Dead Birds (2004)

Dead Birds (2004)
Director: Alex Turner
Writer: Simon Barrett
Genre: Horror / Thriller
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Don't let the generic cover put you off. This is a well done, effectively scary horror movie. Well acted, atmospheric, eerie, polished, almost cliche-free with a twist ending.
To all fellow horror fans, I heartily recommend this movie.
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From Ain't It Cool:

I really fuckin' dug this film. I almost blew it off because I've heard the ending was really predictable and a friend of mine saw it and thought it was boring. Maybe I really love this film because I went in expecting it to be shitty or at the very least dull, but for whatever reason this movie really, really worked for me.

The set-up is simple. You have a group of bank robbers in the 1800s hiding out with some confederate gold in an out of the way plantation-like house. Creepy shit happens. Visions, creatures, possessions, ghosts, etc. It actually felt a lot like a video game set-up. You have the creepy dark house, the even creepier cornfield that surrounds the place, the fucked up barn, the door that won't open until the very end of the story, etc. I wish director Alex Turner had gotten ahold of RESIDENT EVIL before Paul WS Anderson turned it into a weak actioneer ALIENS rip-off. He understands the pacing and the level of reveals needed to pull off one of those horror video games as a feature film as is evident in this original film.

I've come to find that this film was just released straight to video by Lion's Gate and having looked up the DVD and seeing the cover I can safely say, "Ignore that crappy direct to video looking shitty ass cover." This movie has pitch perfect pacing, a great cast, great cinematography, genuine scares and an interesting story.

The pacing isn't slow or boring. To me it was very deliberately paced with a scare or real bit of tension happening regularly. There was never any moment of the movie where I was thinking, "All right... get on with it, already!" The film opens with a gunfight and we get a monster 10 minutes later. No shit. A creepy monster no less, with needle-like teeth and grotesque pink skin like an aborted rat except the size of an average sized dog.

The cast is full of familiar faces and names. Henry Thomas (ET) leads the gang, which features his brother, played by Patrick Fugit (ALMOST FAMOUS), his right-hand man Isaiah Washington (who is badass, by the way), his woman Nicki Lynn Aycox and a pair of untrustworthy sorts played by Michael Shannon (TIGERLAND, VANILLA SKY, 8 MILE) and Mark Boone Junior who seems to have been in everything ever shot, including MEMENTO and the upcoming BATMAN BEGINS.

The tension in this movie is truly what makes it succeed, though. The cast is very important, but the atmosphere, sound design, cinematography and structure is what makes it stick out to me. The last time I was this tense in a theater was when I saw JU-ON: THE GRUDGE at AFM a couple years ago, before it was known. I don't think DEAD BIRDS is as good a film as JU-ON, but that's not a knock against it.

The monsters are well designed. The only negative is that there are a few scenes that are overly CGIed out, but there's nothing in this film that is as ridiculous as the "Jack-Pot" eyes in THE GRUDGE.

Also, to be clear, the ending is not what you'd expect, it's not a cliche. I know I was surprised. All in all, I strongly suggest hitting your local video store and checking this one out. I just wish Lions Gate would quit releasing their shitty movies like ALONE IN THE DARK to 2000 screens and put out a genuinely scary horror film like DEAD BIRDS.

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http://tinypaste.com/c5870
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Language: English
Subtitles: English, Italiano, Espanol, Nederlands,Arabic,Bulgarian,Hrvatski,Czech,Dansk,Finish,Greek,Hindi,Hungarian,Norsk,Polish,Portugues,Romanian,Slovenian,Svenska,Turkish (vobsub) + English (srt)

File : 696 MB, duration: 1:27:19, type: AVI, 1 audio stream
Video : 516 MB, 827 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 640*336 (16:9), XVID
Audio : 179 MB, 288 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, MP3, CBR
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