Delayed Reaction: The Birds

Premise: A woman stalks a man to his home town, then birds start attacking for no reason.

 

This is definitely a weaker Hitchcock movie and for rather surprising reasons. I say that, because the stuff you'd expect to be good is actually really good. The suspense of several of the bird attacks is everything I hoped it would be. I kind of wish this movie was 90 minutes of people trying to seal off all the entrances to the house from the birds or standing around as murders of crows line up behind them. That stuff is excellent.

 

The movie lost me because it doesn't make a lick of sense. I don't mean why the birds are attacking. I like that that isn't clear. I mean nearly every bit of plot other than the bird attacks. Tippi Hendren meets Rod Taylor at a bird store. They have some light flirtation, then she decides to drive 90 minutes out of town for some elaborate plan to deliver him lovebirds. How is she not treated like an insane person for the entire movie? Why does a movie ostensibly about mysterious bird attacks need this insane story to foreground it that almost needs to be its own "Single, White Female" Hitchcock thriller? I got so distracted by that aspect of the story that it was hard for me to concentrate on the good stuff.

 

This is a Hitchcock movie I'd actually like to see get remade. Computer animation could make the bird attack effects looks a lot better. While the pitch is specific, the story is pretty open ended and could be about anything else. All it really needs is birds attacking people, and the characters and plot can be anything. Also, the best movies to remake aren't the great movies; they are the movies with a couple good ideas and questionable execution. That describes The Birds pretty perfectly. A few aspects are phenomenal. The overall movie is so-so.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend