Reviews (39)

Very good horror film entry
Others put this film down comparing it to other less than imaginative horror films, but that is not the case at all. This is a film head and shoulders above the rest of the early 80's slasher films.Actually one of the best.The murderer in this movie is particularly vicious and cruel (that's what makes it way cool)obviously taking delight with each murder. (Notice the smile on the murderers face after one murder in particular?)Both funny and engrossing. Yes I agree with other reviews, the murders, at least some of them are imaginative , as well as clever.I liked the psychological bent of the film. A worthwhile way to spend an evening of video viewing. Give it a try.

Horror movie classic. Who is the killer? Best twists!
Here is another horror movie classic. College kids like this one. Melissa Sue Anderson (Little house on the Prarie) and a gaggle of other university students are being killed one by one. Each one of the students are a little on the crazy side, so no telling whom the killer may be. Her mom had died. Eventually her dad and herself move back into town and the family house. "Virginia" is really down and bothered. But she is making friends in school and considers herself to be in the Top Ten. Cast also includes Tracy Bregman (Days Of Our Lives, Young and the Restless, Bold and the Beautiful) and Glenn Ford (Superman [1978]). Can you guess who the killer is? This RCA home video print is not too good. The color is faded. The film being Canadian might have something to do with that. But this is a good film worth watching and good acting from Melissa Sue Anderson.

Highly Underrated Slasher
5 out 5 stars when it comes to slashers! Clever plot twists, inventive murder scenes, and a great build up to the ending. Plus: Melissa Sue Anderson is great as our lead character, Ginny. Worth a watch!

cheesy fun
okay so it isn't the best movie ever but it's fun and funny. i liked it.

You Say It's Your Birthday
Thanks to horror classics like Halloween, The Howling, and The Exorcist, the genre saw a resurgence in the 70's and 80's, not even matched by today's standards. More often then not though, most of them were just pale imatations of, the crazed killer stalking teens with raging hormones plot. Very few of these films broke away from the pack, comming up with a new spin, an exception is the mildly clever Happy Birthday To Me.

Thanks to severe head trauma, Virginia Wainwright, (Melissa Sue Anderson, who tried to shed her past role on TV's Little House, but hasn't done much since) part of her brain is damaged, to the point where she can't remember her recent past. When she returns to school at the Crawford Academy, she is welcomed into the Top Ten, a snooty social clique. Things turn deadly, as someone starts killing off the members of the group. With her 18th birthday approaching Virginia starts to doubt her own sanity, thinking that the killer's real identity, may indeed, be linked to her own forgotton past - or that she herself may even be the killer, acting out, during one of her blackouts.

Directed by Lee J. Thompson, who worked on the original Cape Fear and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, elevates the film a bit, and makes you (almost) forget that it's really just a slasher flick. The interesting twist of the possiblity that the heroine may be the murderer is also kinda fun. The film is also given even more credability, by the prescence of the great Glenn Ford, as Dr. David Faraday. The script has all the familiar horror film cliches, of course but as I said, it's still got enough there to make it watchable and even fun.

Happy Birthday To Me is not yet available on DVD. Therefore, VHS will have to do for now. It may be hard to find a copy of it. If you do...Rent don't Buy...It's worth a look for horror enthusiasts *** and a half stars ... Read more

Description

The spine-chilling true story of the cat-and-mouse pursuit of America's most diabolical serial killer. Brian Dennehy stars in this riveting, true-life story of a young detective's (Michael Riley) relentless pursuit of the sophisticated, psychopathic mass murderer John Wayne Gacy. A suspense-packed tour de force of intrigue and terror--all the more shocking because it's true. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

This movie needed more about Gacy and less about the cops!
I know this is based on the cop's perspective of things, but Brian Dennehy (as Gacy) was only in this movie 40% of the time! And only 5% of that showed what the guy was actually about and what motivated the police in the first place!! Instead of giving a gritty, real life portrayal of what a serial killer did (in order to invoke sympathy for the victims and strong repulsion of the character) we are treated to long, boring scenes of investigative ho-hum and the top cop's family life (??!!) I walked away thinking that Gacy was silly rather than evil, and something tells me that wasn't that wasn't the moviemakers' goal...

