Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Alison's Birthday Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as a part of All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror.

All the Haunts Be Ours advertises itself as "the most comprehensive collection of its kind", which may initially beg the question as to "kind of what?". But the release also comes with a front cover sobriquet proclaiming it "a compendium of folk horror", which may then beg the next obvious question as to what exactly "folk horror" is. In that regard, this set begins with a fascinating and diverse documentary which has its own subtitle referencing folk horror, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, which provides a veritable glut of clips from international films which director (and this entire set's guiding light) Kier-La Janisse has assembled to help define the genre, but perhaps the best answer is to simply echo a certain Supreme Court Justice named Potter Stewart who was trying to decide a case involving supposed pornography, and who famously opined, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description, and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it. . ."

There's a potentially slightly humorous if still ultimately horrifying moment in Rosemary's Baby where Rosemary receives a "message" from her friend Hutch in the form of a book called All of Them Witches, though Rosemary thinks the title is an anagram instead of a straightforward statement, and therefore spends time trying to decipher the "real" meaning. Perhaps something just a little similar is at hand with regard to Alison's Birthday, a film which begins with a trio of teenaged schoolgirls engaging in a kind of a quasi-Ouija Board event (they seem to be using Scrabble tiles and a glass instead of a plectrum, but the effect is the same). Alison (Joanne Samuel) seems to be a nonbeliever in such occult hoo-hah (a technical term), but one of her classmates sure seems to be channeling a message warning Alison that danger awaits at her somewhat distant but still impending nineteenth birthday.

And in fact while manifestly different in concept and approach, what happens next to Alison is quite like what happens to Rosemary Woodhouse, in that an innocent young woman becomes subsumed in a plot that she has little to no inkling is unfolding around her. The fact that the plot involves what might reasonably be termed a coven, or at the very least a Pagan Assemblage, with that group appearing to be pretty well to do types, and at least some of whom are related to Alison, also tethers some aspects of this film to the Levin - Polanski classic, though Alison's Birthday is a much less glossy production.

There's a nicely creepy feeling to the events in Alison's Birthday, even if twist guessers are probably going to see the supposed final shock coming before it's actually revealed. Unlike Rosemary's Baby, however, this time the focal young female character doesn't really have a "choice" about how to proceed, which may make the result more even more horrifying. Some cheeky types who get to the final moment may think that the story gives a whole new meaning to the term " old religion".

Alison's Birthday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Alison's Birthday is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Severin's insert booklet states this was "restored in 2K from 16mm CRI". Considering the CRI source element, a source which can often lead to some strangely skewed palettes in final versions, the palette here looks reasonably robust if admittedly a bit wan and slightly yellowish at times. Detail levels are kind of middling, perking up in close-ups or when lighting is bright. Grain is understandably gritty and thick, but also tends to add to the yellowish appearance with a somewhat chunky jaundiced look. There is minor but noticeable age related wear and tear.

Alison's Birthday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alison's Birthday features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that offers secure support for an effective soundtrack that really doesn't have much complexity in terms of design. Some of the sound effects, like the goofy deep male voice emanating from Alison's friend in the first scene, or the gust of wind and shattering windows that then occur, are reasonably full bodied and reverberant. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Alison's Birthday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Extended Interviews from Not Quite Hollywood (HD; 12:01) features producer David Hannay and cast members Joanne Samuel and Belinda Giblin.


• The Devil Down Under: Satanic Panic in Australia from Rosaleen Norton to Alison's Birthday (HD; 16:58) is an interesting overview by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

Alison's Birthday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Part of the underlying horror of tales like Alison's Birthday or indeed Rosemary's Baby is the thought of helpless and probably naive women being subjected to a plot that they're completely unaware is being hatched, with them in the central role. Alison's Birthday is probably inarguably a bit more pat than the classic Levin tale, but it has some very effectively spooky moments nonetheless. Technical merits are decent, considering the source, and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.