in their classroom setting. These kids are emotionless and creepy. Young Michael Myers would have gotten right along with them.

It appears the young murderers made a mistake as the town sheriff, James Brody (Bert Kramer), also Debbie's father, informs the class of the murders and shows them evidence that was found at the scene. It appears the jump rope they used to murder the girl lost one of it's handles. Brody shows them this after having a pretty serious discussion about murder. The three psychos don't show any emotion but you can tell their none too pleased with this, nor can they hide their hatred for their teacher. This leads to both the sheriff and the teacher being murdered by them. Like I said, no one is safe, not even Debbie's own father.

Another creepy fact is that Debbie takes money from the boys in her class to watch her sister Beverly (Julie Brown) undress through a hole in their adjoining closets. She uses this later to kill her own sister. The kill is epic though. An arrow through the eye!? Probably my favorite kill from this flick. Let's not forget the interactions with the two heroes of this flick, Joyce (Lori Lethin) and her younger Timmy (K.C. Martel), who's the same age and in the same class as the psychos. At one point Curtis even locks Timmy in a fridge in the junkyard as payback for walking up right after they murdered the sheriff. Joyce is an aid to Viola Davis (Susan Strasberg), their teacher.

I loved the ending, with both Curtis and Steven being arrested and Debbie being whisked away by her mother (Melinda Cordell). Does she know Debbie is guilty? She kind of does when she turns the car around and drives off just as the police show up, but then seems oblivious later after Debbie kills a random mechanic at a stop. But at the same time, her and her mom are going by different names now. It's a good ending though.

Overall, I really enjoyed this flick. There's nothing like a great 80's horror flick to make for a great viewing. I'd give this 4 out of 5. How about you, ghouls? Any fans of this one? What other 80's flicks would you recommend? I still need to see Happy Birthday to Me. But what else?

later, ghouls

Dr. Deimos Strigoi


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