User reviews

Story about three eclipse (maybe even Indigo, ha) children beginning their love for murder. Oh, and the people who are "hot" on their trail.

Bloody Birthday, a pretty mediocre title for the film, was a nice lil surprise. I was in no way expecting a film that dealt with blood-thirsty psychopath kids. And I may say it's also one of the best flicks I've seen with kids as the villains. By the end of the movie I seriously wanted these kids to die in horrible fashion.

It's a really solid 80s horror flick, but how these kids are getting away with all this mayhem and murder is just something that you can't not think about. Even the slightest bit of investigation would easily uncover these lil sh!ts as the murderers. But there seems to be only a couple police in town, well by the end, only one, and he seemed like a dimwit, so I suppose they could have gotten away with it. Haha, yeah, and I'm a Chinese jet-pilot.

Nevertheless, this movie delivered some evilass kids who were more than entertaining, a lot of premarital sex and a decent amount of boobage. No kiddin! If you're put off by the less than stellar title, dash it from your mind and give this flick a shot. It's a very recommendable and underrated 80s horror flick.

I can't believe I rarely ever see this title mentioned by all you eighties horror freaks and I definitely won't be joining all my fellow reviewers here in saying that 'Bloody Birthday' is awful viewing. On the contrary, I enjoyed it very much and I was pleasantly surprised by the ingeniousness and surprise twists it offers. Don't just refer to this film as being 'another 80's slasher' because the victims here are rather unlikely and so are the killers. We're introduced to three cherubic-looking youngsters who were all born during a solar eclipse. At the moment they were delivered, planet Saturn was blocked by both the sun and the moon and, due to this, the kids are emotionless and seemly without conscience. This really starts to show around their tenth birthday as they go on a merciless killing spree.

Granted, this stuff is incredibility far-fetched and even slightly offensive but, seriously, who cares? Unlike many other horror films from this period, it at least attempts to bring something original and imaginative. For once, the kids' acting is good and the entire film has a creepy atmosphere and grizzly music. The murders sequences are grim and tense, and it's always eerie to see them getting committed by angel-faced kids. I don't know who hired the 3 kids but they did a good job. Especially the girl and the kid with glasses are highly memorable. The bleak images of the heartless trio remind you of classic highlights, such as 'Village of the Damned', 'The Bad Seed' and 'Children of the Damned'. This film is nowhere near as memorable as these milestones but great fun and not one horror lover will regret watching this.

Bloody Birthday was written and directed by Ed Hunt. Not particularly the greatest genius in cinema, but a pleasantly deranged fella who also brought us immensely entertaining cheesefests like 'The Brain' and 'Starship Invasions'. If all this isn't enough to convince you yet, Bloody Birthday has a lot of nudity. And not just any nudity, but a topless dance-act by MTV-VJ Julie Brown. Oh, and keep your eyes open for a completely redundant cameo by Joe Penny, later the star of TV-series 'Jake and the Fatman'. Check it out!!

An absolute classic of 80's scare flix. This one isn't like any other as it pits pint-size, wild-eyed, psychotic youngsters with an urge to kill against all the grown-ups in town. Bud from JUST ONE OF THE GUYS (80's gold again) plays one of the killer-kids and he's paired up with one of the little girls Jake Blues tries to purchase in the BLUES BROTHERS. There is a third blond boy, but he keeps disappearing from the movie for whatever reason. The violence is hilarious at times and also surprisingly gruesome in spots. The demonic gang of smiling kids, though somehow possessed by extra-planetary means, bear little resemblance to the droid-ish Children of the Damned, who never thought to use pistols, crossbows and shovels to kill those pesky adults. Julie Brown (not Downtown Julie Brown-the other one) shows her rack, like three times, as she dances around in her bedroom. This movie is a rarity that I cannot believe I missed growing up in the 80's. This would have been my absolute favorite movie as a kid if I had seen it. Where is the sequel the ending begs for? This movie is just incredible. Seek it out at all costs.

Talk about controversial story lines, this is THE GOOD SON taken to the next level! The plot concerns a murderous trio of triplets (two boys and a girl) who suddenly develop homicidal tendencies on their 11th (bloody) birthday and decide to try out their newfound murdering tendencies on their sleepy little town. Everybody thinks they're little angels, so the only people who can bring them down are a college student and her younger brother, who know the psychotic threesome's true nature. But our two heroes have just been added to the hit-list..

