I think I remember seeing Bloody Birthday on TV at one point but I never got through it because it was late at night and I was tired, needless to say, I finally saw it and it was one of the best 80’s slasher movies I’ve seen. This movie is about 3 babies that were born on the same night during an eclipse of the moon by Saturn, the planet that controls emotion. Well, the result turned these kids into cold-hearted killers and when a teenager and her brother try to tell the neighborhood, they fall on deaf ears. There are a number of things that I really liked but the main reason why it was so enjoyable was because of the feel that I got when I saw it.
As I was watching this movie I noticed that the dialogue was very appalling and very corny, but I have to hand it to the actors for taking something and turning it into something watchable. I wasn’t taken aback by the acting at all and for, what looks like, a low budge movie the acting was pretty good. The kids that played the killers did a great job and I think they earned a spot in the top 10 killer kids of horror movies list.
I also like the originality of Bloody Birthday. We have all seen killer kids movies and nowadays there are a lot of them out there, but back then we only had a few movies such as The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby or Village of the Damned but I think this movie was really bold and there wasn’t any thing that supernatural to it. I mean, with the other movies, they re either possessed, demons or Satan himself… these kids are just kids who were born on a strange day. The story progressed a good pace and it jumped right into the killings and left no room for recovery.
This movie was also very brutal, to a point. It’s easy to see that the director and writer have no mercy for their characters. These kids kill anybody and one mother… well, I won’t say anything but I will say, you cannot help but feel sorry for her, especially in the end. Even though these kids are brutal, because this movie takes place in the suburbs, they are also really resourceful.
I’ll even go as far to argue that his movie is somewhat of a satire on suburban life. Everybody seems to be happy, wholesome and most of the neighborhood gathers for these kids’ birthday. There are stereotypes and clichés all over this film and it says a lot about suburban life.
What I really liked about this movie and it’s something that I rarely get when I watch an old film and that’s the feel of watching something that was made in 1980’s. Everything about the release was nostalgic for me’ from the film grain, to the audio dubbing, to the clothes and to the props, it was just a trip down the past. Bloody Birthday may have a few dialogue problems to work out but this movie is really worth a viewing. It’s one of the better killer kids flicks out there and it has something that you don’t really see in horror films today… originality.
