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Dead Birds

Dead Birds (2004)

May. 19,2004
|
5.6
|
R
| Horror Western Thriller

A group of Confederate soldiers hole up on an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank, and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces.

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Reviews

Jeanskynebu
2004/05/19

the audience applauded

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Dynamixor
2004/05/20

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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Humaira Grant
2004/05/21

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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Nayan Gough
2004/05/22

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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bmurf-39449
2004/05/23

OK, I admit, the effects were pretty well done. The music - pretty darn good. The way this was shot however, was somewhat similar to a TV series, not as cinematic as I hoped. The thing that REALLY stood out to me was how brightly lit everyone was in every scene. Think of a large house in the middle of a corn field at night with no electricity...it would be super dark and a lantern would only light several feet from where you hold it. If you pay attention, there's light brightening up a room just below the camera at floor level in every interior shot, there are artificial lights put behind objects and so obviously in shadowed areas, it was extremely distracting to me and if this were lit better, it would have totally changed the look and feel. If a set is lit well, you can't tell, that's the trick of it all. Even in the corn field during the rain storm, it looks like all the actors have a set of car headlights on them...crazy.

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Spencer
2004/05/24

Very highly underrated by the few people who saw it, unheard of to the rest of the world...While I think this was, in fact, a pretty good movie, I think the reason it's underrated is partially because it doesn't scare the hell out of you at any point, as some people may have expected. I think this was intended to simply be creepy, not a screamer. A lot of time is (effectively) spent on developing the atmosphere, but on top of this, there are a few very strange happenings to keep you watching and interested. The pace is slow, but it should be. I just think that all of the people who don't like this movie should give it a second chance.

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loomis78-815-989034
2004/05/25

Set in Alabama at the end of the Civil War, we focus on a group of criminals who turn a bank into a bloodbath as they steal the gold and head for the border and Mexico. Their leader Will (Thomas) decides to stop at an abandoned plantation house for the evening. Making their way through a large cornfield in front of the house a white hairless creature with fangs jumps out of nowhere and delivers the first jump scare of the film before being gunned down. Once at the house, a few of the gang's members are thinking of grabbing the gold and deserting the gang but that is the least of Will's troubles. The house has a sense of dread and dark atmosphere hanging over it from what the former owner (Muse Watson) may have done to his family and his slaves. Voodoo may be at the end of it but the group begins having frightening visions, hearing voices and some of them start turning up missing. This independent feature from Writer Simon Barrett and Director Alex Turner is a high quality horror film. Making the most of an excellent two story house in the middle of nowhere, the house is practically a character in this movie. The rain storm raging outside makes this film's atmosphere top notch, and the creepy sounds and visions this film provides will put any viewer on edge. Don't forget the gore and some of the scariest original creature monsters you've seen in a while and Dead Birds is one creepy Horror film. Director Turner gets a lot of credit for not going overboard with the spooky elements and gore, he sticks to the story and all of it comes off very believable. The only frustrating part of this movie is its back story concerning the former owner and what happened on the property. It's obvious it has everything to do with what is happening to our gang of thieves and why the house is the way it is, but we never really find out why. They're a few flashbacks which show you some great stuff but the film never ties it all together in an understandable fashion. It's a shame but this head scratching over the storyline will be what stops this from becoming a classic. It's still a ton of fun and must view for any horror fan.

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irrelevantlife
2004/05/26

Dead birds has a couple of good things going for it, the scenery and time period and the depiction of anti hero characters that do not gather much sympathy during the first half of the picture due to events I won't spoil. Where the movie falls short is in the presentation of the actual horror, very early on we get to see a frighting and hideous beast in daylight and the movie treats it with utmost indifference. As the movie progresses, signs of imminent danger are displayed for the viewer yet nothing happens for a good while and the characters seem unresponsive or even interested in the deciphering the signs that something is horribly wrong, of course no horror movie would be without these conventions yet the movie wants to create a serious tone to which the actions of the characters does not lend itself to. One character even finds clear cut evidence that something monstrous is on the prowl, yet keeps it for himself as if he/she doesn't really bother. The movie ends up reusing demonic/ghost themed thrills that have all been done better in other pictures and fails to capitalize on its strong parts (creature design) and shock the viewer, in the end the only thing that has some horror to it was what came before the climax early in the picture in bright daylight. Had the creatures been used properly we would have an effective horror as the creature design is very good, but ultimately underused.

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