It doesn't have the best acting in the world and the movie print seems more than a bit fuzzy, but overall this is an effective little low-budget horror with effective moments of suspense and even a dash of gore. The novelty of having children as the villains helps the plot through its slower spots, and the movie makes good use of the weapons the kids have at their disposal, be they rat-poison smeared onto the icing of a cake or arrows shot into the peephole of a sister's bedroom. Some may find the premise of these youngsters going around slaughtering at will a little hard to swallow, but for anyone who can suspend disbelief for 90 minutes, this is a fun ride. I give it a 5/10. Watch out for the nice twist at the end..

In Meadowvale, California three babies are born simultaneously during a solar eclipse. Years later, the kids (Billy Jacoby, Elizabeth Hoy and Andy Freeman) turn ten and go on a violent killing spree, offing horny teens, schoolteachers, cops and others. It's a pretty sick/tasteless combo of THE BAD SEED, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and Friday THE 13TH, and kind of jarring to see these calculating kiddies shooting, stabbing and strangling their victims (making some look like accidents), stalking people with guns, spying on people having sex, pretending to put poison in birthday cake, keeping a scrapbook with obituary clippings and doing all kinds of other horrible things!

Name-value stars Susan Strasberg as a stern teacher and Jose Ferrer as a doctor receive top billing for bit roles; the real star is Lori Lethin (also in THE PREY and RETURN TO HORROR HIGH) as the astrology obsessed teen who catches on. I don't know where they found the child actors at, but they're all very good. You may also want to catch this for comedienne Julie Brown's topless dance scene.

Score: 6 out of 10

'Bloody Birthday' is one of those movies that surprisingly ages well enough to remain watchable nowadays. Not a masterpiece for sure, but still entertaining and surprisingly enough, it doesn't really have a lot of unintentionally funny scenes. I know it's a shocker if we keep in mind that this is a low budget flick from the early 80s about a group of evil children who kill people. But trust me, the movie manages to remain respectable and watchable for the most part.

The story revolves around three children who are born during a a total eclipse. According to astrology, during eclipses, the sun and the moon block Saturn, which controls emotions. As a consequence, the three children who are born that day, eventually become uncaring and evil. Since they don't experience any feelings of remorse whatsoever, these 10-year-old kids gang up against basically everyone who stands in their way, including their own parents and siblings... and kill them! The body count increases day after day and the police authorities believe that there's a psychopath lurking around the place. In the meantime, Debbie, Curtis and Steven, don't hesitate to keep butchering people.

I was expecting some hilariously bad scenes, but the movie proved me wrong. True, it's not exactly what most people would consider a 'serious' horror movie, but if I have to be fair, I'd say that the story is decently executed. One of the most important reasons why one would normally expect laughable situations (like I did), it's because in these kind of movies in which the main villains are children, the young actors tend to be plain awful and they make the whole thing laughable. Let's face it: kids tend to be horrible actors, which is understandable and we can't blame them for that. But to my surprise, the three young actors who played the merciless killers in this film, looked very disturbing and not at all funny. The rest of the actors are also good and if you're a George Clooney fan, you can see his uncle playing a doctor in this movie. Yeah, I know right?... who cares?. Also, Julie Brown, the great actress, singer, comedienne and gay icon, gives a solid performance as the naughty older sister and in case anyone is interested in nudity: she also strips in one of the scenes and she looks great naked. Too bad she didn't have more time on the screen though! Julie is 'absolutely fabulous':P

So basically, this movie is fine if you're in the mood for some modest horror from the 80s. My only objection regarding 'Bloody Birthday' would be the way to justify the children's motives. This is perhaps one of the lowest points of the film. Let's see: if children who were born during an eclipse end up being heartless killers, then how come these three were the only ones who actually murdered people? I'm sure there were other children who had been born the same day... and during other days of total eclipse too, oh well!. Overall, no big deal, it's just a simple observation, that's all. I've seen worse, trust me. Take 'The Children' (1980) for example, in which the precocious killer get their evilness after being turned into zombies by toxic cloud. No, believe me, 'Bloody Birthday' is far more decent and if you enjoy simple slashers, you're going to enjoy this one very much.

