Recently restored, The Birthday is a quirky little film. Taking place in a hotel that could rival the Overlook as far as bad visits go, this Corey Feldman film begins as a surrealist comedy that follows Norman Forrester, a painfully awkward man who is attending his posh girlfriend’s father’s birthday and meeting her family for the first time. Set in 1987, the film then shifts to a horror-comedy as Norman stumbles across the existence of a doomsday cult operating as the hotel staff and becomes an unlikely hero.
Originally released in 2004, the film had a limited film festival run and a theatrical release in Spain in 2006 leading to the film almost entirely slipping through the cracks. That is, until 2023, when Jordan Peele programmed screenings of the film at the Lincoln Centre resulting in this recent limited edition 4K UHD restoration down the line. But is it a long lost cult classic waiting to be uncovered?
The film is the directorial debut of Eugenio Mira and was a Spanish production and shot in the city of Terrasa. Despite this, the film is set in America and distinctly feels like a dated American hotel and party, helped with former 80s child star Feldman leading. Best known for his early roles in Stand By Me (1987) and The Lost Boys (1987), Feldman gets to demonstrate his acting chops in a more mature role in The Birthday. His meek portrayal of Norman in the face of his bossy and condescending girlfriend Alison (played by Erica Prior) makes him the most unlikely hero that you find yourself rooting for. He gives off a nervous energy that equally makes him pathetic and sympathetic in the viewer’s eyes.
Clocking in with a runtime of one hour and forty minutes, the film actually takes a while to get going. The first portion of the Birthday drags on a bit and ultimately begins to feel repetitive as Norman stumbles into awkward conversation after awkward conversation, but eventually the genre shifts into a horror and it picks up. A doomsday cult are masquerading as the hotel staff throughout the film, always lurking in the background and adding to the unsettling feeling that something isn’t quite right. Besides their consistent presence in the background, their strange looks and whispering, there’s a moment where you’re practically screaming at Norman to get the hell out of that hotel because they are so obviously up to no good. At times, the movie leans into an over-the-top sense of villainy that works for a horror-comedy. When Theodore – who is Norman and the audience’s guide to understanding the cult and what is going on – delivers a monologue explaining the cult and their plan, the delivery just felt comedic.
Ultimately, The Birthday has a unique premise and Corey Feldman delivers a great performance but it falls short of meriting a cult classic label in my eyes. That last shot, however, will undoubtedly stick in my mind as a brilliant horror-comedy twist.
THE BIRTHDAY IS OUT NOW ON ARROW VIDEO BLU-RAY
