Alison's Birthday (1981)
Alison's Birthday is an Australian horror film that came out in 1981.
Ever played with a Ouija board? Well Alison's friends talked her into playing with one during a sleepover. One of friends ends up getting possessed by a spirit claiming to be Alison's father with an ominous warning that bad things will happen if she returns home on her 19th birthday. And like, DO NOT GO HOME.
So what does she do? Literally the exact opposite.
So off she goes but brings along her boyfriend, Pete. They both are like cautiously optimistic and all seems to be smooth sailing at first upon meeting her aunt and uncle. However, it's only a matter of time before strange happenings has them both questioning what disturbing agenda that creepy ass family is up to.
Overall, I like this movie for the most part. I mean, after calibrating my expectations since this is such an old movie. I seriously have not heard of this movie before! Insane, I know! The movie started off strong with that creepy ouija board scene but unfortunately after that, the movie becomes a bit of a slow burner which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you like slow burners. Ideal movie if you are not a fan of fast paced movies. Still kept my attention if we're being honest. One thing I really like is it's not over produced like some modern horror movies can be like a multitude of jump scares or constant creepy sound effects and other non sensical quips. I would describe this as a pretty laid back kind of horror movie where it doesn't go overboard to get those creeps from you. Sometimes, it's the SILENCE that exhibits the scare factor.
Also to note:
There is a bit of mystery surrounding this film because there's no music credits listed at the end of the movie. Which totally sucks because there was a snippet in the beginning of the movie that had me captivated to find out who is behind this band/song. Shazam kept giving me multiple erroneous results, googling lyrics didn't help since there's only 1 line, also tried Google Lens on the album cover which also gives fuck all results. At least I am not the only one who wants to know though because 7 months ago (as of this writing), there was a reddit post inquiring on this same thing. Also the movie's ending song is written by the movie's writer and director, Ian Coughlan. As a result, the woman's voice remains uncredited and other people have search for her identity as well. It is possible the aforementioned rock song was also written for the movie and the full length song just may be forever a mystery. đŸ˜
So if this movie had a message, what would it be? Fuck yo family!
Is this movie for kids? Littles? Nah. But it's perfect for teenagers if they ever want to see classic 80s horror.
Just like the rock music credits, the disclaimers for this movie doesn't exist.
So what is the verdict?
Has all the good elements of a horror movie
