Almost Lost Cult-Classic "THE BIRTHDAY" Makes Its Debut At Fantastic Fest!
In the annals of genre history, there are some films that only get seen at film festivals by those lucky enough to attend them. Take last year’s Fantastic Fest screening of The Toxic Avenger, a film that still doesn’t have a distributor or a release date. Unless you happened across one of the handful of festivals that played it you’re like the rest of us being left in the lurch to wait. These decisions (hopefully) aren’t malicious, but they deprive fans of content seemingly for odd business reasons, whatever those may be. Another film that was fated to a similar destiny is “The Birthday”, the film helmed by Eugenio Mira starring the legendary Corey Feldman. Having played Stiges in 2004 the film hasn’t seen a wider release, until now!
Making it’s debut at Fantastic Fest before opening across select theaters in October, we have all the details below in the press release. Will you be RSVPing to this “birthday” next month?
From The Press Release
Essentially lost since its World Premiere at the Sitges International Film Festival in 2004, a bootleg version of The Birthday hit YouTube and slowly built a cult following over the last 20 years amongst genre fans and notable champions including Elijah Wood, Jason Blum, and Jordan Peele. Peele, in particular, programmed the film at Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2023 for its New York Premiere, with Feldman and Mira in attendance. Peele described the film as "a cinematic marvel that demands captivation and will never relent to your expectations. A true 'what-the-f-did-I-just-watch' experience. Feldman at his best."
Not everything is as it seems at the old Royal Fulton Hotel. Norman Forrester, played brilliantly in a career-defining performance by the iconic Corey Feldman, is finally going to meet his girlfriend’s family at her father’s lavish birthday party. But what was supposed to be an important step forward in their relationship doesn’t exactly go as planned; he’s not on the guest list, his girlfriend is ignoring him, and her father doesn’t like him at all. Rejected and heartbroken, Norman wanders away from the party, only to find something far more sinister than his girlfriend’s family lurking deep within the churning bowels of the ailing hotel: an ancient evil that threatens to bring about the end of the world. Hailed a “cinematic marvel” by master of comedy and terror Jordan Peele, THE BIRTHDAY is the mischievously thrilling, darkly hilarious, and cult-celebrated first feature from visionary filmmaker Eugenio Mira (GRAND PIANO).
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