ALISON’S BIRTHDAY (1981) **

Alison’s Birthday kicks off with a killer (literally) séance scene.  Three girls make their own makeshift Ouija board and ask a spirit some questions.   Then, one of the girls gets possessed, talks in a demon voice, and warns the sixteen-year-old Alison (Joanne Samuel, who played Mel Gibson’s ill-fated wife in Mad Max) to beware her nineteenth birthday.  Suddenly, a demonic gust of wind blows into the room, knocking over a bookshelf, and killing one of the girls.  All before the opening credits roll!

We then flash-forward to a few days before Alison’s nineteenth birthday.  She’s spent the past couple years living on her own, but she’s beckoned home to visit a sick relative.  She spends the week with her aunt and uncle, who seem cheery enough.  Still, something about them just doesn’t seem quite right.  Like why do they have a miniature version of Stonehenge in their backyard? 

Alison’s Birthday is a middling example of Ozploitation (Australian exploitation movie).  It’s tame and predictable, right down to the “twist” ending.  That opening sequence is a doozy though, so it’s still halfheartedly recommended.  It’s just that from there, it devolves into yet another tepid Don’t Drink the Tea movie.  

Oh, you’re familiar with the Don’t Drink the Tea subgenre, aren’t you?  Remember Rosemary’s Baby where the seemingly kind old people kept forcing drugged tea on the heroine to prepare her for an unspeakable ritual?  It’s the same deal here.

The movie especially slows down during her boyfriend’s search into Alison’s past.  This stretch of the film plays like an episode of Encyclopedia Brown or something, although it does have a great bit where he is chased by cultists and uses a pitchfork to pole vault over a fence.  The electronic synth score is moody and effective too, which keeps the all-too familiar happenings from feeling too stale.  I also liked the use of the title card that states Alison’s age, which results in an amusing payoff.  

These memorable moments are fleeting, however.  All in all, I’m not sure Alison’s Birthday is worth celebrating.  R.S.V.P. at your own risk.