When a Stranger Calls (1979)/ Happy Birthday to Me (1981) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Fred Walton (When a Stranger Calls) J. Lee Thompson (Happy Birthday to Me)
Starring: Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst, Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford
Rated: R/Region: A/1×85/Number of disc: 1
Available from Mill Creek
When a Stranger Calls
High school student Jill Johnson is traumatized over an evening of babysitting by a caller who repeatedly asks, “Have you checked the children lately?” After notifying the police, Jill is told that the calls are coming from inside the house…
This is a film that while not bad overall does seem like two movies in one. We have the start of the film dealing with Jill Johnson, and then we pick back up with her seven years later. Those two parts of the film are well done, creepy, and overall a good time. But in between these two parts we have a hunk of the film where a ticked off detective is out to get the killer once he’s been released. This is a cat and mouse game and does seem to drag the whole thing down a bit.
Of course it does finish well, but it nearly gets to a point of no return there for a small portion of the film. The acting isn’t bad or anything of that nature, but we have no gore and I question why we even have such a strong portion of the film dedicated to this part of the plot. That being the case regardless it does start very well and finish strong. Also, let us give Mill Creek some credit for making a very awesome transfer of the film as well.
– None
Happy Birthday to Me
Virginia is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday, a grueling set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey. Could it be her? She suffers from blackouts due to a freak accident one year earlier. We soon learn the truth behind her accident and what is going on…
And that folks is the simple way of telling you of the plot because it runs much deeper than that and it can at times get a little confusing so that right there should tell you that somebody put more effort into thinking this one out, which can’t be said for a lot of slashers in the 80′s…or hell even the 90′s and now. The casting here isn’t completely terrible as the over-all acting won’t bring it down that much. One thing I noticed off the bat was that the actor playing Ann was none other than Tracey E. Bregman of The Young & The Restless fame..not that I..um..watch that or anything. The kills here aren’t overly gory but they do have cool gore to them. It’s the quick cut kind that really to a point saves the effect, while everyone loves a good gruesome shot of a kill, keeping the camera on one too long can cause it to look fake, so you don’t have that trouble here. However after you see the ending, a few of these kills don’t add up.
Speaking of the ending, I won’t give anything away but I bet M. Night Shyamalan loves this movie, I also bet this movie’s director J. Lee Thompson must have loved Scooby-Doo! And that’s really all you need to know about that. So it’s not the best of the slashers, but above the rest for sure. Which when added up with a very cartoon-like ending scores this one where it belongs, just above average! At the end of the day it runs a little long for my taste in slashers but it’s almost painless to watch. Also, it does come with another strong transfer.
– None
