The Birds [PG]

When Melanie Daniels becomes interested in eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner, she follows him to his hometown of Bodega Bay to surprise him by bringing his little sister a birthday present. Upon her arrival in the little town, she is attacked by a seagull and then, suddenly, all of Bodega Bay is threatened as millions of birds begin flocking into town, attacking and preying on the town’s inhabitants. Now Melanie and Mitch are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that cannot be explained nor stopped. 

One of the most famous films in Alfred Hitchcock’s repertoire, The Birds is a timeless classic tale of terror most “fowl” and nature gone berserk. 

When the beautiful and blonde Melanie Daniels becomes interested in eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner, she follows him to his hometown of Bodega Bay to surprise him by bringing his little sister a birthday gift. Upon her arrival in the simple town, a seagull inexplicably attacks her, a precursor to a terrible invasion that soon engulfs the town. Suddenly, millions of feathered felons are flocking to the town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Now Melanie and Mitch are fighting for their lives as Bodega Bay is engulfed in an invasion most “fowl”.  

This is a classic story of nature gone berserk. What is particularly brilliant about the film is that it leaves so much room for interpretation because the cause of the birds’ invasion is never explained and there seems to be no method behind the madness. You’re left completely in the dark and that’s what makes a good horror film. People are always frightened by what they don’t know or can’t see, we like to have reasons behind the rhyme and the horror of The Birds takes advantage of that most basic human want. Hitchcock may have been a madman, but he was a genius at the same time. 

The film stars Tippi Hedren in her first role and the poor dear infamously suffered much on this film. I remember when I studied this is year 9 English, my teacher told us a story about how Hitchcock, in an attempt to get Hedren to convey the horror that he wanted, locked her in a dark room and threw dead birds at her, almost completely traumatising her in the process. It brought a whole new meaning to the term “method acting”, but it did seem to produce results as Hedrens’ performance, particularly during the climactic attack was very much genuine. 

The film was innovative for its time as it used a combination of computer graphics, real birds, and mechanical ones as well. That mixed with the overproduced sounds of wings rustling and various bird cooing and noises, keeps the audience enthralled and sends chills through the backbone. 

Starring Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Ruth McDevitt, Lonny Chapman, Joe Mantell, Doodles Weaver, Malcolm Atterbury, John McGovern, Karl Swenson, and Richard Deacon, The Birds is a classic tale of terror filled with drama, romance, suspense, violence, and nature gone mad. A real classic in cinema history.