31 Days of Horror: ‘Birdemic’ Review
Stars: Alan Bagh, Whitney Moore | Written and Directed by James Nguyen
Birdemic, described by director James Nguyen as a romantic thriller, is a story about a young couple falling in love against the backdrop of a batshit insane tale of a town under siege by homicidal eagles! Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (in fact The Birds actress Tippi Hedren makes a cameo in the film in stock footage), the film also tackles topical issues such as global warming and world peace, all wrapped up in a film so inept that you’ll leave the film with the hugest grin on your face. We’ve all heard the phrase “so bad it’s good”, well Birdemic is the epitomy of that phrase!
Where to begin reviewing a film like Birdemic? It’s script? Garbage. It’s actors? Terrible, however the blonde female lead (Whitney Moore) is nice to look at but that’s about it… The sound design? What sound design! Shot on the cheap, Birdemic features all in camera sound – wind, farts, background chatter and all, and when there’s no sound the film is eerily silent. OK, OK, so maybe the special effects will redeem the film? Nope! Looking like they were taken from a different film altogether, the killer avians in Birdemic resemble copy and paste affairs done by a five year old, with animation to match. The direction? Er… actually, the direction isn’t that bad, at least director Nguyen knows how to construct a story with a beginning and middle – the end? Not so much.
So why did I enjoy Birdemic? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s a similar kind of enjoyment to rubber-necking at car crashes? Who knows! But let’s not focus on the negative. What is good about Birdemic? Well surprisingly, it’s one of the greatest feel-good movies of all-time and I very much doubt anyone can sit through the film without laughing. By the time I finished watching the film I was in hysterics at its ineptitude.
A definite “beer and a movie” film, Birdemic seriously rivals Troll 2 as the official “Best Worst Movie” of all-time… Roll on the sequel I say!
