"Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!"

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2009)

The Birds is easily one of the best horror films of all time. It's Hitchcock's second best achievement (behind the fantastic horror masterpiece that was Psycho).
One of the great things about this is that there's no soundtrack, just the ominous sounds of the birds flapping and screeching. It only underscores Hitch's sure directorial hand -- who needs a clanging, scary soundtrack when the images and well-plotted suspense do it all for you? The fact that we cannot really unravel the mystery gives the film an almost mythic quality, as if it means more than it actually does.
The performances are top notch. Tippi Hendren steals the show as the wealthy but fun-loving socialite. Jessica Tandy provides a hypnotic and wonderfully disturbing portrait of a possessive mother, and Suzanne Pleshette is excellent as an emotionally devastated schoolteacher -- she blends toughness and vulnerability to perfection in a small role.
There's only one small problem. The matte paintings and animation that create the attack scenes are admittedly both tame and lame when looked at today. Yet it hardly detracts from the rest of the film anyways, so it's really nothing.
I don't know how else to put the way I feel abut The Birds except to say "indescribable". The unsettling atmosphere, the mounting terror, the slow building suspense, etc. It's still as frightening as it was back in 1963, laced with shots that will haunt you long after you watch it.