Join me on a great retro trip to the deep dark days of the early eighties and slasher film in the United States.  Today we’re hitting Happy Birthday To Me, courtesy of Anchor Bay, who has a  great track record of bringing back great old horror flicks and putting them on DVD.

Even better, you’re getting a special advance look, as this one won’t hit shelves until October 13th, so mark your calendar, because you’re probably going to want to check this one out.

Everyone at Crawford Academy wants to be part of the most popular clique at school so badly that they’d die for a chance, at least until someone takes it a step farther and starts killing them off instead.  New student Ginny is desperate for a place herself, despite the killings, and it looks like they’re about to accept her.  But the clique and Ginny share a surprising past, and what they have in common will make your jaw drop.

Okay, yes, this is easily one of the weirdest chunks of eighties slasher fare I’ve seen in a long time.  When even the original poster promises “six of the most bizarre murders you will ever see” you know someone’s got a screw loose.  But despite the sheer amount of weirdness and nonsense you’ll slog through in the course of watching this one, you’ll also discover that Happy Birthday To Me is actually pretty entertaining.

The phrase “will keep you guessing until the end” gets bandied around a lot these days, but I personally say that it qualifies in this case.  By the time the end got here, I had barely a clue what happened, but I definitely enjoyed the ride.

The Screenhead Ten Scale, meanwhile, also deeply enjoyed this wild ride and gives Happy Birthday to Me a respectable seven out of ten.  Pretty nicely done, Anchor Bay, even if a bit weirdly done.