WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It’s crazy to think that birds have never been too far when it comes to horror in both films and literature. Take The Birds for example directed by Alfred Hitchcock or The Raven written by Edgar Allen Poe. Even Stephen King used sparrows in Dark Half as a symbol for the harbingers of death.
Kaw
I don’t think it would be hard to confuse the birds in this film for crows, which being collectively known as ‘a murder’ would not have been a bad choice, but with the afore mentioned The Raven using ravens isn’t a bad idea. Truthfully, they actually make exactly that mistake at first in the film. I never quite realised how disturbing a raven’s caw can be until I watched this film. Anyone who has read enough of these articles will know that I would not have been too happy about the fact that the ravens decided to kill Clyde’s dog! He didn’t do anything to them other than bark – he looked genuinely scared of them when they first appeared outside Clyde’s barn. I genuinely started to get a little bit suspicious of the Mennonites being involved in what’s been happening with the ravens, especially as Oskar and Jacob seems to behave rather oddly. It turns out I was right as it is their cows that get Mad Cow Disease that is infecting the ravens and making them behave in this way. OK, I know its not directly to blame but you know what I mean! I actually feel sorry for Clyde throughout the film, it’s common that no one listens to the harbinger character but he is actively ridiculed by the people of the town.
Terror Birds
I’m going to be honest, and admit that I tried to be a bit of nerd and find out what birds these “terror birds” were supposed to be as they looked a little familiar. Turns out they’re Phorusracids from South America during the Cenozoic era if anyone was interested. Anyway, judging by the CGI on the birds I was expecting a pretty cheesy film – almost to the extent of Beaster Bunny – but I was so glad that I was wrong. Not to say the acting is great but it could definitely be worse. What I was unclear about when it came to the plot of the film though was what Sullivan’s motives were with regards to the birds. I also started to feel like Trent’s character was only added into the story to be bird food – there’s only mild interaction with the group and the fact there’s already five of them, do you really need an additional person to kill? Interestingly, for a film based around killer birds, we barely see them throughout the film – the majority of their screen time is in the last 30 minutes. Now, I’m not one for cliches but it was obvious from the first mention of Justin and Mady’s feelings for him that they were going to be the ones at the end – didn’t stop me hoping they would be killed!
ThanksKilling
You know a film is going to be bad when it opens with the words “olden days” and your actual shot of filmography is of a woman’s breasts! To make it worse, the JonBenet Ramsay joke about Ali’s easiness is made at least three times! This is the cheesiness and poor acting that I was expecting from Terror Birds. Having said that, I like the fact that they used animation to tell the story of Crawberg and that this is the only bird that doesn’t kill with its beak! This killer turkey carries weapons! I guess what makes it cheesy is that it falls into and then overplays the typical character tropes that are cleverly laid out in The Cabin in the Woods – the jock, the nerd, the whore, the virgin and the idiot. The turkey itself is reminiscent of evil characters used in Killer Pinata and Killer Sofa with it’s crass language and ridiculous puns. I know what I’m thankful for, and that’s fact that this film is as short as it is with its 70 minutes runtime but it didn’t mean that I was longing for everyone to be killed the whole time. Especially as the core group of characters in this film are so thick! How can Kristen not tell that the turkey is posing as her father – the height difference alone would make that obvious! My wish was very nearly granted!
The Giant Claw
I don’t exactly know where to start with this film. I mocked Tarantula and the way it was filmed when the creature walked through the town but the way this bird looks is just crazy and not in a good way. I don’t mean because the animation is bad or anything but the thing itself just looks odd! It’s like a cross between a turkey and I don’t what. Now, the audience do not see the bird, or La Carcagne as it becomes referred to, until around 30 minutes in, which given the run time is not too far from the end, the film plays on confusion and superstition. What bothers me is that it takes a fourth sighting for them to realise that its even a bird so had it been using it’s anti-matter “shield” to avoid being seen by the human eye as well as not being detected by the radar? I like the fact that for once this isn’t a creature that’s been created in some sort of lab, like Tarantula, but isn’t it turned out to be some sort of alien. What I love though is that it wasn’t a perfect resolution, they fail time after time before they get the result they need.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
I’m going to come right out and say it, this film feels really strange! It’s cut together so badly that you would think it was student made with a lower budget than $10,000. Because of this, it actually made Thankskilling look good! There’s very little dialogue and what there is feels very stilted and awkward – so much so that it comes across like Ellie isn’t interested in anything Rod has to say on their date. A relationship which they spend most of the time building as well as focusing on character development rather than focusing on any birds. When the birds do FINALLY appear, about 47 minutes into the film, they have clearly been digitally added and I would say digitally created because at times they don’t seem to move naturally. In all honesty, this feels more like a comment on climate change, as they keep mentioning Rod’s eco-friendly car and solar panels, rather than a horror film. Oh, they also blame global warming for the birds attacking people. Supposedly this took inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, which I can tell from the last 40 minutes of the film but they lost the tension and fear aspect of the film completely.
Beaks
You want to talk about a film that’s similar to The Birds that also has a moral to the story but is pretty good? This is the one. Especially since it has also been referred to as Beaks: The Birds 2. It’s clear from certain effects used in some attacks and deaths that this film was not Hollywood-made as to me they seem reminiscent of those shown in Giallo films or those that have been considered as video-nasties (just not quite as gruesome as the latter). They discuss the fact that the birds may be attacking due to man’s effect on their ecological standing but they don’t make it a common theme throughout the film so I think Birdemic could have learnt a lot from this. I wouldn’t say this film is out and out scary but then neither is The Birds – it just doesn’t seem to have the same psychological presence. This might be because it is happening on a wider scale rather than it taking place in just a small town. This may sound a little sick but I actually think it is a clever touch that the birds end up covered in blood when they attack the farmer and his wife. Swarming and attacking like that, there’s no way you’re coming out clean! There is only thing that bothers me though – they keep saying people had been attacked by doves – what we see are common pigeons!
