Dead Birds (2004 film)

Dead Birds
DVD cover
Directed by	Alex Turner
Produced by	David Hillary Timothy Peternel Ash Shah
Written by	Simon Barrett
Starring	Henry Thomas Nicki Aycox Isaiah Washington Patrick Fugit Michael Shannon
Music by	Peter Lopez
Distributed by	Sony Pictures
Release date(s)	September 13, 2004 (2004-09-13) (Toronto) March 15, 2005 (2005-03-15) (United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Language	English

Dead Birds is a 2004 American horror film directed by Alex Turner.^[1]

Synopsis

A handful of thieves discover that they have more to worry about than the law in this independent horror story, set during the American Civil War.^[2]

Plot

William (Henry Thomas) is the leader of a group of runaway Confederate soldiers who, with the help of Todd (Isaiah Washington), an escaped slave, and Annabelle, an Army nurse (Nicki Aycox), stage a daring robbery at a bank holding a cache of rebel gold. The heist does not go smoothly, and William's associates soon fall into in-fighting as they head toward Mexico with their stolen fortune.

Needing a place to rest for the night, the criminals set up camp in a mansion overlooking an abandoned plantation, but it soon becomes obvious that the old house is not as empty as they thought, as a handful of otherworldly horrors make their presence known while William and his cohorts fight over the gold.

Cast

• Henry Thomas as William
• Patrick Fugit as Sam
• Nicki Aycox as Annabelle
• Michael Shannon as Clyde
• Muse Watson as Father
• Mark Boone Junior as Joseph
• Isaiah Washington as Todd
• Harris Mann as Jeffy Hollister
• Melanie Abramoff as Girl Ghost
• Donna Biscoe as Black Woman
• Brian Bremer as Hysterical Man
• Russell Durham Comegys as Kormer

Background

Dead Birds was the first feature film from director Alex Turner.^[3]

Re-release

The film had a limited re-release on February 5, 2010 at the NuArt Theatre in Los Angeles.^[4]

Critical reception

Jon Condit of Dread Central said of the film, "And wouldn't ya know it, this modestly budgeted period piece from newcomer Alex Turner dishes on the history (we're in the late-1800s for this one) as well as some heavy gore and otherworldly Lovecraftian heebie-jeebies for a mostly satisfying feast. That is, if you can withstand its unhurried storytelling pace these tales of America's yesteryear can't seem to shake (it ain't no Glory, I'll say that much)."^[5]

Daniel W. Kelly of DVD Talk said, "Of course, the film follows some conventions of horror. There's a cornfield. There are ghosts and scary creatures. A group of people in a desolate location get offed one by one. But that's what we love about horror. The only other real issue is that while the ending is good conceptually, it could be considered sort of anti-climatic visually. Still, this film is worth the goose bumps it delivers throughout due to stylish camera work and a visually frightening presentation."^[6]

Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! commented, "The Wild Wild West isn't the norm for a horror film setting, but first-time director Turner and writer Simon Barrett have come up with a nice horror/western hybrid to make their little flick an extraordinary one."^[7]

References

1. ^ New York Times. "Dead Birds". New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/299149/Dead-Birds/overview. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
2. ^ Bloody Disgusting. "Dead Birds". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18508. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
3. ^ Bloody Disgusting. "Dead Birds". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18374. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
4. ^ Bloody Disgusting. "Dead Birds". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18906. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
5. ^ Jon Condit. "Dead Birds". Dread Central. http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/dead-birds-dvd. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
6. ^ Daniel W. Kelly. "Dead Birds". DVD Talk. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/14874/dead-birds/. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
7. ^ Cam Lindsay. "Dead Birds". Exclaim!. http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Dvd/dead_birds-alex_turner. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 

External links

• Dead Birds (2004 film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Dead Birds (2004 film) at AllRovi