It could be argued that the most frightening form of Horror cinema comes in the form of possession. A terror that many have lain awake in bed at night, fearing that an entity may swoop in and take control of them, movies that triggered this emotion include 1973’s The Exorcist and 1976’s The Omen. Two pillars in the world of possession/satanic-based Horror, many others followed suit in the ‘70s era. Some more well-known than others, the dark arts, rituals, and the occult were explicitly explored in the underrated 1977 film The Sentinel, Dario Argento’s 1977 classic Suspiria, and 1979’s The Amityville Horror, but also in Australia under the title Alison’s Birthday.
Originally filmed in under a month in Australia, written and directed by Ian Coughlan (who would go on to be a key writer for The Restless Years series between 1977 and 1979), Alison’s Birthday would not be released to theaters in the region until the end of 1981. Coming at a time when the ‘Satanic Panic’ was spreading across the globe with speculation that people were engaging in Satanic ritualistic practices, this scare even swept across Australia. In fact, as early as the 1950s, there was an artist and proclaimed occultist named Rosaleen Norton, who is often considered an igniter of the ‘Satanic Panic’ in Australia.
Rather interesting pieces of history, Coughlan’s Alison’s Birthday follows a young woman named Alison Findlay (Joanne Samuel, who was in 1979’s Mad Max and 1987’s Nightmaster, among others) who is warned during a seemingly innocent séance (when she is sixteen) that at her nineteenth birthday she will be in grave danger. Taking it with a grain of salt, jump forward nearly three years later, and she is summoned home by her adopted Aunt Jennifer (played by Award-winning Australian Bunney Brooke) and Uncle Dean (portrayed by prolific, accomplished Actor John Bluthal) days before her nineteenth birthday.
Not thinking too deeply into the request to return home, Alison makes the trip back to visit them with her boyfriend and local Radio DJ, Peter Healey (Lou Brown, known for various television and film roles in Australia). However, soon it becomes clear that something extremely abnormal and nefarious is happening within the confines of Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Dean’s. Is the suspicion real, or is Alison truly headed toward a horrific birthday celebration?
Moving at a steady pace, Alison’s Birthday is complemented by strong acting, clever twists and turns in the plot as everything takes focus, enticing Folklore, and a genuinely eerie atmosphere you cannot shake. Providing a broader explanation, imagine elements of aforementioned films like The Sentinel, Supsiria, as well as 1968’s all-time classic Rosemary’s Baby, and you have a demonic nightmare brewing within Alison’s Birthday. Touching on several similar themes to these films, Alison’s Birthday still maintains its own unique style and atmosphere.
A movie which was marginally successful upon release in 1981 in Australia, Alison’s Birthday has largely not been recognized outside this corner of the planet in the forty-plus years since. A very effective Horror film, it is one of those hidden gems Horror fans are always searching for. The good news is that Severin Films brought it to the United States market in 2021 as part of a Blu-ray box set called All the Haunts Be Ours, which included several other international Folk Horror-themed films. Worth looking into, more life was still ahead for Alison’s Birthday, because on October 15, 2024, Severin Films put it out as a standalone Blu-ray.
Marking the first-ever standalone release of Alison’s Birthday in the North American market, it is presented in a 2K scan from the 16mm CRI, and while the image is not perfect, it is still more than upgraded that gives you a balance of detail, brightness, and some grit for good measure. Joining the presentation, you also get audio commentaries, interviews with Joanne Samuel and Belinda Giblin from the 2008 Not Quite Hollywood documentary, and an educational feature called The Devil Down Under with insight into the ‘Satanic Panic’ in Australia and Rosaleen Norton.
So, if you fancy yourself someone who appreciates atmosphere-based Horror from the 1970s into the early 1980s, you will want to do yourself a favor and invest in a Blu-ray edition of Alison’s Birthday, because Cryptic Rock gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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