This is an interesting and fun little horror movie from the early 80's that probably had a brief run in the drive-ins I would imagine. I won't break down by ridiculous "categories" such as "suspense" or "gore" which I personally find quite hilarious, but in sum, if you like grind-house films of the era, you might enjoy this. It seesaws between very dumb and quite entertaining with a few genuine scares (such as the opening sequence) and a little splash of suspense. It has that cheap, raw 70's feel that try as they might, horror movie makers just can't correctly emulate, and scenes of such utter nonsense that would never slip by editors these days; which is a good thing. Performances are pretty good. For instance, the updated Omen suffered severely by the less than convincing devil-child performance. However, the kids here are totally fine. This is a kooky little movie and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Three ten-year-old children born at the same time during a solar eclipse begin to slyly murder anybody that offends them.

While killer kid movies weren't exactly new at the time of this twisted 80's slasher the theme of children as murderers works nicely for this film. Bloody Birthday does deliver some good chills and suspense, while managing to be a competent killer thriller with some strange qualities. It straddles a fine line between cheesy and creepy, but it does remain entertaining throughout with an interesting plot. There's some strong murder scenes, as well as a good bit of nudity to establish this as a solid slasher guilty pleasure.

The cast does a fairly good job. Young stars Elizabeth Hoy and K.C. Martel deliver some menacing performances, while rising star Julie Brown does a striptease before a memorable murder scene. Veteran star Susan Strasberg does well as the teacher and Jose Ferrer has a cameo appearance.

All around this off-beat slasher entry isn't bad, though it's admittedly not flawless, but it is well worth watching for genre fans.

*** out of ****

Once of those rare classic 80's slashers collectors adore getting their hands on.I was instantly freaked out by the teen star Lori Lethin within 5 minutes of me going WHO THE HECK IS THAT, as collectors or DVD fanatics will do when they recognize someone. I of course had to stop the movie as I wouldn't rest until I knew where I knew her from, turns out she from the movie The Day After, that awesome 80'3 nuclear war TV movie that blew everyone's mind and sit proudly in my DVD collection. The movie itself, is great, good old fashion 80's horror with most all the ingredients required. Those kids, very well played, the girl selling peepshows to her sisters bedrooms trip shows was shockingly hilarious. I mean 10 and up to that, her own sister, whom when one of the boys asks "What ff we get caught" she retorts with "We wont' all her brains are in her bra".. I 'bout fell out...lmao Typical lower budget but the story (decent), the acting (no complaints, very well done by all), the follow through (well played and not too ridiculous) and the kills all came together for a good 7.5/10. Certainly nothing to sneeze at for all you slasher collectors

Bloody Birthday is a totally rubbish slasher movie from beginning to end.

I found the acting to be pretty good considering the genre of movie and its obvious low budget. I don't know what was going on with the cinematography but it looked ghastly. Way too over-saturated. Maybe this is a bad transfer to DVD or maybe it always looked like that, I don't know.

There really are no redeeming qualities to speak of. There are a few deaths but not really gory. I wouldn't bother with it if I was you. The best thing about the DVD was the 15 minute interview with producer Max Rosenberg who was very amusing and honest. He didn't have anything good to say about director Ed Hunt and admits the movie was a failure, but he would like to re-make it as he believes it has a decent plot. However, he died in 2004 so I guess it will be up to someone else to take on that challenge. With the way things have been going in the last few years it wouldn't surprise me, there's at least one re-make per week at the cinema these day. It couldn't be any worse than the original I suppose but I couldn't care less whether it got re-made or not.

On June 9, 1970, in the somnolent, sun-steeped Californian suburb of Meadowvale, under the pitiless raven gaze of a total solar eclipse, three especially gifted children were born...and just ten years later, these psycho-headed, pistol-packing poppets would unleash a sickening swathe of sinisterly slashing savagery the beleaguered inhabitants of Meadowvale would never, ever forget! At ten years old Jason Voorhees was still mewling behind his momma's apron strings, before their 10th birthday, the town-terrorizing triumvirate of petite skull-smashin' blonde, Debbie (Elizabeth Hoy), skin-crawlingly creepy, Curtis, (Billy Jacoby) and serial slasher, Steven (Andy Freeman) had already begun their sickening slaughter of the local nubiles that would give Ted Bundy an even greater inferiority complex!

