A Hitchcock Classic

Rating: Null/10 (20 August 2003)

"The Birds" might seem a little dated to many viewers of this generation, but do not be fooled,- this is a pure classic!!! Sure, the acting is typically a bit wooden at times, but remember,..this is 1963.Rod Taylor is great,and frankly the setting of Bodega Bay is just perfect.But really, the true stars of this little flick are none other then the Birds themselves.Squawking, pecking, biting, screeching menaces in the form of Seagulls and Crows.One of the more interesting aspects of this Hitchcock masterpiece is that what went wrong, and what caused the Birds to go homicidal and aggressive is never explained,exposed, or understood.Therefore, the viewer is left to his or her own conclusions on this matter.
It can be argued that The Birds is the movie that spawned so many of the later "Nature-Goes- Beserk-and attacks- Man" films.For starters,I can think of a number of plot devices and similiar scenes borrowed from The Birds in "Squirm", the 1976 Jeff Lieberman shocker about electrically charged bloodworms that terrify a small Georgia town.SPOILERS: Both films have a paranoid, emotionally unstable and elderly mother,..both films have a young,good-looking hero surrounded by 3 or more females,..and they also feature attack sequences in a darkened,isolated house with the use of a flashlight,and wooden boards to protect the windows and block the invading perps,..in this case vicious Bloodworms or Seagulls and Crows bent on malice.In both films the invading critters gain access into the home via the ceiling, in the case of The Birds this is the upstairs bedroom in which Ms. Daniels wanders foolishly into whilst all other parties are downstairs asleep.Again in both films we see close-ups of the critters mouths and/or beaks,..also there is a public attack scene revolving around a diner/pub.In The Birds, a Seagull makes an abnormal appearance by flying into the door,killing itself.In Squirm, a worm disgustingly shows up in a glass of chocolate milk.Both are chillingand signs of what is to come....and in The Birds, we have a pair seagulls attatched to a poor gentleman's face, in Squirm, we have a repulsive scene in which the Bloodworms are literally eating their way into a guy's face.Last but not least, both movies offer scenes of gasoline and fire,which is kind of a vague paralell,but nonetheless a parelell.
Well, one difference is that what happened to The Birds is never explained, but what happened to the Worms is chalked up to electricity from fallen powerlines.Either way, The Birds is a darn good flick, and textbook Hitchcock.I give it a 7 out of 10.