Overview of Last Looks: Happy Birthday to Me
In this How Did This Get Made? Last Looks episode, Paul Scheer revisits the 1981 slasher Happy Birthday to Me with listener corrections and omissions, then joins Jason Manzoukas for a spooky-season trivia showdown covering past horror episodes. The episode also includes show updates, live taping plugs, and a reveal of the next main feed movie: Seed of Chucky.
Main Discussion: Happy Birthday to Me Corrections & Omissions
Biggest follow-up points from listeners
- The therapist is extremely creepy: multiple listeners called out how bizarre Dr. David behaves, especially his physical familiarity with Ginny and how casually he interacts with the police.
- The police and evidence handling are absurdly lax:
- Officers let civilians handle key evidence.
- The school grounds skull investigation is treated far too casually.
- Canadian weirdness continues to be a running joke:
- The movie’s production location and setting raise questions about drinking age, school size, and police procedure.
- A listener also corrected the accent issue: Etienne is likely French-Canadian, not French.
Continuity and logic issues listeners flagged
- The “bidet” debate was debunked: a listener pointed out that Ginny’s bathroom appears to have both a toilet and bidet visible in one shot.
- The half-sister timeline makes little sense:
- Anna highlighted the ridiculous logistics of Ginny and Anne being the same age, in the same classes, and allegedly half-sisters.
- Paul agrees the movie seems retrofitted and doesn’t really hold together, but says that if it plays emotionally in the moment, that’s enough.
- The brain injury explanation:
- Jermaine pointed out that the water scene includes a thud sound effect when Ginny swims up, implying she likely hit a boat or propeller, which explains the brain surgery setup.
- The car-falling shot inconsistency:
- A listener noticed the car from the bridge/water scene appears to land differently across shots.
- Paul suggests it’s probably a low-budget continuity issue from using multiple takes.
Other memorable notes
- The principal’s logic for giving Ginny detention is absurdly flimsy.
- The priest instantly assuming a murder from a few blood drops was another overreaction listeners enjoyed calling out.
- The bench-press death scene remains one of the movie’s most ridiculous kills.
Trivia Game: Horror Movie Recall Challenge
Jason joins Paul for a “spooky season” quiz based on past How Did This Get Made? horror episodes. The game tests their memory on titles, plots, and episode-specific jokes.
Paul’s round
- Paul does well on several slashers and sequels, including:
- Jason X
- Chopping Mall
- Sleepaway Camp
- Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
- Leprechaun in the Hood
- He also correctly identifies Death Spa after some hinting.
Jason’s round
- Jason gets a mix of easier and tougher vampire/creature titles, with help from Paul on some steals:
- Dracula 2000
- Morbius
- Van Helsing
- Underworld: Blood Wars
- American Werewolf in Paris
Head-to-head round
They then compete on IMDb-style loglines for movies they’ve covered:
- Wish Upon
- Uninvited
- Sleepwalkers
- The Visitor
- Troll 2
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Star power round
They identify films from the top-billed actor:
- Russell Crowe → The Pope’s Exorcist
- Natasha Henstridge → Ghosts of Mars
- Emilio Estevez → Maximum Overdrive
- Robin Lively → Teen Witch
- Morgan Freeman → Dreamcatcher
Final result
Paul ends up winning the trivia game overall.
Listener Prize and Show Banter
- The best correction/omission of the episode goes to Jermaine for clarifying the boat/propeller brain injury setup.
- His prize is a fictional “shish kebidet,” a joke mashup of a bidet and grill.
- The whole segment leans into the show’s usual mix of over-the-top callbacks, gross-out jokes, and audience participation.
Updates, Schedule, and Next Episode
Schedule notes
- Next week is a re-release, not a new episode, because of everyone’s schedules.
- The next new episode will arrive on Friday, October 30.
Live show / taping plug
- June and Paul are filming an improvised multicam project called Dinks in Los Angeles.
- There were two taping dates still available at the time of recording.
Next movie announcement
- The next main episode will cover Seed of Chucky (2004).
- Paul teases it as the show’s first real dive into the Child’s Play franchise.
- The episode is set up with the usual trailer, Rotten Tomatoes note, and release reminder.
Bottom Line
This episode is a classic Last Looks blend of:
- listener corrections that poke holes in a wildly illogical horror movie,
- playful in-show debates about practical details like bidets and accents,
- and a nostalgic, competitive horror trivia segment that lets Paul and Jason revisit the podcast’s catalog.
The biggest takeaway: Happy Birthday to Me is still a mess, but it’s the kind of mess that makes for great podcast fuel.