Director, Ed Hunt's genuinely nightmarish creep-fest 'Birthday Party' is a sinfully celebratory, eye-popping, peephole-peeping, perfectly perverse, pint-sized slasher classic that can punch way above its weight! This year you won't need to consult your 'horror-scope', since you are ALL destined to meet an exceptionally small, dark-minded misfit who will blow your minds...all over the living-room wall! - 'Behind the bouncing golden curls, some pretty little girls are more slice n' dice than sugar and spice!'

Three children born during an eclipse are born without empathy or normal human emotions and turn into sadistic killers after they've grown up a little bit and two other neighborhood kids think there's something horribly wrong and end up putting themselves in harm's way.

What a cruel, sadistic, and really nasty slasher Bloody Birthday is. And I mean that in the best possible way. I'm sure sure it's one of the best slashers from this time period, but it's far from the worst and there are a lot of interesting ideas at play here. Plus, it's awesome to see kids not only be the killers, but to be put in jeopardy themselves. It's a brave move that some might find offensive, but it worked for me.

Is it a poorly acted, cliche-ridden pile of trash? Of course. Anyone who doesn't realize that when they pick up the box in the video store probably doesn't have any right judging movies in the first place. Thus, I will now rate the aspects of the film that we actually care about on a scale of 1 to 10:

Violence and gore: 4 -- For this genre, there are very few deaths, and the gore is almost non-existent. Anyone looking for a little blood should probably look elsewhere. The only redeeming quality is the fact that kids are doing these awful things, which raises the bar a little.

Suspense: 1 -- Okay, I feel bad for anyone who gets scared by this trio of dorky looking kids.

Nudity/sex: 7 -- Lots of boobage from three different women, one of whom is the MTV vj Julie Brown. There are two sex scenes, but little is shown in them.

Unintentional humor -- 4 -- There are a few good laughs with the kids trying to act scary, but all in all, it's just bad, not funny bad.

Overall -- 4 -- It's not unwatchable. There are a few fun moments, and enough nudity to keep your attention for the entire movie. However, only watch this movie if you're a big fan of the 80's slasher flicks. This definitely falls on the lower end of the scale, but it's not all the way at the bottom. The real downside is the disappointing ending. It almost ruined the movie for me.

Murders start occurring in a small Californian town. The menace responsible? Three young children.

In Meadowvale California (1970), we see that three babies are born at pretty much the exact same time to three separate families during an eclipse. The movie jumps exactly ten years forward and we see a couple brutally killed while making out in a cemetery. The culprits are quickly revealed to the audience as the three children who were born ten years prior! After they kill the sheriff, who happens to be the father of one of them, their friend Timmy from school witnesses their treachery. Despite his claims, no one believes it to be true and the kids continue to add to the bodycount. It'll be up to Timmy and his teenage sister Joyce to prove to the town that children are murdering people in their small town.

Bloody Birthday was a plesant surprise when I first watched it. I expected an early 80's mess, but what I got was a well acted thriller with an interesting story that kept my attention the whole way. A lot of the murders that take place by the kids are in broad daylight and close to the public eye. They take a lot of risks which shows the pure evilness and insanity of them. They all share this murderous bond which 'Bloody Birthday' points to being because of the eclipse that happened right as they were born. Other than that, the movie doesn't dive into more motive or how that eclipse has caused their evil ways which I thought was a good thing. The murders were well done and a bit graphic. The shocking element was seeing the 10 year olds commit the crimes all while showing zero emotion.

The acting was impressive from all involved. Veteran star Susan Strasberg was effective as the teacher, but literally had two scenes. The true star of Bloody Birthday was Lori Lethin who played Joyce, the teenage sister of the boy who was targeted by the killer children. She played every beat of terror, as well as fight, very well. All of the child actors did a good job as well, with Elizabeth Hoy and Billy Jacoby as standouts.

Bloody Birthday is a compelling little unknown 80's horror gem which almost feels like it could have been an ABC TV movie of the week (if not for the nudity and graphic murder scenes).

7/10

3 children who were born during an eclipse turn out to be wicked sociopaths who like to murder teens and adults in horrible ways and it's up to some other neighborhood kids to try to warn everyone before they're all killed.

Blood Birthday has everything you'd expect from a slasher movie - the deaths are fairly gruesome, there's a little nudity, and it features a few semi-well known actors who make glorified cameos. It also has a wicked sense of dark humor and is a lot meaner than many films of this type. Having children not only in danger but being the ones putting others in danger raising the stakes a lot. It's not the best slasher from this time period, but it's memorable enough to worth your time.

