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Unhappy Birthday
Set in and around the remote tidal island of Amen, Unhappy Birthday is the fictional story of three outsiders' battles against the twisted morals of an antiquated community. Inspired by British cult classics such as The Wicker Man and Hammer House of Horror, the film explores the fear of isolation and nature versus nature. A special birthday party becomes a living nightmare for City-dwelling couple Sadie and Rick and their friend Johnny. They visit Corinne, an enigmatic local on the island of Amen, which is accessible only by invite and seemingly impossible to get off. A mysterious family connection with Corinne brings horrific consequences as they find themselves trapped by the tide and at the mercy of the island's wild nature.
Release : | 2011 |
Rating : | 4 |
Studio : | Unhappy Birthday Productions, |
Crew : | Director, Director, |
Cast : | Jonathan Keane |
Genre : | Horror Thriller Mystery |
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Reviews
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Blistering performances.
A low budget film like this gets reviews all over the map, but even great films have critics that didn't like them. The Kid With a Bike got reviews in the papers of 2, 3, 4, and 5 stars. You wonder if they are watching the same movie.This is a first effort for writer/directors Mark Harriott and Mike Matthews. They evidently worked hard to present a film with an atmosphere that is really creepy. The music and sound really matched the scenes and keep the tension high.The sexual scenes are intense, both heterosexual and homosexual, as Rick (David Paisley) brings his boyfriend Johnny (Jonathan Keane) along with his girlfriend Sadie (Christina De Vallee).It had a strange, but no unexpected ending that really drove the insanity home.The acting was very good, and it was a compelling story.
Not a great movie, but it's certainly not as bad as so many make it out to be, IMHO. I've seen much worse with higher ratings. It kept my interest, and, as much as I found myself vacillating between liking/disliking the main characters, I really wanted different fates for them. As for the enigmatic Corinne: I think she needed a good long walk on the mud flats or maybe a short pier.Didn't like all the slow motion, the fast motion, etc. I think the film's color palette worked well, but I really am tired of the artsy use of jump cuts and sunsettings in five seconds.The original THE WICKERMAN is probably the closest "family member" to this film, but it has some interesting 1950s/60s Brit sci-fi elements (I'm thinking John Wyndham here) in the villagers' hoodies and some of the reasons they do what they do.This is a slow-moving, dread-filled movie, and there is some head-scratching sequences, but I'm all for scratching my head if the mood is right.
okay...the plot summary above is weirdly off on the plot points and unhelpful. The PR copy on the DVD compares this film to both "Wickerman" and "Let's scare Jessica to Death". I thought 'how is that possible?'...Guess what? . . This film is a wonderful, strange mash-up of just EXACTLY those sorts of things! The acting is truly good, especially for such a low budget effort. The photography is very nice, and the stylistic and editing choices are nearly brilliant. The gore is very low key and contained but the creeping dread and superb building of suspense make it all the more shocking when it happens. The story is about a young woman and two men in a strange (but all too believable triangle relationship) who are drawn to an isolated tidal island--hence no one being able to leave while the tide is in. The group comes seeking to meet the woman's long-lost sister who appears to be part of strange religious community that dominates the island. Sexual ambiguity and the woman's new pregnancy bring extraordinary tension into the fragile 3- way. While on the island the sinister cult community becomes more and more menacing. From here the movies goes from merely 'moody' to terrifyingly CRAZY so simply and so deftly you just have to see it. In all... a stunning and beautiful effort in small/independent film making and a great little horror-movie.
I am not going to write a very long review but, what I am going to write is that while it is indeed a strange movie the acting is above par. and the camera work is beautifully done. The movie comes off as professional and not cheesy. I gave it a 10 because it was well worth my time spent viewing it. but you have to be of the mind that does not have to be satisfied very quickly, some adults are like children and must have the pay-off right then and there and cannot wait this is not a movie for those of that mind set.This movie is slow paced and builds to the end which I did not expect.I was slowly drawn into the movie by the clever writing and great acting. I forgot I was watching a movie at some point and felt more like a voyeuristic peeping tom watching some persons personal tragedy unfolding before my eyes.