Bloody Birthday Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1981

Unless you're a true 80's horror fan, chances are good you have never heard of Bloody Birthday, a unique horror movie about three children born with no conscious. Upon reaching the age of 10, they begin mercilessly killing people in their quiet neighborhood, yet due to their age and innocent appearances no one suspects they could be the culprits.

If Children of the Corn and the other rare horror films tackling the subject of killer children interest you, you won't want to miss our Feature Presentation.

The 80's were the heydays of the horror genre… it seemed there was no shortage of horror flicks being released, whether they were widely known hits such as Friday the 13th or lesser-known gems such as Bloody Birthday. It's a shame that the genre seemed to die in the 90's, but thanks to the 80's there are still plenty of entertaining flicks to pull out of the treasure chest, dust off, and experience for possibly the first time.

In 1970, three children are born on the same day during a rare phenomenon: a total eclipse of Saturn by the sun and the moon. Since the planet Saturn governs emotional control, these children were born without emotions. 10 years later they become heartless killers and start killing some of the townsfolk, yet the finger of suspicion overlooks them due to their age and innocent façade. That is, until a boy (Timmy Russel played by K.C. Martel) and his teenage sister (Joyce Russel played by Lori Lethin) discovers the shocking truth and tries to warn others of the horrifying reality.

As with any horror film, you don't need to make much sense out of the background to enjoy Bloody Birthday. The plot provides enough of a backdrop to tell an entertaining tale full of death and dismemberment, and really what more does a horror fan need? Poisoned cake, an arrow through the eye, a baseball bat, a revolver… the methods and implements of death are varied and horrifying.

What I enjoyed about Bloody Birthday is its story and atmosphere – there's just something extremely creepy about innocent-appearing kids ruthlessly killing people. And don't ask me where director Ed Hunt found these child actors, but Elizabeth Hoy (who plays Debbie Brody), Billy Jayne aka Billy Jacoby (who plays Curtis Taylor) and Andy Freeman (who plays Steven Seton) were horrifying!

Each of them conveys an incredibly creepy vibe and can transition from sickly-sweet darlings to murderous little devils in the blink of an eye. Perhaps one of the reasons killer-children horror movies are somewhat uncommon is the difficulty in finding a child actor who can convincingly play the role of a psychopath without going over the top. Well, let me tell you that these three kids make most adult slashers look like amateurs.

The set design in Bloody Birthday also compliments the tone of the movie – the town where the children (and victims) reside is one of those perfect suburban communities where you can keep the doors unlocked at night. The contrast between the serenity of the town and the pure evil of the children is deliciously intriguing.

What's that? Ah, someone in the back row inquired about the T&A factor virtually required of all 80's horror movies. Well, rest assured, horror fans, that there is also gratuitous nudity in Bloody Birthday courtesy of the beautiful Julie Brown. But unlike many films, the director finds a way to insert it into the movie in such a manner that it further enhances the creepy atmosphere. You see, the evil little girl has drilled a hole in her closet and runs her own little peep show, allowing her two equally evil little compatriots to watch her older sister undress and dance around to rock music only after they have paid a quarter for the pleasure. Hmmm, if she weren't a psychopathic killer then perhaps her entrepreneurial spirit would have allowed her to go places. Ah well, such is life.

I'll be the first to admit that Bloody Birthday isn't perfect, but perfection really isn't something we expect in a horror film anyways. What this film does possess is a novel premise, a good story, solid acting and an assortment of twisted death sequences.

If you dislike horror movies you might want to take a pass on this one, but otherwise those who can enjoy a good horror or suspense movie should strongly consider obtaining Bloody Birthday.

Movie rating: 7 stars

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