A little bird brained, but not too bad

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2004)

Hitchcock's 'The Birds', is not quite the masterpiece that ranks with 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window', but it's still interesting. The film was probably quite influential in the movie trend of having animals of all types attack, and that may not be a good thing. Bees, ants, cats, dogs, spiders, bats, fish, bears and rats are some of the animals used in such films, and I'm sure that guinea pigs, harbor seals, and penguins are in the works by pioneering animal attack auteurs.
The viewer has to suspend their disbelief that sparrows and sea gulls are deadly minions of human destruction, but the special effects and credibility gap make that kind of a stretch. People may think that with today's CGI effects that this film is perfect for a remake, and maybe so, but can't the movie viewing public encourage fresh ideas with our movie dollar votes? Hitchcock tried to cultivate a sense of uneasiness throughout the film, a creepiness and mystery that makes the viewer feel that weird things are possible, but I mostly felt that through Jessica Tandy's strange performance as the mother.
All in all, not a terrible film, and fun as a Hitchcock time capsule sort of film, but not one of Hitchcock's best by a long shot.