Alison's Birthday

Lore & Background

The plot centers on sixteen-year-old Alison Findlay, who, after a ouija board session with friends, is warned that something bad will occur on her 19th birthday. Nearly three years later, she returns home to her Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dean, who raised her after her parents died in a car accident. She discovers a stone monolith in the woods and meets her 103-year-old Grandmother Thorne for the first time. Her aunt and uncle drug her and have her boyfriend Pete arrested for stalking after he tries to rescue her.

Pete, with help from a friend, learns that Dean and Jenny are members of a Celtic cult who kidnapped Alison as an infant based on her birth time of exactly 19:00. They plan to sacrifice her to a demon named Mirne, whose ritual number is 19. Pete attempts to stop the ritual but is too late; the cultists transfer Alison's soul into the body of Grandmother Thorne, while Mirne inhabits Alison's young body. Mirne then shoots Pete dead. The police believe the cultists' story that Pete died accidentally, and Alison, now in Grandmother Thorne's body, screams in horror upon realizing her fate.

Reader's Guide

Alison's Birthday is a notable entry in Australian horror cinema, particularly within the folk horror subgenre. Shot in Sydney and other New South Wales locations over three weeks in early 1979, the film was released in Australia on 26 December 1981. Critical response was mixed; Meaghan Morris of the Sydney Morning Herald called it a 'letdown' but conceded it was 'well made, mildly entertaining, and occasionally funny.' The film received a nomination for Best Performance for a Male at Australian film awards for Vincent Ball. Its legacy was bolstered by a 2021 Blu-ray release in the United States by Severin Films as part of the box set 'All the Haunts Be Ours,' a compendium of international folk horror films. The film remains a cult example of Australian genre filmmaking from the early 1980s.

Did You Know?

• The film was shot over three weeks in January and February 1979 in Sydney and other New South Wales locations.
• The ritual number of the Celtic demon Mirne is 19.
• Alison's soul is transferred into the body of her 103-year-old Grandmother Thorne, while Mirne inhabits Alison's young body.
• The film was nominated for an Australian film award for Best Performance for a Male for Vincent Ball.