Dead Birds (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Tim S

  
  Pretty terrible straight-to-video horror flick.

• Lewis C

  
  Most of the recent horror movies that I've seen have been so dismal that Dead Birds gets a slightly favorable review just for not being awful, despite the fact that it's not particularly scary. The setting and time period were refreshing and the build-up and pacing of the… More
  Most of the recent horror movies that I've seen have been so dismal that Dead Birds gets a slightly favorable review just for not being awful, despite the fact that it's not particularly scary. The setting and time period were refreshing and the build-up and pacing of the movie were enjoyable. However, once the full story behind the haunted plantation is revealed, it was disappointingly generic. I only paid about $3 for Dead Birds, and it's worth that price and a hour and a half of the average horror fan's life. And yes, there was a dead bird in the movie, but what's with the name?

• jd c

  
  As some of you may already know, atmosphere is the biggest factor for me in any horror film. Dead Birds is drenched with atmosphere. It drowns in it! This is up there with some of the most atmospheric horror films ever made, and I loved every second of it. The atmosphere alone was… More
  As some of you may already know, atmosphere is the biggest factor for me in any horror film. Dead Birds is drenched with atmosphere. It drowns in it! This is up there with some of the most atmospheric horror films ever made, and I loved every second of it. The atmosphere alone was enough to send chills down my spine. Dead Birds is indeed one spooky ass ghost story. Eerie, breezing night winds that howl within the dark fields. Rumbling thunder from the rainy moonlit sky. Soft spoken whispers in every corner of a dark and creaky old farm house. Ghastly possessions and demonic-like children hiding under the beds. All of this is done at a calm and slow pace, but that's the beauty of it. That's it's charm. It's almost hypnotic, and in many ways relaxing, but spooky at the same time. Dead Birds is a horror movie to get cozy with, underneath the blanket, on a dark and stormy night. This movie isn't like any other horror film we're use to seeing these days. Dead Birds takes us back when horror films relied more on it's settings, with the dark and cold cinematography, as well as the eerie sounds inside the old dark house. It can almost pass for an old black and white horror film, in terms of it's style and way of storytelling. Dead Birds should be a lesson to all the crappy horror films these days. This is one good movie! Amazing story, as well as a perfect thought out back story. A simple, but subtle script. Solid performances from the whole cast. And like I mentioned before, beautiful cinematography! Plus, how can I forget...it's bloody and gory too. Dead Birds should have gotten more play than it did. It's a shame something like this goes unrecognized or even ignored by the horror community. We need more horror movies like this. Dead Birds is a real spooky treat! A solid ghost story. **For people looking for a fast paced horror movie(or something like SAW), look else where.** <img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/DeadBirds.jpg">

• Luke B

  
  This is what happens when you buy films for £3 when drunk in Asda. However the freaky bastard ghost kids are pretty shit scary. It was slow, predictable and had a D list cast giving B list performances. So alright, but pretty cack.

• Kylie B

  
  Lots of blood in the begining, okay effects but ultimately dry and lacking tension for the main part. It does have some good bits, like the ending.

• Ryan M

  
  5.4/10 "Dead Birds" is the kind of flick that you want to like, yet don't end up very disappointed when it turns out that you don't. And believe me when I said that I didn't like the film; but also believe me when I say that it's better… More
  5.4/10 "Dead Birds" is the kind of flick that you want to like, yet don't end up very disappointed when it turns out that you don't. And believe me when I said that I didn't like the film; but also believe me when I say that it's better than it needs to be. It was essentially another one of those direct-to-video horror films, but it's more watchable than say, "The Sick House" or "The Hills Run Red". This is a well-made, well-acted, interestingly conceived film that lacks the story-telling and proper character development that could have made it a winner. I admire what it's doing and what the filmmakers are trying to do, but with a bit of luck, I think they can do a little better. So I'll try to be as optimistic as possible about the movie. I have no doubts that some horror fans will be all over it for its choice to drown us in jump-scares and "atmosphere" instead of gore. However, this is a haunted-house movie, and it's a better-made one than most, but most of it is purely visual; thus, nothing is ever truly scary. No thought goes into the horror, and no thought goes into the story. It's simplistic, and at the same time, it tries to be something more. But as I said; it's a decent movie. It is competent, but it just kind of fades, not long after you've seen it. The film starts out interestingly enough with a party of named-but-uncharacterized bandits robbing a bank and escaping town, thus evading the law. The weather is not on their side, and it begins to rain that very night. They camp out in an old, abandoned mansion; which is close-by a creepy cornfield; reminiscent of most classic movie creepy-cornfields. However, after a game of cards, some love-making, and a whole lot of pointless exploring; the bandits soon discover that they're not alone. Something terrible occurred in that house and in those cornfields; a murder, an execution, and demonic possession. Beings from hell now inhabit that house, and they are very much prepared to do battle with the heroes of the story. I wouldn't have a problem with that being "it" for the film's story, since that pretty much IS "it" when it comes to that, but the film consistently hints at making itself some complex, well-researched...thing; but it's just not that. I wouldn't say it's necessarily lazy when it comes to building tension, but it never gets that feel that it's edging towards the entire time. It's not scary, it's not always eerie, and it's basically just a visual orgy of undeniable creepiness; but that isn't enough for me. I was overjoyed to see talented actors such as Michael Shannon and Patrick Fugit involved in the film. Each talented actor is indeed talented; and they bring...at least their B-game to the film. Yes, you won't find anyone's "best performance" here, but for a not-so-well-known and more-so-obscure horror movie, you've got to give the director credit for at least containing these performances and these actors. There's some good cinematography, some decent effects, and some first-rate ambition. I'd say that more could be done with this premise, and I mean it, but I don't necessarily want a remake when I say that. "Dead Birds" might as well be good for what it is, but I found the characters so grossly undeveloped, and the story so absurd at times, that it just wasn't believable enough. It wasn't aiming for camp; it was clearing trying to be a real, scary movie; something that it's not. Critics say it has scares, and I wonder what they mean by that. Do they refer to the demons with the hollow eyes and the sharp fangs hiding under the bed? Do they refer to the demonic-dog-thing that pounces on the heroes in the beginning of the film? None of that should be considered scary. There is a difference between jumping and being truly frightening. "Dead Birds" is not the slightest bit thought-provoking, and at the same time, it's not the slightest bit dumb. I have sympathy for it, just not too, too much.

• Jacob P

  
  This movie is SCARY. It is very slow paced but the pace quickly picks up. The scary and disturbing imagery in this film are amazing...and the acting and setting is pretty good too. It's not the bloodiest movie in the world, but it sure is one of the creepiest.

• Laurence C

  
  Solid genre filmmaking, elevated by all-around strong acting and plenty of effective scares here and there. Even if it the script relies on one-too many horror cliches and expository dialogue, the end result nevertheless bathes in a pervasively creepy mood, something most glossy… More
  Solid genre filmmaking, elevated by all-around strong acting and plenty of effective scares here and there. Even if it the script relies on one-too many horror cliches and expository dialogue, the end result nevertheless bathes in a pervasively creepy mood, something most glossy theatrical chillers cannot even manage. Be warned : some images will be hard to get out of your head.

• John M

  
  Promising beginning, unsatisfactory conclusion. Dead Birds is a boring, no plot, not direction and not a good low budget horror film. This flix just has some scares but they are all cheap.

• Chris M

  
  Turned off after 50 minutes of watching absolute rubbish.

• Christopher B

  
  Excellent, atmospheric Lovecraftian western. Really friggin cool monsters too.

• paganchild1979 p

  
  I was so confused after watching this, but some of the scences were awesome.

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