The Birthday - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Birthday



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Corey Feldman is simultaneously one of the most fun parts of the 80s and early 90s, and one of the worst parts of the 2000s. The man was a veritable superstar in the 1980, pumping out hit after hit in the child acting realm, only to fall out of favor in the early 2000s with a shifting market. His latest years have been filled with bizarre behavior, certain “allegations” regarding his Corey’s Angels girls, and then there’s his music. Oh boy, let's just say the poor guy has some issues. But that aside, I’m always curious to check out a Corey Feldman movie I haven’t seen, ESPECIALLY a horror/thriller from 2004 where he wasn’t on top of the world, but hadn’t been ostracized into his own realm just yet. I personally had never even heard of The Birthday before, and when I saw it, it was a 22-year-old film starring a pre Corey Haim’s death Feldman (the guy went off the rails after his friend died) and a bizarre premise that hinted at elements of Donnie Darko. But here we are, and here I am trying to untangle myself from this mess.

The base narrative for the film is fairly simple, but hidden in a web of mystery, lies, misconceptions, and a veritable waterfall of gonzo behavior. The first half of the film is a straightforward mystery drama, with awkward Norman Forrester (Corey Feldman) going with his (way out of his league) girlfriend, Allison’s (Erica Prior) father’s birthday party in his swanky hotel. Everything is fine at first despite Erica treating tic-driven Norman like garbage, only for things to get weird fast. While nothing is really that out of place, the mood and atmosphere drives the viewer to conclude that not everything is as it seems. But as Norman is left out in the cold (so to speak) among the party guests, he starts looking around him and noticing that things seem off. Guests aren’t allowed to leave. Some guests keep going missing. And no matter what he does, Norman can’t shake this feeling that something awful is happening.

The mid-film switch-up happens right around the hour mark, as Norman stumbles down to the basement and witnesses a random waiter beating the ever-living snot out of some workers. Turns out this lone “hero” happens to know what is going on. And yes, it’s every bit as weird as you can imagine. It seems that the waiters and just about everyone in the building are part of a cult that is trying to bring about the birth of their evil god in this world. And somehow, the innocent guests at the party are part of this equation.

Director Eugenio Mira hearkens his film to Donnie Darko in the commentary, while ironically mentioning that he likes the aforementioned film better than his own film (if I’m understanding his English in the commentary). And in some ways, I can see that. The Birthday’s narrative does mirror that of Darko in the sense that the real narrative is hidden in plain view, while being obscured by everything going on around it. The film is intentionally chaotic, using the atmosphere to keep the audience in a constant state of confusion and driving them to the edge of their seat while the underlying themes play out.

In some ways, I have to admit that this is one of Feldman’s better roles. That’s not to say this is some instant classic of a film, but rather to say that Feldman’s performance weirdly works. Instead of trying to play a straight-up normal character that he’s not good at (Felman has never been good at being normal), he leans straight into the tics and awkwardness of Norman, amplifying his weirdness to the point where it seems normal for him. And in that way, Norman gets to shine. But while Feldman delivers a solid performance, the rest of the actions in this Spanish film do not. Like most European films, the actors overact to the point of caricature, even outshining Feldman’s weirdness, making him all the more normal as the film progresses. But at the same time, the hyperbolic acting almost adds to the mood and atmosphere that The Birthday is going for.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

] Unlike most Arrow films, there’s not a whole list of details on what went into the restoration. All the information I have from Arrow is that the film was restored from the OCN at 4K by Giant Pictures. That being said, this is a great-looking 4K UHD image here. Shot on 35mm film and stylized heavily with burnished skin tones, heavy blues, and bronzed features all over the demonic hotel. Fine details are generally great, with amazing facial details and intimate clothing shots. But I did notice that there seems to be some intentional gauziness to the picture, with outer edges sometimes looking slipper and hazy, while close-up shots look stunning in the same shots. The Dolby Vision really adds a great layer of depth to all the colors and the shadow work, pushing some neon pinks during the party, as well as silky black when Norman is investigating the rest of the hotel. I did notice a little bit of crush in the boiler room, but for the most part, this is a fairly artifact-free image.









Audio:

Featuring a single DTS-HD MA track, the mix is a fairly intense and immersive track that really drives home the atmospheric elements of the movie. The first half of the movie may be pretty low-key for the most part, but the second half gets crazy fast, with intense moments of sonic bombardment, punctuated with scenes of softness that acts as a strange juxtaposition to the chaos going on around us. Dialogue is well placed and locked up front, and the surrounds are pretty chaotic in that last half. Bass is nice and heavy, but not so massive that it is obtrusive or ground-shaking. Instead, it knows how to integrate itself into the mix so that you really can’t detect it, but really notice when it’s gone as well.












Extras:

• Commentary by Corey Feldman and Eugenio Mira
• The Shape of a Miracle
• Pathology
• The Birthday Q & A
• Original Trailer
• 20th Anniversary Trailer
• Image Gallery

Final Score: ​

The Birthday is one of those movies that I don’t know whether to really enjoy or to hate. I don’t hate it. But I don’t love it either, and I can’t really decide which end of the spectrum I want to land on. But at the end of the day, this is going to be a polarizing film. Normies may not really like what they see, but fans of cult horror/sci-fi/thrillers may want to give this a watch, as it is one of the more unique viewings that I’ve seen recently. Arrow’s 4K UHD release is stunning, with great restored video and audio, a solid lineup of extras, and some really great cover art. My recommendation is going to be awkward, as I’m not sure who to really recommend this to, but to summarize, this is going to be for the niche psychological horror fans.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Corey Feldman, Erica Prior, Jack Taylor, Dale Duoma
Directed By: Eugenio Mira
Written By: Eugenio Mira, Mikel Alvarino
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: NR
Runtime: 120 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 17th, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended For Niche Horror Fans