A slasher movie directed by J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear) and starring Melissa Sue Anderson (she’s a long way from Little House on the Prairie here!), Glenn Ford and Lawrence Dane (Scanners).
Someone is bumping off college students in innovative ways. Who could the killer be?
Even though the methods of murder are unconventional (barbell, motorbike wheel to name but two), this film is, to quote Simon Cowell, distinctly average. I like the film’s bright and breezy visual style that is also slightly blurred in some scenes like someone has smeared Vaseline over the lens (this reminds me of the much better Prom Night) and Thompson throws in a few directorial flourishes but this is very much a C division slasher movie (if I’m being honest there are so few A and B division entries in the slasher genre).
I actually really loved the Scooby Doo ending but there’s so much boring teen drama, obvious red herrings (which after a while made me really not care who the killer is) and unfunny japes to wade through that makes Happy Birthday To Me a real chore to watch.
1.5 stars out of 5
meathookcinema.com 