Bloody Birthday Review

Ah yes, the 1980s slasher genre. There are so many slasher movies that came out in the 1980s that it is hard to keep track of them all, but we do what we can here at Scary Film Review to get to them even if it takes us years to do so. We are upwards of 916 posts, mind you, so that’s something to celebrate. With that in mind we took a look at the horror movie from 1981, “Bloody Birthday”.

The movie starts off easy enough, three children are born on the same night, during a solar eclipse. These children grow up to become sinister as they begin to slowly terrorize their small town, murdering adults. The movie throws you into the scenario fast, with the first kill within ten or so minutes of the movie’s starting point. Although, at first glance you don’t know who is doing the sinister deeds, it becomes apparent that the three kids are not so innocent. Mix that up with some nudity, and a small body count, alongside adults that are in disbelief and you have yourself some of the standard tropes of a slasher film.

As far as the movie’s plot is concerned it’s thin. It’s not too heavy, but it doesn’t need to be, and it flows well. The movie is paced well, and you get through the motions fast, and with a certain level of dread, and emotion. Even though the deaths are done, there isn’t a complete gore factor. In fact, they nuanced the death sequences so that it’s not as punishing to the senses as some other flicks in the genre. That being said, it almost doesn’t feel like a grindhouse or a traditional horror feature. The camera cuts away at times, and you get sharp edits that leave you knowing what happened but not necessarily seeing it go down. Even the final death isn’t caught on camera, as you see the cause and effect, but not the literal transition, making this an interesting little horror movie to take a note of overall.

“Bloody Birthday” is not going to win any new fans to the genre of horror. It is not slick, it is not produced well, and it hasn’t aged very well either. While I found the pacing to be good, and the notion of killer kids fascinating, the movie lacks a sense of balance and story. There is just something missing, and perhaps it’s the heart of a protagonist that you want to cheer for, if nothing else. It’s a solid movie, don’t get me wrong, it just seems to be something for the horror fan, and no one else. Even some casual horror watchers will turn it off, as it is not rewarding, and ultimately leaves you with nothing more than a sense of dread over solar eclipses, children, and their sinister ways. It’s a nice twist on the slasher genre, but it’s lacking, and therefore I probably won’t be watching it too many times over. But you may think differently, especially with blu ray releases of the movie.