Allison's Birthday (1981)

The first thing you're likely to notice about Allison's Birthday, a vintage shocker from the land down under, is its outwardly campy qualities: an on-the-nose title, a grainy, washed-out look, and an outrageous opening sequence that may elicit chuckles just as often as it frightens. But here's the thing, this little film is ultimately yet another rock-solid folk horror feature from Australia, this time involving a miniature Stonehenge, druids, occult ritual, transmutation, and of course, references to Lovecraft lore. It whips its mix of heavy metal exploitation horror and thrills in the vein of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Rosemary's Baby into something that has lost none of its ability to unsettle, despite its familiarity.

As in its forebears, a near-constant tension is maintained, and the sense of sinister events brewing offscreen is impossible to shake, though one will have trouble telling from the outset exactly how the story will end. Characters are anything but earth-shattering in terms of originality, but they fulfill their purpose well in that they are written and performed humanely enough that we fear for them and want to see them succeed, despite also knowing that we probably shouldn't get too attached in any case. This character work also really made my skin crawl and that stuck with me later on that same night while I was trying to sleep. Still, I can't deny a sick sort of satisfaction in the ending going to such a bleak and terrifying place. If you ever wished The Skeleton Key had been made with more craft and consideration behind the lens, this might be the film for you.

The presentation of the film is odd, as it's the messiest of the four Aussie folk horror films we've looked at so far, and certainly the cheapest-looking, but certain wild, unfettered touches make it all kinds of worth it in the end. The score is Exhibit A#1: mixing folk music with seventies-style horror synth and relying on distorted electric guitar to create horror stings and scare chords, it stands out as an inspired choice, though it first comes across as strange. The film introduces our main character with a freezeframe with her name and age printed next to her likeness, and while it takes its sweet time, it comes back just before the end in a way that adds a certain punch to the already twisted ending. Yes, it looks kind of cheap and creaky, and the washed-out 16mm look isn't always my favorite, but it absolutely fits the subject matter here.

Overall, it's a winner. Horror movies don't necessarily have to be upsetting to be considered quality, but it certainly doesn't hurt, especially when the film in question is so entrenched in its genre as this one is. It won't win over everyone, as dramatic tension can so often become plain boring if conditions aren't just right during viewing, but for me, it achieved what it set out to do: to unsettle and disturb the discerning horror fan, and I will gladly celebrate its success, even if this film wouldn't exactly get my WGA nomination.