Alison's Birthday
Encyclopedia
"Alison's Birthday" was an independent Australia
n horror film
released in 1981
under Seven Network
. It starred Joanne Samuel
, Lou Brown, Bunney Brooke
, John Bluthal
, and Vincent Ball
. Filmed in New South Wales, the movie was directed by acclaimed Australian director Ian Coughlan.
game. Upon contacting a spirit, who is later revealed to be Alison's dead father (she never knew her actual parents), the girls discover that Alison is in danger. The spirit then possesses one of the girls and warns her not to return home for her 19th birthday. The girl is momentarily killed after a bookcase collapses onto her.
Less than three years later, Alison and her boyfriend Pete (Brown) return to her homeplace to celebrate her 19th birthday with her Uncle Dean (Bluthal) and Aunt Jenny (Brooke)- who raised her after her parents died in car crash when she was just a newborn baby. Her homecoming, quite franky, is not exactly what she expected as she makes a strange discovery in their backwoods and has disturbing nightmares. Even stranger, is her Grandmother Thorn- who she meets for the first time. Her relatives soon take a disliking to Pete, and attempt to prevent him from seeing Alison. However, he is persistent and simply will not stop coming to see their niece. In a desperate attempt to keep Alison away from him, they regularly drug her and she becomes "ill". In order to get Pete to believe them, they have a false doctor(Ball) come over and pretend to diagnose her. He prescribes that Alison stay at home and avoid leaving. Later that night, Pete breaks into their house and tries to rescue her. However, as they are leaving, the doctor and her Uncle Dean and subdue and drug the both of them. As a side effect to the drug, they are able to convince Alison into lying and informing the police that Pete (a pestering, frightening ex-boyfriend) will not leave her alone. He is then arrested and charged with attempted-kidnapping and breaking of an entry. Yet, the next morning he is released on bail. After researching several newspaper clippings and briefly studying Celt
ic occult
, he determines that her aunt and uncle (along with the doctor and other relatives) plan to forcibly sacrifice Alison for a demonic female spirit called "Mirna." Mirna's soul is in manifested in Grandmother Thorn's body. As Ms. Thorn is aging quickly and Alison is in her youth, they plan to switch bodies between the two. It is revealed that this ritual has been practised for over 200 years.
When it is time for Alison's birthday party, Pete desperately tries to save Alison. But upon arrival, he discovers that he is too late and that Mirna has possessed Alison. Mirna shoots Pete, killing him instantly. When Alison wakes up, she realizes what has transpired and the films ends with her screaming.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
released in 1981
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
under Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. It starred Joanne Samuel
Joanne Samuel
Joanne Samuel is an actress who remains best known for her role as the screen wife of Mel Gibson in the 1979 film Mad Max....
, Lou Brown, Bunney Brooke
Bunney Brooke
Bunney Brooke was an Australian actress best known for her television acting roles including the long-running role of Flo Patterson in soap opera Number 96 in the 1970s, and Vi Patchett in E Street in 1990.Brooke was adopted at an early age and had an unhappy early life...
, John Bluthal
John Bluthal
John Bluthal is a Polish-born British film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width and The Vicar of Dibley.-Early life:Bluthal was born in Galicia, Poland, of Jewish...
, and Vincent Ball
Vincent Ball
Vincent Ball is an Australian actor who has worked both in Australia and in the United Kingdom....
. Filmed in New South Wales, the movie was directed by acclaimed Australian director Ian Coughlan.
Plot Scenario
The story starts in sequence with 16-year-old Alison Findlay (Samuel) and her two friends playing a seemingly innocent ouija boardOuija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
game. Upon contacting a spirit, who is later revealed to be Alison's dead father (she never knew her actual parents), the girls discover that Alison is in danger. The spirit then possesses one of the girls and warns her not to return home for her 19th birthday. The girl is momentarily killed after a bookcase collapses onto her.
Less than three years later, Alison and her boyfriend Pete (Brown) return to her homeplace to celebrate her 19th birthday with her Uncle Dean (Bluthal) and Aunt Jenny (Brooke)- who raised her after her parents died in car crash when she was just a newborn baby. Her homecoming, quite franky, is not exactly what she expected as she makes a strange discovery in their backwoods and has disturbing nightmares. Even stranger, is her Grandmother Thorn- who she meets for the first time. Her relatives soon take a disliking to Pete, and attempt to prevent him from seeing Alison. However, he is persistent and simply will not stop coming to see their niece. In a desperate attempt to keep Alison away from him, they regularly drug her and she becomes "ill". In order to get Pete to believe them, they have a false doctor(Ball) come over and pretend to diagnose her. He prescribes that Alison stay at home and avoid leaving. Later that night, Pete breaks into their house and tries to rescue her. However, as they are leaving, the doctor and her Uncle Dean and subdue and drug the both of them. As a side effect to the drug, they are able to convince Alison into lying and informing the police that Pete (a pestering, frightening ex-boyfriend) will not leave her alone. He is then arrested and charged with attempted-kidnapping and breaking of an entry. Yet, the next morning he is released on bail. After researching several newspaper clippings and briefly studying Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, he determines that her aunt and uncle (along with the doctor and other relatives) plan to forcibly sacrifice Alison for a demonic female spirit called "Mirna." Mirna's soul is in manifested in Grandmother Thorn's body. As Ms. Thorn is aging quickly and Alison is in her youth, they plan to switch bodies between the two. It is revealed that this ritual has been practised for over 200 years.
When it is time for Alison's birthday party, Pete desperately tries to save Alison. But upon arrival, he discovers that he is too late and that Mirna has possessed Alison. Mirna shoots Pete, killing him instantly. When Alison wakes up, she realizes what has transpired and the films ends with her screaming.