Excellent acting
This is one of my alltime favourite movies. Brian Dennehy is really scary as Gacy. If you want to watch a great movie, watch this one, but not alone. You really get the feeling that Mr Gacy must have been one sick man, but quite clever, until he got caught, that is. Thank God for Kozenzyk and his team and that they were so persistent catching him, otherwise, who knows how many more men he would have killed unnoticed.....

Brian Denehy at his-evil-best
I first saw this movie years ago and still pick it every now and then because first it's a true crime story, and then Brian Denehy's acting is so extraordinary accurate. If you want to start a collection on thrillers or if you're interested in true crime, and more specifically about the cat and mouse game that Gacy played to the very end, buy this movie, you won't regret it.

Gacy the Evil Clown
Having lived in Chicago when the actual Gacy horror story was first disclosed, I thought that this film (which I think was first made for TV) captured the eerie personality of a serial killer who dressed up as a clown to entertain kids. Dennehey is great.

Dennehy at his best - a chilling, cold and gritty movie
An absolutely fantastic movie portraying the life of John Gacy, a simple man who runs a building contractor company. In his spare time, he loves entertaining sick children in hospital, dressing up as Pongo the clown. But what John does in his spare time is both inconcievable and terrifying. This film is based on a true story - that of John Gacy, and how in his spare time he sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered thirty-three young men, making him America's single-most brutal serial killer of all time. "To Catch a Killer" begins as yet another young man goes missing, Gacy having lured him into his house and taken it from there. When his mother notices him gone, she calls the police. And in steps Michael Riley, who plays Lieutenant Packer, a man struggling to balance his job with his family, much to his son's dislike. Packer spends every waking moment pursuing Gacy, uncovering vital and astonishing clues along the way, revealling more and more about Gacy's twisted actions, bringing the movie to a terrifying ending where at last the boy's body is found. An excellent movie, with Dennehy's best performance ever, and a one even as good by Riley. It revealls the horrifying truth about "stranger-danger", and portrays that, like a breakdown on a lost and lonely highway late at night, it could happen to you. One memorable and terrifying scene has Gacy doing his performance as a clown at the children's hospital. Riley and his men track him down and watch him as he entertains away, showing off tricks and telling jokes. Then as Gacy notices Riley is watching, he performs a cunning trick in which he borrows Riley's handcuffs and demonstrates on a young boy a trick, to see if the boy can get himself out of the handcuffs without the key. Riley watches intently, and Dennehy's role is highlighted with the terror and fear he gives us. ... Read more

Description

This extraordinary true drama, set in the small town of Jasper, TX in1998, explores the aftermath of the horrible death of James Byrd, Jr., the African- American who was dragged to his death by three white men. An outraged nation watchedas the white sheriff, played convincingly by Jon Voight, and the first black mayor ofJasper, played by Louis Gossett, Jr. struggle to maintain control of their town and theirpersonal emotions. Jasper, Texas is a shocking reminder of the racial tension that stillexists today. ... Read more

Description

If you found out you only had months left, how would you choose to live?That is a question that Dr. Gerry Klooster (Richard Kiley, Patch Adams) and his faimly had to face once he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's .Knowing what quality of life he has to anticipate, he tells his wife Ruth (Eva Marie Saint, Nothing in Common, On the Waterfront) that he does not want to live out this disease and needs her help.Does she turn away, or help him with his request to end his life?Watch this unsettling dilemma unfold as Ruth and her children struggle with how to help their father without hurting themselves and destroying the family.Will they attempt to save their father, tear the family apart, or realize that sometimes it's Time To Say Goodbye? ... Read more