Wordiezett So much average

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Leofwine_draca Wow, DEAD BIRDS starts off on a strong footing, with an well-staged bank robbery and subsequent trek through the countryside by a band of renegade soldiers who've abandoned their army during the American Civil War. The film boasts strong production values for a low budget, and plenty of atmosphere in its depiction of the war-torn countryside. The cast is pretty interesting too, with the likes of former child star Henry Thomas, a pre-fame Michael Shannon, and Isaiah Washington excelling as the soldiers-turned-outlaws.I really thought we were going to be in for something special here, because for the first hour DEAD BIRDS puts every foot right, especially thanks to a wonderful soundtrack. It's all single, extended notes and distorted noise, and it builds up a superbly creepy atmosphere as the gang reach a haunted house in the middle of nowhere and bed down for the night.Then, sadly, it falls apart. Nothing much is explained, and instead the group are picked off one by one by barely-seen spirits. There are some gory bits, and some more creepy bits, but none of it makes much sense, and it stays like that till the very end. I loved the Lovecraftian flavour of the unfolding incidents but with a better story this could have been something special; as it is it just sort of lapses into nothingness.

morrison-dylan-fan With having kept an eye out for Horror Western titles since viewing the excellent Spaghetti Horror Western God Said To Cain,I was caught by surprise,when a fellow IMDber sent me a Horror Western film,which led to me looking up to the sky to see the deadly birds of prey.The plot:Alabama:1863-After successfully robbing a bank,a group of outlaws start travelling to their safe house .Whilst heading to the location,the outlaws kill a strange demonic-looking creature,which suddenly rushes out of a corn field.Reaching the safe house,the outlaws get set to put their feet up for the night,and head off with their winnings in the morning.As night starts to set in,the outlaws begin to fear that there are about to lose all their winnings to an unknown force.View on the film:Attempting to combine the Horror and Western genres,the screenplay by Simon Barrett initially strikes a fine balance of crossing a mysterious Horror atmosphere,with tough,gritty Western gunshots.Casting moments across the film which appear to be aiming for a huge payoff, (such as the killing of a child)Barrett struggles to keep a grip on the elements,with the horror side of things sliding from an ill-defined curse,to demonic monsters which people can walk past normally without a care in the world one moment,and then get completely terrified by the next.Along with the flawed horror delivery, Barrett fails to expand on each outlaws initial reaction to the robbery,which leads to each of the outlaws lacking distinctive features,and largely being interchangeable.Transforming an old plantation house (which was not a set,but an actual location) into an old dark house,director Alex Turner (not the lead singer of The Arctic Monkeys!) wraps the location in pelts of rain and a deadly cloak of darkness.Sadly Turner burns out the movies sense of an unknown evil,by openly showing the demonic creature,in broad daylight within the first 5 minutes of the title.Along with giving away the identity of the mysterious evil far too early,Turner also uses Peter Lopez score repeatedly to cover up a real lack of tension-building,as Turner turns the scores sound level from quiet to deafeningly loud to wrap around everything from a poorly-designed ritual killing, (which can't decide if it's a killing or the rising of a demon) to darken corridors whose shadows contain very little fear for viewers of these dead birds.

bowmanblue By rights 'Deadbirds' shouldn't be anything special and, in some ways, it isn't. However, it is just about better than 90% of the other horror B-movies out there.It doesn't have much of a budget (and I don't recognise a single cast-member from anything else!), but it does make the best of a decently creepy location, as we follow a gang of bank robbers in post civil war America, as they take refuge in an abandoned farm house before they get ready to divvy up the loot and go their separate ways. Naturally, they get more than they bargained for, as surviving the night becomes increasingly difficult. They soon find there's a particularly nasty presence already there and it's not going to let them off lightly.It's dark and broody and the acting (for what's needed) is decent enough. If you're not a fan of horror films then this one probably isn't good enough to win you over. However, if you're a fan f creepy little monster movies then you may just want to watch this one. It's one of those films that's definitely better value if you haven't paid to watch it. Rent or see it on TV before you buy.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

wes-connors During the U.S. Civil War, a gang of six crooks would rather rob banks than defend the Confederacy. They are: handsome leader Henry Thomas (as William), sensitive brother Patrick Fugit (as Sam), pretty nurse Nicki Aycox (as Annabelle), greedy racist Michael Shannon (as Clyde), scruffy boozer Mark Boone Junior (as Joseph), and sensible ex-slave Isaiah Washington (as Todd). You can expect some conflict between Mr. Shannon and Mr. Washington, of course. Also, Mr. Fugit nicely plays some desire for Ms. Aycox, who is otherwise occupied with Mr. Thomas.The Alabama Civil War setting starts the picture off interestingly, with a blood-splattering western-style shoot-out. After this, it becomes a very different, haunted house horror tale. The story might have worked better if it had been set in the present, making the plantation owner and his family more distinct. Then, "Belle" would be Aycox' ancestor, and so on… We only see one of the "Dead Birds" referred to in the title. Fugit steps on it as the gang of six enter the old dark house - and, watch how it makes his face twitch! The figurative title "Dead Ducks" applies more. Considering the film's intents and purposes, writer Simon Barrett delivers more than delivers the goods, new director Alex Turner and photographer Steve Yedlin give it the creeps, and Peter Lopez' spooky musical score mixes nicely with the atmospheric sound. With a short shooting schedule, and limited budget, the cast and crew make "Dead Birds" fly, if not soar.****** Dead Birds (9/13/04) Alex Turner ~ Henry Thomas, Patrick Fugit, Nicki Aycox, Michael Shannon