Corey Feldman Talks About His Film THE BIRTHDAY and Explains Why it 20 Years To Release

After 20 years, Corey Feldman‘s lost 2004 film The Birthday is finally getting a theatrical release. A trailer for the film, which you can check out here.

During a recent interview with Salon, Feldman was asked why the Eugenio Mira-directed film took two decades to get released.

Feldman said: “I have my own theories. The official answer is that the executive producer said he didn’t want to accept any offer that was not a full refund of his expenses to make it theatrical.

“We wanted it theatrical, but most distributors wouldn’t give money upfront, or would only give a little upfront, saving most [payment] for the backend. DVDs were fading out then, and times were changing.

“He held strong. We played at some festivals and got tremendous reviews. It was getting the buzz it needed, but he said, ‘No.’ It is what it is.”

Feldman continued: “I wish there was a clean answer. But after 20 years, he finally gave in and relinquished this hold over this film and let it go. Thank you to the man who allowed it.”

Feldman went on to say: “I’m glad he made the right choice, and it is out, and people will have the opportunity to see this beloved film. Although the payoff may not be what people expect, it has its reward. It’s a dark comedy in the Lynchian style.”

Feldman said that “there’s no question” his career would have turned out differently had the movie been released in 2004. “I don’t want to go down that conspiracy theory road. I feel the stop of this film was done intentionally and for that very reason.”

“There were people in high places that didn’t want me to be a success. They wanted to portray the idea of a fallen hero, someone who lost their craft and ability and was no longer the talented kid they once were.

That was the image that they tried to hang on me. When I say ‘They,’ who knows who they are? All I know is that there is an obvious lineage and timeline to the great films I made during those years that somehow were not released or did not get seen, this being the cherry on top.

The schlockiest films, the ones I had to take for money to survive are strewn about everywhere. You can always see life’s most embarrassing moments. This is the first time where I feel a bit of validation and redemption — Thank God, while I am still here to enjoy it — to watch a piece of art I cared so much about.”

Feldman delivers a great performance in The Birthday and while he’s out doing his band thing right now, I’d like to think that he’s still got the acting skills. He just needs a solid project to showcase them.

The movie is described as "mischievously thrilling, darkly hilarious. Not everything is as it seems at the old Royal Fulton Hotel. Norman Forrester, played brilliantly in a career-defining performance by 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 within the churning bowels of the ailing hotel: an ancient evil that threatens to bring about the end of the world.”

Drafthouse Films will debut The Birthday on October 11th, 2024.

Written by Mira and Mikel Alvarino, the film also stars Jack Taylor, Erica Prior, Rick Merrill, Richard Felix, Dale Douma and Robert Long.

20 years later, premiering in select US theaters on Oct. 11.