Shudder Saturday: Dead Birds (2004)

Set in the time of the American Civil War, this is the tale of a group of people, led by William (Henry Thomas), who rob a bank and then lay low in a house located, effectively, in the middle of nowhere. While they are all on edge, and with some trying to figure out how to increase their own share of the ill-gotten gains, things start to get a bit creepy. The house has a history, and that history is not staying locked in the past.

There are two great American horror movies that I was pleased to discover in the past twenty years, two that still stand out from so many others that I have enjoyed over the years. Session 9 is one of them, Dead Birds is the other. The former may hold up slightly better, but this one still deserves to be found and loved by horror fans.

The first feature written by Simon Barrett (who started his run of movies with this film and the fun of Frankenfish), Dead Birds is an impressively atmospheric piece that also delivers some impressive moments of gore and decent jump scares. Unfortunately, as decent as they are, it is the jump scares that now hold this back from being closer to a modern classic, with the CGI used and the snap of movement now all too familiar to genre fans who have seen it overdone in the years since this was released.

Director Alex Turner doesn't have too many other movies to his credit (his only other feature so far is Red Sands from 2009 - it's been a decade, Alex, get your finger out) and that's a great shame. Although helped massively by the casting, Turner does a fantastic job behind the camera here. Guided by Barrett's script, Turner takes plenty of time during the first half of the movie to set up the characters and their motivations, allowing the standard mistrust and unease of co-operating criminals to weave through various interactions until more supernatural happenings start to affect everyone. There's also an injured party to be looked after and the memory of an innocent bystander who was killed during the robbery, both of these things, and more, feeding in to the atmosphere and the heady brew of bloodshed and betrayal that has brought these people to where they are, and perhaps where they deserve to be.

Thomas is good in the nominal lead role, although he is matched by excellent performances from Isaiah Washington and Nicki Aycox, both playing characters who seem to cause friction amongst the group just by being accepted as important members. Patrick Fugit is slightly weak, although he works okay while his character physically weakens from injury, but that is compensated for by typically fine performances from Michael Shannon, Mark Boone Junior, and Muse Watson.

Although it stumbles in a few places, Dead Birds generally remains a satisfying, rich, experience. If you somehow haven't heard of it before now, be sure to check it out now. You won't be disappointed.*

*does not apply to anyone who is disappointed

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Dead Birds (2004)

Modern horrors come in all shapes and sizes, but many people keep trying to insist that they're all unscary and not worth your time. There are many, many fine horror movies still being made and released each year, it's just that the better movies aren't always as easy to hear about and get hold of. Most people will know this already, I'm not saying anything new, but it's always worth remembering every now and again. Especially when you come across a movie like Dead Birds (recommended to me many years ago by the fine folks who used to populate the IMDb Horror board).

Henry Thomas, Patrick Fugit, Michael Shannon, Isaiah Washington, Nicki Aycox and Mark Boone Junior star as a bunch of outlaws who rob a bank in 1860s America. They then hide out at an abandoned plantation before their next stage of the plan - getting to Mexico and splitting the gold. But it's not long until mistrust starts to take hold, as well as a sense of unease about just where they're holed up for the night.

With great acting from all involved, Dead Birds is a horror movie that feels a bit different while hitting a number of familiar genre beats. Henry Thomas is a decent lead, but the real treats come from the supporting cast (especially Michael Shannon before his name was so well known and Isaiah Washington). Nicki Aycox could easily, in a lesser film, be sidelined as nothing more than a token female character in the group, but she's given some decent moments and she does well with them.

The script by Simon Barrett does a great job of making each bit of character motivation clear and also allowing for some flashbacks that provide imagery to feed into the fear-filled present. The main characters may not realise how the fear is building until the second half of the movie, but it is. All around them.

Director Alex Turner also deserves praise for his handling of the material. There are a few jump scares here and there, with some decent CGI helping one or two of them, but he also keeps ladling on the atmosphere like golden honey. The film may blend Western elements with the horror, but it's not trying to be a horror Western, specifically. Oh no, it's just a horror movie that happens to take place in years gone by when there was a shorter life expectancy and bigger divisions amongst men (namely race and allegiance to certain flags). It's a real shame that Turner doesn't have much more to his credit yet.

Do check it out when you get the chance and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Dead Birds is showing today at The Filmhouse - buy your ticket here - as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations on the run up to Dead By Dawn.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Birds-Nicki-Lynn-Aycox/dp/B0007RUSUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1359152412&sr=1-1