Dead Birds

Dead Birds is directed by Alex Turner and written by Simon Barrett. It stars Henry Thomas, Nicki Aycox, Isaiah Washington, Patrick Fugit, Michael Shannon, Mark Boone Junior, Harris Mann and Muse Watson. Music is scored by Peter Lopez and cinematography by Steve Yedlin.

1863 and it's the back end of the American Civil War, a group of Confederate deserters rob their own army's gold being delivered to the bank of Fairhope. Leaving a bloody trail in their wake, the group set off for Mexico but must stop for rest and recuperation at a deserted farm mansion over looking a long dead plantation. With a storm moving in and tempers among the thieves running high, it soon becomes evident that something otherworldly resides at the house and the surrounding area.

Dead Birds is a little cracker, a straight to video horror film that to my mind puts to shame some of the big budgeted piles of crap that get released to the multiplexes on a seemingly weekly basis. Of course, horror is very subjective, where along with comedy it forms a pair of genres guaranteed to produce films that will never ever please everyone. Falling into the haunted house sub-genre of horror, Dead Birds, in spite of its unique Civil War period setting, has been lambasted by many a horror fan for not being fresh, that it's a collage of other horror movies. There's some truth to that, but we could level that charge at 98% of horror movies anyway! But Dead Birds (crap title btw) does have a cult fan base, a fan base I'm very much proud to be part of.

Alex Turner, for his first feature length debut, has crafted a haunted house picture that positively pulses with dread, with its slow deliberate pacing and hushed conversational tones, the atmosphere crackles with unease. The opening credits are jet black and rise from the earth like spectral portents of death. Then after the fireworks of the robbery, things settle into a sort of ethereal rhythm. The gang make their way to their doom through a murky landscape until they reach what they don't know is their final destination; the plantation, a place that just reeks of death and disharmony.

The cornfield is long dead and home to a strange creature, the battered old scarecrow looks ripe for a fright and a dead bird on the floor is ominous. The house itself is a two story wooden type not used often in tales of this type. It looks moody, as does the servants quarters, there's also a creepy barn with its hayloft and a water well of course. These are genre staples for sure, but Turner gathers all the clichés and gives them a new lease of life in a new period setting. The secret is in the lighting, Turner and Yedlin (Brick/Looper) light from down low, giving off a wonderful eerie effect as the gang trudge around this place of misery. It may sound like an oxy-moronic statement, but this is one beautifully shot horror film.

Then there's the shocks, the boo-jump moments (sadly revealed in the trailer for those unfortunate to not see the film first), these are not frequent so as to make the film reliant on them, they are used sparingly and only to advance the plot as the plantation's history literally comes to life. The cast are on fine form (Thomas and Washington standing out), working well with a dynamic infused with greed, mistrust, jealousy and racism. Lopez's musical score blends foreboding rumbles with spine chilling shards of noise, while Turner slots in some oblique angles to further enhance the feeling of hopeless disorientation. It may cover familiar ground, that of a bunch of folk in a spooky house being bumped off one by one, with suspicions aroused, but Dead Birds is very much its own animal. Hee, literally. 8/10

Good acting, and interesting concept. But this ends being just spooky. Didn't really go anywhere but in it's own circle. Time period isn't relevant as it is only about the mystical happens that took place before and are still present. Not bad for a late night watch.

In terms of production value, the film looks great. It's got better actors than most horror flicks and the FX and monsters are good. It also has a good creepy vibe to it and some good scares. The problem is, the script doesn't really go anywhere after they get to the house... Its basically a series of creepy scenes where the cast dwindles as we go along, but you don't really have a sense of escalating tension.

The first half worked fairly well, but it doesn't change much as it goes along. We get some backstory as we go that wasn't that creepy to me, and its also pretty clear they didn't know how to end it. The ending they have just doesn't work at all.

My biggest complaint though is the soundtrack which is way too repetitive and is basically a ripoff from the Shining soundtrack.

Its okay if you want to get some decent scares, but its not going to blow you away.

I just watched the film at the Toronto international film festival (during the midnight madness screening), and I didn't know what to think going into the film.

So the plot goes like this. A bunch of civil war renegade/criminals rob some confederates for gold, and then venture to a hideout place (huge abandoned mansion) that was recommended by someone. But something is wrong with this place... something very wrong.

The movie is similar to the lines of an Evil Dead style horror film. People go into a house, something is wrong with the house. Many conventional elements happen within the film as well, and some interesting ideas come as well. There were some jumps, but unfortunately there could have been more, and it could have been more suspenseful with a bigger payoff.

The problem that I found with the film, was the character development. there was some substance with each character, but they didn't expand on much of it. They didn't expand too much of about the monster / villain the film either. It was kind of a let down. Defiently compared to another low budget horror film, that I just saw at the festival (Creep).

With such a low budget, the special effects were great. The film has a decent look to it and the music was fantastic. Overall, I had a good time, but if it was in a normal theater, it would be a huge let down. 6 out of 10.

This isn't great horror, but it's definitely good enough to watch; I would watch it again in a minute. Certainly the territory has been covered before with shock horror and a twist ending, but I wasn't expecting some great burst of originality, just a decent movie experience, and I found it.

There are the standard horror clichés; people where they shouldn't be, ignoring all the warning signs and acting somewhat stupidly. You've seen it before, you'll see it again, and it's here in all it's splendor - however, that doesn't spoil the movie. There are decent special effects, some good shock moments, and a twist at the end to fulfill your expectations and keep you from falling asleep.

It's worth a rental if you're in the mood for some horror and nothing else catches your eye.