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Just what I expected

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Nothing really to gripe about, nothing too exciting either. Typical eighties. Forgettable and unoriginal. Doesn't add anything to the genre. Mildly entertaining eighties horror. Certainly not the worst, just too middle-of-the-road to care. If you have some time and literally nothing on your wanna-watch-list then go for it.

Well i din't see this one coming. This particular film is incredibly clever. The cinematography is great. There is a strong psychological element in this film with an incredible twist ending you will not see coming. The killing scenes are highly original and though the movie gets confusing at times it eventually makes perfect sense. Cleverly plotted, this film was designed for any lover of puzzles, psychology and suspense. In the end, the movie plays more like a mystery thriller than a horror ... and yes there are some scares. Out of all the slasher flicks of the 80s, this one has a particular originality to it that puts it in a league of its own. Final grade, A-

I have fond memories of this 80s slasher movie from my early childhood. In the days of VHS and the dawn of HBO, movie choices were slim for a elementary school kid, so certain movies were drilled into my brain as I developed a love of horror because of their easy access through repeated viewings on local cable or HBO and this movie was one of those pack. It made such a definite impact on me due to its' creative killings.It's been some years since I had seen this lost childhood classic and I recently got hold of a copy to take a cruise down memory lane. Well some roads are better left in the rearview mirror and this movie was a big letdown from the memories I thought I cherished. This stems mostly from a plot that's a convoluted tangle of red herrings and false twists. Almost every scene in this movie becomes a set up to some cheesy "we fooled you" moment that never has any satisfying revelation for the audience. By the time we get to the big, giant, final twist reveal at the end, the viewer finds themselves so weary of being "fooled" by the director that it would have been a bigger surprise had the movie just ended in some logical manner. While a few of the murder scenes do still have an eclectic charm in their quest to present a unique kill that hadn't been done already in the burgeoning slasher industry of the 80s, most of them fall flat and just look a little silly at this point. It's a fun movie from the lower realms of the 80s horror pantheon that features some interesting names like a director who made GUNS OF NAVARONE, an actress trying to shed her wholesome LITTLE HOUSE image and an actress soon to be a soap opera vixen, but some movies are much better in the hazy light of memory than they become in the clear light day.

Now, I LOVE twists. Try the one at the end of Arlington Road, or for a more popular example The Sixth Sense. A good twist can turn an average movie-going experience into a satisfying one, and cause you reevaluate the whole film. On the other hand, there are the obvious ones, the endings you see coming from a mile off that expect you to be shocked by a revelation you saw half an hour in. This is bad, but nowhere near as damaging as the conclusions where everything is a complex and convoluted mess, where the abrupt slapdashery of everything makes the feeling of dissatisfaction palpable.Which brings me neatly to Happy Birthday To Me, a perfectly serviceable slasher for the most part, but will forever be remembered by the reviewer for one of the stupidly complicated last scene explanations in history. It's not so much I didn't understand what was happening, it was more down to everything seemingly being forced into a 'big reveal' when one really wasn't necessary. Was the director contractly obliged to shoehorn in this daft finale? Sometimes, it's best to go for the easy route, rather than attempt to be clever and fall flat on your face.There are some nice deaths, that'll make you wince, and the standard of acting is better than usual for the genre. The air of mystery that permeates the air keeps you watching, the atmosphere is tense and you hold your breath... only for you to be rewarded by a load of cobblers. I'm sorry, I'm trying to change the subject, but I keep returning to an image in my head of some dumb writers, high-fiving each other about how cool and clever they are, when really all they've done is painted a moustache on the Mona Lisa. It would have been a lot better with 5 minutes chopped off before the credits... trust me. 4/10