Rating of
3.5/4
Where is my BB Gun!
mdtinney - wrote on 10/04/09
It can't be denied that "The Birds" is still, even after 45 years, definitely one of the very greatest horror movies ever. The big secret behind its unbelievable effectiveness is actually more simple than we think. When filmmakers are shooting horror flicks they usually scare audience by using psychopaths, aliens, dinosaurs, sharks, spiders, snakes...all sort of devilish creatures, horrible monsters or notorious animals people already find frightening. It's a rather easy, unsurprising and tedious solution to do it. Alfred Hitchcock's marvelous idea was totally opposite from this principle. He took the most innocent and harmless creatures we can possibly think of - ordinary birds - and turned 'em into dreadful monsters with no reason what so ever. When a killer beneath the sea or a bloodlusting beast from outer space strikes it's not a big surprise to anyone - that's what they're supposed to do! But when the birds turn out to be cruel and dangerous manhunters something's suddenly wrong. It's so simple and still so damn ingenious idea and it really works, especially because Hitch cleverly leaves so many questions open. There's lots of little details that proofs his talents as the master of suspense. For example lack of background music - he actually replaced it with bird sounds! Some of the special effects of the 60's may look like a bit outdated from todays point of view but the movie itself is so bloody wonderful it takes nothing away from the thrilling excitement. Alongside with "Psycho", this is my absolute Hitchcock favorite.