In BLOODY BIRTHDAY, three psychopathic 10 year-olds decide to murder just about everyone in sight. Even the town sheriff is on their hit list!

Utterly preposterous, with a mean streak a mile long, there's still much mirth to be found here. This is mostly because of Timmy (K.C. Martel), the one kid they simply cannot seem to kill, no matter how hard they try! He's indestructible! This infuriates these terror tots to no end!

This could very well be the perfect 1980's movie! Especially, since none of the adult females are able to keep their clothes on for very long at all...

This is a really dumb, entirely suspenseless, early 80's slasher movie that takes itself way too seriously. Largely an oddity, "Bloody Birthday" differentiates itself from other slasher flatsom by having its killers all adolescents. Sounds good...but unfortunately, it really isn't. Aside from some eclectic casting (e.g. Joe Penny of "Riptide" and "Jake & the Fatman" fame) and a seemingly risky premise, "Bloody Birthday" is terminally average. Expect 4-5 entirely tame murders, a couple topless scenes, and an abandoned mystery subplot, which builds throughout the film's first half, only to be completely discarded later. (Likely due to poor editing). Anyhow, the child acting is surprisingly decent, but the film suffers from an essentially worthless story and a pervasive disdain for realism. (There is something distractingly unrealistic in almost every scene). It isn't ever really funny and it certainly isn't scary, which leaves one ineffectually indifferent. I wasn't completely bored with this movie, I guess, but I couldn't help but see how low the aim was. In the end, I'd say "Bloody Birthday" is like polenta. It sounds exotic at first, but it turns out being really bland. It isn't terrible or gross or anything; its actually quite edible. However, I doubt it'll be anybody's favorite. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

This is not the greatest of films or even the finest of slasher movies but it is a bit different. At the beginning it tells us of three babies born on the first day when there was an eclipse. We then move on ten years and clearly there is something not too good, especially as this opens in a cemetery and an older couple having sex. But when they think its a good time to go in an open grave they are brutally dispatched. As we realise but do not see who is shown us, we imagine that the three children will be our slasher. As the film continues we really see the killing by the ten year old kids. So, not fantastic but interesting and the story keeps up and a birthday that has three cakes but the little girl is the most scaring of the three.

On 9th June 1970 three babies (Curtis, Debbie and Steven) are born at the same Californian hospital during a solar eclipse. Ten years on during their birthday celebrations they go on a killing spree, nobody is safe, not even members of their own families. Only teenager Joyce and her younger brother Timmy suspect - or rather know - that the murders are being done by the evil threesome. Joyce studies astrology and sees evil in their horoscopes! Made during the Golden Age of the Slasher Movie we get teens having sex (and dying for it), nudity and some good kills. Unlike many horror movies most of the events occur during the day, no doubt the kids tuck up into bed early. The performances are all very good, if anything the child actors out perform the adults. Steven is perhaps the quietest of the three killers; Debbie looks and acts like a little angel but kills off the local Sheriff - who happens to be her father - early on; Curtis, with his thick glasses, is the ringleader and is a character that you can't help but hate. No spoilers but the last scene is brilliant. By no means the goriest or scariest slasher of its time, however BB does have some great kills and also contains some humour too, in other words it's a fun horror movie. I was born 6th June 1970 so I guess that may in part explain why I like it like I do but for a kids that kill movie it is well worth seeing.

Not a bad film for an oldie! I personally wanted to batter living hell out of the 3 little s**ts! I found myself shouting obscenities at the horrible little b****ds!

It starts off cute and then you realize the main characters are more evil then average snot nose kids. They'll shoot, spy on several people, obliterate someone, and use deadly arrows; this is unlike most horror! It's great how it keeps the viewer intrigued some oldies are difficult to focus on.

When you make a film with a killer-kids premise, there are two effective ways to approach it; you can either make it as realistic as possible, creating believable characters and situations, or you can make it as fun as possible by playing it for laughs (something which the makers of "Silent Night, Deadly Night" did, for example, on an equally controversial subject: a killer Santa). The people who made "Bloody Birthday", however, do neither of those things; they simply rely on the shock value of the image of a kid with a gun (or a knife, or a noose, or an arrow) in his/her hand. The result is both offensive and stupid. The whole film looks like a bad idea that was rushed through production (and then kept from release for several years). It's redeemed a tiny bit by good performances from the kids, but it's VERY sloppily made. (*1/2)