Movies Like Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

Happy Birthday to Me is a 1981 horror, mystery film from J. Lee Thompson with a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Freddy vs. Jason and Darker than Night.

Horror Mystery

Freddy vs. Jason

2003

Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenagers of Elm Street. Only this time, they're out to get each other, too.

6.1

MagicScore

Darker than Night

2018

Sloan Carter is a young girl who has recently been blinded. Her father leaves for the weekend and her two best friends, returning home from University, keep her company. A protege of her father's, passing through town, also spends the night. The peaceful weekend is interrupted by a shadowy threat and the safe country getaway turns into a fight for survival.

5.3

MagicScore

My Bloody Valentine

1981

Twenty years after a Valentine's Day tragedy claimed the lives of five miners, Harry Warden returns for a vengeful massacre among teen sweethearts gearing up for another party.

6.4

MagicScore

Child's Play

1988

An innocent-looking doll is inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who refuses to die.

6.7

MagicScore

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

1970

An American writer living in Rome witnesses an attempted murder that is connected to an ongoing killing spree in the city and conducts his own investigation, despite he and his girlfriend being targeted by the killer.

7.1

MagicScore

Super Dark Times

2017

Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.

6.5

MagicScore

Torso

1973

A masked serial killer with psychosexual issues strangles female coeds with scarves before dismembering them. When a wealthy student identifies one of the scarves and thinks she has a lead on a suspect, she becomes the killer's next target, retreating to her family's remote cliffside villa with three of her girlfriends.

6.6

MagicScore

The Initiation

1984

An amnesiac sorority member who has been plagued by a recurring nightmare is stalked alongside other coeds by a killer in a deserted department store where they are completing a hazing ritual.

5.4

MagicScore

Cherry Falls

2000

When students in the small town of Cherry Falls learn a serial killer is targeting virgins, they realize their only chance of survival is to throw a “Pop Your Cherry” party.

5.3

MagicScore

#10

Drive-In Massacre

1976

Two police detectives try to catch a serial killer who is stalking a rural California drive-in theater, randomly killing people with a sword.

4.0

MagicScore

#11

Identity

2003

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

Inside

2007

Scarred for life after a harrowing near-death experience, emotionally fragile mother-to-be Sarah is still struggling to come to terms with her loss. Overcome with silent grief, Sarah now seeks solace in work; however, she is on a collision course with sheer terror when a knock at the door in the dead of night chills her bones to the marrow. Now, the raven-haired, late-night visitor in black wants something precious from Sarah, and will stop at nothing to get it.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

A Bay of Blood

1971

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

2006

Chrissie and her friends set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface is learning the tools of terror.

6.2

MagicScore

#15

Friday the 13th Part III

1982

An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naïve friends. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake's bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason, who stalks them at every turn...

5.9

MagicScore

#16

Nightmare at Shadow Woods

1987

Twins Todd and Terry seem like sweet boys -- that is, until one of them takes an axe to the face of a fellow patron at the local drive-in.

5.8

MagicScore

#17

The Hills Run Red

2009

A group of young horror fans go searching for a film that mysteriously vanished years ago but instead find that the demented killer from the movie is real, and he's thrilled to meet fans who will die gruesomely for his art.

5.8

MagicScore

#18

Prevenge

2017

A pregnant widow, believing herself to be guided by her unborn child, embarks on a homicidal rampage.

5.5

MagicScore

#19

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland

1989

Psychotic Angela is itching to do what she does best: slaughter dozens of teenage campers. As luck would have it, the previous site of her murders has been renamed and converted into an experimental summer camp meant to bring together privileged and lower-class teens. On the day the youths are boarding the buses to camp, Angela runs over a potential camper with a garbage truck and assumes her identity. Once she has infiltrated the camp, the real terror begins.

5.4

MagicScore

#20

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

1995

Six years after being presumed dead in a fire, and just as the town prepares to finally celebrate Halloween again, Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield to continue his reign of terror.

5.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Happy Birthday to Me?

The top films similar to Happy Birthday to Me by MovieMagicScore are Freddy vs. Jason (6.1), Darker than Night (5.3), My Bloody Valentine (6.4). Each shares horror/mystery themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Happy Birthday to Me worth watching?

Happy Birthday to Me holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10 from 218 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Happy Birthday to Me?

Happy Birthday to Me (1981) is a horror, mystery film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane.

Where can I find more recommendations like Happy Birthday to Me?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more horror recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Freddy vs. Jason Movies like Darker than Night Movies like My Bloody Valentine Movies like Child's Play Movies like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Movies like Super Dark Times

About movies like Happy Birthday to Me

This ranked list pairs Happy Birthday to Me (1981), a horror and mystery film from J. Lee Thompson, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Melissa Sue Anderson take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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