‘A young girl comes of age… and an evil destiny awaits her.’
Alison’s Birthday is a 1981-released Australian supernatural horror film written and directed by Ian Coughlan (writer of No One Can Hear You; Kadaicha;The Haunting of Hewie Dowker) and produced by David Hannay (Out of the Body; The 13th Floor). It was filmed in 1979.
The movie stars Joanne Samuel, Bunny Brooke, Margie McCrae and Martin Vaughan.
Plot:
Alison Findlay is asked to go home by her aunt and uncle for a special party for her nineteenth birthday, an event that she had been thinking of avoiding due to a disturbing message at a seance when she was sixteen. Nevertheless, she heads home with her boyfriend Pete, but the pair soon discover that something sinister is going on…
Book reviews [may contain spoilers]:
“This is a well-written and well-directed chiller that mixes the horror of personality with the malevolent supernatural being […] Coughlan’s treatment manages to overcome the silliness in the narrative by providing atmosphere, a sense of impending doom and fatalism, and empath for the girl who is the victim of evil.” Peter Shelley, Australian Horror Films 1973 – 2010 book
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” …starts from the idea that Carrie (1976) is Rosemary’s Baby (1968), and throws in elements of The Exorcist (1973) for good measure […] The script is a cynical concoction of of commercial elements from the previous money-makers, the direction is routine, the cinematography erratic and the characters both stereotypical and misjudged.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror book
“Atypical of late 1970s horror-thrillers in that it concerns subtle manipulations of the soul, with only rare interest in violence or terror… Coughlan directs in a fairly standard manner. But to his credit, the film is never silly and the dark tone is convincing.” Scott Murray, Oxford Australian Film 1978 – 1984 book
Cast and characters:
Joanne Samuel … Alison Findlay – Spook; Mad Max
Lou Brown … Peter Healey
Bunney Brooke … Aunt Jennifer Findlay
John Bluthal … Uncle Dean Findlay – Dark City
Vincent Ball … Dr Jeremy Lyall – Blood of the Vampire
Margie McCrae … Chrissie Willis
Julie Wilson … Maureen Tate
Martin Vaughan … Mr Martin
Rosalind Speirs … Maggie Carlyle
Robyn Gibbes … Helen McGill
Ian Coughlan … Dave Ducker
Ralph Cotterill … Brian Healey
Marion Johns … Granny Thorne
George Carden … Druid Leader
Belinda Giblin … Isobel Thorne
Technical specs:
97 minutes
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
Eastmancolor
Filming locations:
Fontana Film Studios, Turrella
Supreme Studios, Paddington
Gore Hill cemetery and State Library. Filmed over three weeks in January and February 1979.
Release:
Belatedly released in Australia on 1 May 1981.
Plot keywords:
album | aunt | baby | beach | bed | bookcase | boyfriend | car chase | Celtic | ceremony | Cold Chisel | coven | cross | cult | demon | dinner jacket | doctor | dungarees | garden | grandmother | graveyard | gun | hypnotism | jeep | library | nightmares | overgrown | paranormal | pendant | pitchfork | police | potion | radio station | record shop | sabbat | schoolgirls | seance | stolen baby | stone circle | supernatural | swing | telephone | uncle | vinyl | wheelchair | witches
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