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ALISON'S BIRTHDAY (1979)
Directed by Ian Coughlan
VidAmerica VHS
Reviewed 10.05.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
"I'll be glad when Wednesday
is over." Alison, I'm completely
with you.
Don't take that the wrong way. Keeping
time with the tendencies of 1970s/80s
Australian horror (Frenchman's
Farm and Deadly
Possession, to name two),
Alison's Birthday takes
it easy. Chit-chat and faintly sinister
stirrings are how it's done. But
rather than inducing complete fatigue,
Ali and pals float along with attractive,
low budget class. This is a film
for an empty weeknight, mostly satisfying
while blazing the path for a pleasant
tomorrow. It's also the finest cut-rate
gyp of Rosemary's Baby
that ever was...complete with a
Billy Joel LP. And minus the baby.
That's no faint praise, let me tell
you.
At age sixteen, parentless Alison
(Joanne Samuel, Mad Max)
and two friends deal out some Ouija
exploration. A possessed warning
from Alison's Father's spirit leads
to death by bookcase. Ouch. A freeze
frame notice brings us to age eighteen.
Alison, now working in a record
store and seeing a guy named Peter,
plans on spending her big nineteenth
b-day back home with surrogate parents
Aunt Jen and Uncle Dean Findlay.
After arrival, the black magic cult
dreams begin. Pete feels threatened.
So do the Findlays. An evil plot
is revealed. Doctor Lyall is in
on it. The message is clear: Don't
mess with The Cult Of Myrna.
Alison's Birthday is stuffed
with feathers. Subdued and cozy,
the film's nifty PG-level thrills
(a haunted forest, the cemetery
showdown) are few and far between.
Luckily, the likable cast, sort-of-obvious
twists, and sharp direction from
writer-director Ian Coughlan ceaselessly
swoop in with welcomed relief. Satan
never shows his face, but the almighty
downbeat ending more than makes
up for that.
Humpday, beware! Alison's got your
number.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
This tape was manufactured in 1983.
I'm impressed. The image was sharp,
bright, and low on color saturation.
Good shape overall, with little
to no print defects. The mono sound
bowed in and out a few times, but
was otherwise perfectly listenable.
The back cover art features the
longest plot synopsis I've ever
seen.
EXTRAS
Just so you know, VidAmerica deals
in "Special Interest Video
Software." I assumed that meant
video games like "Montezuma's
Revenge" and "Jumpman
Junior", but actually, it was
a trailer for The Riddle Of
The Sands. Bullshit.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Keep this film away from the weekends.
As long as you don't make a special
point of watching Alison's Birthday,
all will be well. It's a decent
rip-off that moves slow and never
crosses the line. I could've used
another cameo from The Piano Man,
but you can't win 'em all. |
The new Alison
Grandma's house
Ouija teeth
By the power of 52nd Street
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