Alison's Birthday
Directed by Ian Coughlan
During a Ouija board session with her teenaged friends, 16-year-old Alison gets a warning from beyond the grave not to go home for her 19th birthday. Fast forward three years later, when Alison is summoned to birthday celebrations with her aunt and uncle in Sydney, and visits them with her boyfriend - who becomes increasingly suspicious of the over-protective circle surrounding Alison. Before long Alison finds herself at the center of an ancient supernatural drama of which her own family are the custodians. An example of Australian folk horror with a clear lineage in the British tradition, ALISON'S BIRTHDAY also mines the elder-horror of films like SUSPIRIA (1977) and THE NIGHT NURSE (1978).
During a Ouija board session, 16-year-old Alison is warned not to go home for her 19th birthday.
Cast: Joanne Samuel, Lou Brown, Bunney Brooke, John Bluthal, Vincent Ball
Member Reviews
A bit stiff and formulaic, but not bad. It might go through the motions, but it does it competently. Pretty good production values. And, most importantly, it's sincere.
Pretty good.
i likes this one a lot. a great folk horror, and witchy story.
Honestly such a great movie. The acting was great throughout, the writing was great, the characters were great, the atmosphere was great. This was a random shot in the dark at a movie I have never heard of and thought I might just put it on to fall asleep to, but I was hooked from the beginning. It is predictable in many ways, but the presentation of it was enough to keep me engaged even though I knew the ending from the start. (Shudder's long descriptions often give away WAY too much. I should just not read past the first sentence.) But this was definitely worth the watch. Peter was such a great character and the actor was phenomenal. It was really his movie at the end of it all. Definitely watch this one.
I enjoyed it, even if it was half an hour in before I realised I'd seen it before