Arrow Video invites audiences back to Ed Hunt's BLOODY BIRTHDAY with their special edition Blu-ray.

In 1971, three children are born during a total eclipse in which the sun and the moon both blocked Saturn. Ten years later, as their joint birthday approaches, Debbie (Elizabeth Hoy, X-RAY), Steven (Andy Freeman, BEYOND WITCH MOUNTAIN), and Curtis (Billy Jacoby, SUPERSTITION) put their jump ropes and baseball bats to deadly use (Debbie also charges Curtis and Steven to peek in on her sister Beverly [Julie Brown, CLUELESS] changing clothes). Their Midwestern town is rocked by a series of murders, first that of a teenage couple necking in an open grave at the local cemetery, followed by Debbie’s own father the Sheriff (Bert Kramer, EARTHQUAKE). The authorities assume that the Sheriff tripped on Debbie’s skateboard, but his death means Curtis has a new toy to play with: his gun. When strict schoolteacher Miss Davis (Susan Strasberg, THE MANITOU) does not grant their request to excuse all of the students from school for their birthday party, Curtis shoots her. The sweet trio is above suspicion to all but Timmy (K.C. Martel, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR) and his big sister Joyce (Lori Lethin, THE PREY) who both become targets of the killer tykes.

Like HALLOWEEN, BLOODY BIRTHDAY was shot in Southern California standing in for the Midwest and has a similar suburban feel (albeit on the extremely cheap), but the cinematography of Stephen Posey (SAVAGE STREETS) is largely unatmospheric, lacking Dean Cundey’s weightless Panaglide shots and contrasts of amber and deep blue lighting. INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN composer Arlon Obler’s score apes Henry Manfredini’s FRIDAY THE 13TH with its stabbing horns and shrieking strings (minus the vocal effects), but there is so little suspense until the finale. Perhaps the film’s most memorable element is comedienne Brown’s five minute striptease, since it is not a particularly “bloody” birthday (the arrow-to-the-eye gag was executed with more aplomb – and in 3D – in the third FRIDAY THE 13TH installment). The most likely shocking aspect of the film is that Hoy, Jacoby, and Freeman were all very close in age to their murderous characters, seen participating in violent acts (a la DEVIL TIMES FIVE) as well as spying on sexual activity. All three look appropriately soulless while wielding weapons – including handguns, which would be a big no-no these days – during the murder scenes, but it is hard to believe anyone would find the characters played by Hoy and Jacoby – who would both figure into the opening flashback of the slasher X-RAY/HOSPITAL MASSACRE – to be sweet and innocent as their smirking disingenuousness is far more unsettling than their carnage. Lethin is a likable “final girl,” if one can get over her serving as the mouthpiece for the film’s somewhat laughable astrological explanation for the kids’ motivations (apparently being born during an eclipse blocking Saturn means you have no conscience). Like the two female victims of HALLOWEEN, Brown’s victim-to-be is sexually active – and shown topless or in revealing sweaters – without being brainless unlike the disposable brainless bimbos of later slasher films. Strasberg is clearly just picking up a paycheck here, as is Jose Ferrer who plays the doctor who delivered the three tykes of terror. A young Michael Dudikoff (AMERICAN NINJA) appears as Beverly’s boyfriend (and inexplicably does not get killed off), JAKE AND THE FATMAN’s Joe Penny has a single scene as Joyce’s college advisor, and Cyril O’Reilly (DANCE OF THE DAMNED) plays her boyfriend.

VCI Home Video’s 2003 DVD featured a single-layer, progressive, anamorphic transfer from a 35mm print with some almost impenetrable night scenes in addition to the usual print wear. Severin's 2011 progressive, anamorphic 1.78:1 DVD – which erroneously stated a 1.66:1 aspect ratio on the back cover – was derived from an HD transfer from the negative and was a visual improvement over the old transfer (despite some edge enhancement), while their later Blu-ray was derived from the same master. At the time, I felt that brighter transfer looked less moody than the darker VCI one, but now I think that the added contrast of the projection print VCI used just gave a sense of depth to the original cinematography's flat lighting (outside of the underlit night shots). Arrow's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Blu-ray is derived from a new 2K scan of "original film elements" and better manages the blacks and highlights in brightly lit scenes – in which Brown's red getup truly pops – while night exteriors have deeper blacks but are more readable than the murky DVD or the slightly chalky Severin master while the highlight in a couple night interiors can also look a bit harsh. It seems imperfect, but a generally more satisfying presentation than the flatter-looking previous HD transfer. The LPCM 1.0 mono track has a bit more umph when it comes to the gunshots, shovel blows, and the bassy presence of the muffled rock song – the lyrics of which are a bit more discernable here than before – that underscores Brown’s striptease while the piercing strings of the derivative score seem not as pointed as they could have been in a better mix. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

While the Severin and UK 88 Films Blu-ray releases had an audio interview with director Hunt, he appears here in a new audio commentary track moderated by the Brainwaves podcast's Steve Barton. Hunt reveals that his Canadian collaborator Ken Gord (the HIGHLANDER TV series) had shown his earlier film PLAGUE to producer Daniel H. Blatt (THE HOWLING) who approached him with producer Max Rosenberg (formerly of Amicus) about doing a horror movie. Rosenberg's idea was of killer kids, but the concept was developed by Hunt with co-writer Barry Pearson (ALIEN WARRIOR) including the astrological concept. When prompted about the context of other killer child movies during the period, Hunt reveals that he had sought inspiration not in them but in the likes of successful films like FRIDAY THE 13TH, HALLOWEEN, and PHANTASM. He credits casting director Judith Holstra (CUJO) entirely with assembling the cast, including the name actors and the child performers. Of the child actors, he recalls that they were professional and that it was the social worker who tracked their hours that was more of a hassle when it came to the night shoots. Barton provides some (at times forced) levity but in his questions about little seemingly inconsequential details, he draws attention to a bizarre in-joke from the film's art directors that even Hunt had puzzled over. While the 88 Films Blu-ray featured an audio commentary by Justin Kerswell – author of "Teenage Wasteland" and "The Slasher Movie Book" – Arrow features a second commentary track with Kerswell and his fellow podcasters The Hysteria Continues. They cover some of the same ground while also discussing how the opening not only suggests more of a slasher film than a killer kid film but also note that the opening scene actress who went topless was fired from GRADUATION DAY (although still visible in some scenes) and replaced by Linnea Quigley because she would not do nudity. They note Jacoby's other horror credits including SUPERSTITION (on which he was on the receiving end of violence), CUJO, and the anthology NIGHTMARES, as well as those of Lethin (now a psychologist) for whom some of the members of the podcast created her webpage and Facebook fan page.